The Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon is a noteworthy cigar, especially for enthusiasts who appreciate the unique characteristics of a Cameroon wrapper. Each cigar in the Vintage series has a different wrapper. There are five offerings for the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon.
One of the four cigars that a part of this release was a new addition to the Vintage series. This cigar - the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon features (as the name indicates) a cameroon wrapper. From a personal standpoint, I am a huge fan of the cameroon wrapper and the natural sweetness it could add to a cigar. I was curious to see whether or not the this cigar would live up to the IPCPR Rocky Patel hype as well as my high expectations for a cameroon wrapper cigar.
These hurdles have not stopped Rocky Patel from creating his namesake brand: the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon. According to Patel, it's wrapped in a Cameroon cover leaf harvested from a 2003 crop, so stocks of raw materials are limited, but he was sure to blend the cigar properly. Its mélange of Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos serve to showcase and exalt the rare wrapper, which is delightfully sweet-and-sour in character.
Initial Impressions and Construction
It’s not often you see a cigar with three bands, but this one has that going on. The primary band of blue and white denotes Rocky Patel, the secondary one utilizing the same color scheme denotes Vintage 2003 Cameroon Box Press and the last one at the foot with the colors reversed states that this is a Special Edition Box-Pressed. As far as the cigar, it is an exquisite look box pressed with a nearly flawless looking wrapper and cap.
The Cameroon is a nice looking stick. A mottled, oily, dark coffee bean wrapper with a seamless appeal and only a few small veins. It looks like a double cap but it is so impeccably constructed, I can’t be positive. The cigar is relatively jam packed with one soft spot near the cap. I have only one cigar and I’ve saved it for review so fingers crossed nothing goes wrong. On top of that, I don’t recollect ever smoking one. I love the metallic blue double bands. Very snazzy.
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Flavor Profile and Tasting Notes
Cigar Review | Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon
Once the cigar is lit to me it is obvious how different the box press makes the Cameroon edition of the Rocky Patel Vintage Series. There is some citrus notes that slowly fade as we work into the first third of the Box Pressed Edition. In the second third of the cigar the notes of vanilla, cinnamon, grand mariner continue but the one thing that really stands out around the halfway point is the aroma of the cigar which matches the Creme Brûlée notes of the first third of the cigar.
The last third of the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon Box Press the cigar changes slightly, as the Gran Marnier notes have fade away, what is left is a classic Cameroon and a cigar that is much close to its non box press relative.
The notes of Grand Marnier are very different for a cigar and it worked for me. Woody taste comes into play along with the leather after about an inch. Flavors really stayed consistent throughout the first third with the leather and wood being the only main flavors I tasted. Starting the second third of the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon and it is definitely a medium strength right now. Well this review seems to be very short but the cigar is staying with the wood and leather notes so far. Really a good smoking cigar if you like these flavors, which I do. Here at the end, no surprise, nothing really changed.
The Look: It’s not often you see a cigar with three bands, but this one has that going on. The primary band of blue and white denotes Rocky Patel, the secondary one utilizing the same color scheme denotes Vintage 2003 Cameroon Box Press and the last one at the foot with the colors reversed states that this is a Special Edition Box-Pressed. As far as the cigar, it is an exquisite look box pressed with a nearly flawless looking wrapper and cap.
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The Notes: The nose of the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 reminds me a little bit of an egg cream, which is something very New York, especially Brooklyn. It’s basically chocolate milk and seltzer and that’s what I get off the foot of the cigar.
Burn and Draw
For the burn and draw attributes, the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon scores high marks. This had a razor-sharp burn throughout the smoking experience. It required very little in the way of touch-ups and it burned at a perfect rate and perfect temperature. The draw was as good as a draw can get.
The Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon Box Press has a nice draw to it, with a slight resistance. The ash holds strong, although it is very flaky it remained on the stick for a 1/4 at a time. The burn line is true with a thin carbon line.
Overall Experience
While the flavor profile remained pretty consistent throughout the smoke of the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon, it did produce some outstanding flavor. One thing I mentioned above with the pre-light draw is it wasn’t very complex. This theme holds true throughout the cigar experience.
Of all the Rocky Patel Vintage smokes the Cameroon is my favorite in aesthetics as I like the color combination of blue and white, but also because I enjoy the rich taste that this one delivers.
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Would I buy them again? Yes. I really liked the solid performance and really a solid flavor profile throughout. I was a little surprised by this stick and really look forward to picking them up again.
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tags: #Cameroon
