The new Rocky Patel Reo has been around just before the RTDA show and is finally making it into the cigar shops here in Florida. It is actually a joint effort between Rocky Patel, and United Cigar under the United EO (Espinosa,Ortega) premium brands label which also includes the Rocky Patel Vibe. The REO name comes from its three makers, Rocky Patel, Erik Espinosa, and Eddie Ortega. United also put out the short lived "X" line with the Oliva family which I love so much but are now off the market due to the lawsuit by Fuente. The Reo and Vibe are made in Rocky Patel's Honduran Factory (read Nestor Plasencia here)where the Edge cigars are made, using an oily and dark 5 year old Costa Rican Sumatra wrapper with Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers and a Nicaraguan binder. The shape of the Reo torpedo is almost identical to the "X" Tabu and is lightly box pressed.

So lets get to it...

Appearance and Construction: 13/15
This is a very nice looking torpedo measuring 5.2 X 54. The Sumatra wrapper is absolutely gorgeous and spotless. I couldn't detect a single vein in the wrapper at all and the cap clipped cleanly with no problems.

Flavor: 22/25
Pre-light draw was superb. This cigar draws very nicely and lights perfectly just like the "X" does. You are immediately hit with a subtle hint of spice and a nice woody taste. Smoke is abundant, and with the perfect draw this cigar has, even the pickiest of smokers won't have a problem. Towards the center of the cigar, the spice taste is still there, but not overpowering, and with a touch of cocoa hitting the palate,very similar to a Torano Exodus Gold. I always like to have water with a cigar the first time I try one, but this cigar would go well with a good ale or port wine. The flavor is very steady throughout the cigar and though I don't classify it as mild, its not overpowering to me and is just simply enjoyable. The finish is very nice and maintains the spice, cocoa, and some earthy notes.

Smoking Characteristics: 23/25
A very nice smoke indeed, and a credible replacement for the short lived "X", and better in some respects, though not quite as strong to me. The slightly dark ash held on for more than two inches before I tapped it off and was not flaky at all. The burn is immaculate, very even all the way through the cigar and it didn't have to be touched up. The draw was very nice and smooth all the way through the cigar and the abundance of smoke made this very, very enjoyable.

Overall: 32/35
Great construction, good flavor, great draw, lots of smoke, not overly complex but very tasty and satisfy smoke. Smoking a good cigar like this is very relaxing which is what I look for in a good smoke. The price is another good point. The prices vary in size from about $4.50 to $6.00 for the largest Churchill size. The Torpedoes like this one were only $5.50 at the cigar shop, which to me is a good selling point. I don't like many mild cigars, and the medium flavor cigars that I like should be just like this one where they have enough depth of flavor and are consistent all the way through.

Overall: 90

I will be adding a box of these to my stash when my "X" Tabus are all smoked up.

Mike

P.S. When I can get my hands on a "Vibe" this coming week, I'll also do a review on those. From what I understand these are a Corojo wrappered smoke that actually is full flavored and has a sweetness to the taste unlike any other Corojo smoke. Since I'm a Camacho Corojo and Alec Bradley Ovation Corojo lover, this should be something worth trying at least.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bluesky5553,

Good review Mike, very detailed and informative. I liked the RP Edge Maduro so much I'll have to try one of these RP's once I get some singles worked down.

Nice review Mike! Never heard of those. It's good to see a review of something new.

Very nice review, Mike. I'll have to try a few now.

Randy

Thanks Mike, they sound like a good smoke.

I was going to post a review on the Robusto, but I checked and Mike had already done one on the torp, so I'll just add my opinions here instead:

The Robusto looked pretty enough, but the flavor was very ammonia-y making it hard to stomach all of the way through. It did have a very nice aroma that may show this being a good smoke with some time in the 'dor. I actually thought the REO was stronger than the "X" IMHO. Although, that could have been the ammonia talking...

Mike, i think ou sent me one in a return bomb, I'll try yours before I put out the final verdict on this cigar.

But, right now I'd probably give it an 85.

Where does Rocky Patel get his overhyped underflavored tobacco? From that Nestor tobacco pimp?

I feel sorry for anybody who buys this overpriced Honduran crap when there's perfectly good Torano's and Oliva's available.

I think he grows his own tobacco in India.

WEll, welcoms to the forums the both of you. Chickencock tell us how you really feel. How about an introduction guys?

I tried to smoke one of these at the SC sit down, but i threw it out at about 1/4...now to be honest this could have been a not so hot tasting cigar to me because i had already smoked 5 or 6 cigars and i was also very tired...i'll give it another go later on....

How come more company's don't roll Indian tobacco?

Hmmm..last I looked, all of Rocky's cigars used Nicaraguan, Honduran, or Dominican Republic tobacco.

And GeorgeGeorge, if that is your real name, only the '90 Vintage is a Broadleaf maduro wrapper. The '92 Vintage is a SunGrown wrapper. If you want to act like you know something, at least try to sound intelligent even though you aren't.

And Ultraman....are you really that stupid??? Or just racially biased??

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Raekwon:
I read on cigar talk this was supposed to be a friendly board, not a place to make new people feel stupid.

lol, who told you that?