The Cameroon is offered as a Robusto (5.5 x 50 – $7.55); Toro (6.5 x 52 – ); Torpedo (6.25 x 52- ); Churchill (7 x 48 – $8.55) and a Sixty (6 x 60- $8.55). According to Atlantic Cigar who is an advertiser on this site,

The Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 blend has been in the works for many years now. Rocky has always wanted to use a Cameroon wrapper on one of his cigars lines… so here it is. For nearly the last decade Rocky Patel has been carefully selecting and amassing only the finest grade ‘A’ Cameroon wrapper leaf in hopes of one day launching a Cameroon wrapper cigar. The result is a sweet and spicy medium bodied cigar that’s well balanced and delivers a refined clean flavor and smoothness. The blend is comprised of a Nicaraguan binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers finished in the finest Cameroon wrapper that Rocky could get his hands on.

Cigar: Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon
Size: 5.5 x 50 (Robusto)
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
Strength: Medium
Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon

Appearance and Construction: The Cameroon wrapper of the Vintage 2003 is glistening with essential oils. Upon close examination there are some imperfections in the wrapper with some color discrepancies especially near the cap of the cigar that I would compare to the bruising of some fruit. The cigar is rolled to perfection and in the hand it feels a very smooth like enamel. There is a hefty weight to cigar and examination of the foot shows a nice variation tobacco in the filler. The dual band is a gorgeous royal blue with white text. The first denotes Rocky Patel while the second denotes Vintage 2003 Cameroon.

Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon - Foot

Flavor & Notes: The foot of the cigar has a nose of wheat and cookies baking at Christmas time. The cold draw is sweet, but it reminds of holiday cookies as well. I love when I get a cigar that triggers such a vivid image such as this. I used my Xikar soft flame lighter to spark the Vintage 2003 Cameroon up and was treated to notes of caramel sweetness which makes sense since Christmas cookies use caramel coloring. As we worked into the first third of the cigar some notes of wood began to develop, but the aroma is what really held my attention. Not to be a dead horse, but it reminded of the kitchen when my friends mom was baking, your guessed it, Christmas cookies. In the second third of the cigar the caramel was the primary note, however in the background there was some coffee and leather added to the mix. The last third of the cigar there is an aroma that is nutty that compliments the cigar which has developed a nice vanilla bean note. The finish was a little short with a nice sweetness about it.

Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon - First 3rd

Smoking Characteristics: What a great ash on the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon, it held on for half the stick at a time, which was pretty damn impressive. The burn was iconic, and the draw was perfect. Just a really well constructed cigar, one of the best I ever had the joy of smoking. As stated in the last section the aroma of the cigar was even more delicious than the smoke itself. It complimented things so well and really filled the room.

Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon - Second 3rd

Conclusion: I was really impressed with the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon to the point where I might call it the best Cameroon I ever smoked. There was a nice subtle complexity to it and the cigar performed well. The price is right, and it has sparked a renewed interest to me in the brand.

Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon - Last 3rd

Rating: 94
Price: $134.95 / Box of 20 or $6.80 a stick at Atlantic Cigar

Design personalized gifts at Zazzle.

Nimish describes the cigars as medium to full-bodied, with full rich complex flavor consisting of white pepper, spice, espresso with an underlying sweetness.

We agree with the body assessment and the fact that it is incredibly rich. We also picked up cinnamon notes and a cocoa. The samples burned well, had an impeccable draw with a nice volume of smoke. The notes were bold, complex and extremely enjoyable.

Thunder by Nimish

Patel Brothers

Despite being unable to go to the show this year, I have managed to get my hands on some new sticks. A few of the local reps and I have cross paths lately. The lovely rep from Rocky Patel stopped by over the weekend to drop off a sample of the new cigar from Rocky. For the first time in his company’s history Rocky Patel has collaborated with his brother Nish Patel to create a cigar they are calling, full bodied and a powerhouse. The new cigar has tobacco from the fields of Lancaster country in Pennsylvania. The same region that brought us the Rocky Patel Winter Blend 2008.

The cigar comes in 5 sizes, the Corona ($6.50 MSRP), Robusto ($7.00), Toro ($8.00), Torpedo ($8.000) and Super Toro ($9.00). They will begin to ship in October of 2009.

Cigar: Patel Brothers
Size: 6 x 56 (Super Toro)
Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Strength: Full

Appearance and Construction (xx/20): To the naked eye this cigar is very similar to the Rocky Patel Winter Blend. The sample I got had a plain white label, so I am unable to report on how the real label looks. The facsimile they sent me looks like it will be a nice eye catching band. The construction of the of the cigar is flawless. I challenge anyone to find the seam of the roll without having to search for it. At least that is how my samples were. The cigar has some nice oils and a lot of tooth. This cigar is a real treat visually. There were no soft spots and this well packed cigar had a nice weight to it.

Flavor & Notes (xx/30): The prelight of the cigar has a delicious sweetness to it on the draw and the foot has a nice spice to it. As we smoke the first third of the cigar the spices are evident and they create a nice canvas for the notes of mocha and leather that accompany it. The second third of the smoke the spices are pretty much non-existent. The mocha notes really shine through here with a touch of leather. The final third of the cigar the spices kick up to create a nice spicy leathery finish.

Burn/Ash/Draw (xx/25): The cigar had a waviness to the burn line but being these smokes came back from New Orleans I am calling that acceptable. It never needed to be touched up. The cigar had a nice white ash with no flake but every time I began working on a long ash I bumped into something like a drunken sailor. It had the appearance that it would of held on fairly well. The draw was difficult and that was a tad annoying. But being these are pre-releases of a cigar that isn’t out for 2 months I will let it slide as well.

Overall (xx/25): These cigars don’t come out for 2 months and you call tell by smoking them they need age. For me to give this a score would be unfair, but the potential for this cigar is very high. I will give this cigar a proper review when they are available for retail which I believe will be in the 88-90 range.

Rating:N/A
Price: Unknown