Rocky Patel Vudu Robusto

Size: Robusto (5.0 x 50)

Strength: Full

Wrapper: Maduro

Filler: Nicaraguan

MSRP: $4

        The Rocky Patel Vudu has been sitting in my humidor for a few months now, and I've been itching to try it. The band has received a lot of criticism for being black-on-black and hard to read, but I found it to be edgy and creative, in its own way. The wrapper is a beautiful maduro color, only slightly veiny. Throughout my smoke the ash only fell off once, which was very impressive - and different from other review sites experiences. I also had no burn issues, aside from a slight touch-up at the beginning - the cigar had a fairly even burn throughout (and i'm pretty OCD about my burn).

       The cigar was very easy to light, and the first puff brought an explosion of spice with it like a one-two punch. The cigar gave out huge globs of smoke that just wouldn't quit, even until the nub. The spice dies out within the first 10 puffs or so, and leads to a very creamy, earthy cigar, with a hint of sweetness and cocoa that is just barely strong enough to notice, giving it a very interesting flavor profile that I don't normally find in maduros. Other reviews discuss the spice completely dying out after the first few puffs, but I noticed an intermittent spice starting about halfway through the first third, fading out, and then picking up about halfway through the stick again, and continuing until about the end of the second third.

     
       Towards the beginning of the second third I also began to notice a slightly leathery taste entering the flavor profile in place of the intermittent spices, which is very characteristic of maduros. As the spice fades out, you  notice some of the other flavors more clearly, predominantly a slightly sweet, slightly woodsy taste. This is one of the reasons I love maduros, and I was thoroughly pleased - a creamy smoke that also tastes like a maduro? Two, please! About halfway throughout the cigar I started to notice the intermittent spices returning. However, other reviews seem to indicate there is a flavor-bomb of spices that continues until the end, but I did not find that to be the case. The spices seemed to fade out by the end of the second third. The flavors that appeared in the second third of the cigar remained until the end, but strengthened in taste, especially the leather taste.

       Overall I found this cigar to be a great smoke, especially for the money. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it, and I got no heat from the cigar, even at the nub - a sign of good construction. With its MSRP at $4, and the ability to regularly find the cigar for half that, It's a cigar that I'll definitely smoke again when I get the chance.

Overall: 4.4/5

Final Grade (factors in price): 4.5/5

 Angolom