Rockey Patel Emerald cigars are made in Nicaragua with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, two binders (one from Nicaragua and the other from Mexico), and a blend of filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and Honduras. These cigars became available during 2024 in three box pressed sizes including a Toro (6½ x 52) that was priced at just over $12 per stick at the time of this review. For more information about these cigars, please visit RockyPatel.com.

The Rocky Patel Emerald Toro started off with a very pleasant and naturally sweet tobacco flavor. After 10 minutes, the delightful sweet flavor continued and was smooth, mellow, and medium bodied. Within another 10 minutes, a minor touch-up was needed to keep the burn even, and the sweet flavor was beginning to fade just a bit. At the 25-minute mark, I ashed the cigar for the first time when modest earthy and leathery flavors began to emerge. Five minutes later, another touch-up was needed. During the first 30 minutes of the smoking session, I would rate the flavor as excellent and worthy of a 4.5-point rating on a 5-point scale.

After 35 minutes of smoking, the earth and leather flavors were becoming more predominant and the sweetness continued to fade. Ten minutes later at the 45-minute mark, a third touch-up was required. During the 15 minute period between 30 and 45-minutes, the flavor was gradually slipping but was still worthy of a superior rating of 4.25 points.

At the 50-minute point, I ashed the cigar for the second time. The flavor was now predominately earth and leather with only hints of natural tobacco sweetness. The earth and leather flavors then remained pretty much consistent thereafter as the sweetness continued to fade away.

I ashed the cigar for the third time at the 70-minute mark, and then applied a fourth touch-up about five minutes later. I continued smoking until the cigar went out by itself with just under 2 inches remaining, after a total smoke time of 90 minutes. During the last 45 minutes of the cigar (between 45 and 90 minutes), the flavor slipped but managed to hang on to a very good 4 points.

Overall, the Rocky Patel Emerald Toro was a superior cigar worthy of a superior rating of 4.25 points on a 5-point scale. The first 30 to 45 minutes were the most enjoyable, but the flavor during the last half of the cigar dropped off. The cigar did have a great draw and held a long ash, but the burn was uneven at times and required several touch-ups. However, no relights were needed. Again, this was a medium-bodied cigar with a delightful naturally sweet tobacco flavor that can be enjoyed by virtually all levels of cigar smokers, including beginners.