Rocky Patel Connecticut Toro

Rocky Patel has the Midas touch – any blend he releases is as good as gold. Over the years, his blends have tended toward the fuller-bodied and highly complex, but his Connecticut line was produced as an intentional counterpoint, providing an easy going, milder blend. A handcrafted cigar of Honduran tobaccos hand rolled in Danli, Honduras, it boasts long leaf fillers ensconced beneath a Connecticut-shade wrapper, delivering a consistent flavor profile that holds solidly from the moment you light it right on down to the nub. Look for subtle notes of cedar and a touch of leather in this mild-to-medium-bodied cigar. Above all, what you get here is simply the clean, crisp simplicity of top notch premium tobacco. If you're a fan of the milder cigars, this just might become your new favorite. Even if you prefer bigger-bodied smokes, this cigar provides enough character to perhaps recast your attention toward the milder side. Our panel enjoyed this with a summer ale while out on the patio.

Honduras has been a tobacco growing and cigar manufacturing area for hundreds of years, but it was the Communist revolution in Cuba that really put Honduras on the map. In the 1960s, many Cuban cigar makers fled their homeland and arrived in Honduras to re-establish their way of life. The immigrants took advantage of the climate, soil, and geography, which were well-suited to tobacco growing, and began producing high quality cigars. The center of the Honduran cigar industry is the city of Danli and the nearby Jamastran Valley. The majority of the world’s pure Corojo tobacco is grown here, now that Cuba has stopped production of this iconic, spicy, and rich variety in favor of Corojo hybrids. Other important areas of Honduran cigar production include the Talanga Valley, Copan, and Trojes.