Rockey Patel Gold Label was the first cigar released in his Crown Series (named after precious metals and gemstones). The Gold Label cigar is made in Nicaragua with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, two binders (Connecticut Shade and Connecticut Broadleaf), and a blend of filler tobaccos from Nicaragua. These cigars became available during July 2024 in four box pressed sizes including a Toro (6½ x 54) that was priced at just under $13 per stick at the time of this review. For more information about these cigars, please visit RockyPatel.com.

The Rocky Patel Gold Label Toro started off with a virtual explosion of flavors including pepper, spice and a good dose of natural tobacco sweetness. To use one of the brand's sayings from many years ago, this cigar really delivers “a party in your mouth”, and more so than any other Rocky Patel cigar that I have smoked during the last two decades.

After 15 minutes, I applied a minor touch-up to keep the burn even. The flavor was still sweet and spicy at this point, and the pepper had tamed down just a bit. The cigar was medium-to-full bodied and most definitely full of flavor.

After 25 minutes into the smoking session, I ashed the cigar for the first time. The flavor was still predominately sweet and spicy as the peppery taste continued to moderate. Five minutes later, a second touch-up was applied. At the 40-minute mark, the flavors became more balanced and were not quite as pronounced as at the start, but the cigar was still full of flavor. About 10 minutes later, I ashed the cigar for the second time and applied a third touch-up.

After one hour of smoking time, the pepper and spice had moderated enough to notice flavors of leather and earth along with a lingering natural sweetness. Ten minutes afterwards, I ashed the cigar for the third time and applied a fourth touch-up. At this point, the mix of flavors were still very complex and enjoyable, but not as explosive as they were previously. At the 85-minute mark, I had to apply a fifth touch-up light. Then 15 minutes later, after 100 minutes of total smoking time, the cigar went out by itself with two inches remaining.

I enjoyed the Rocky Patel Gold Label Toro cigar from start to finish. The cigar was full of flavors that were explosive to a degree beyond most other cigars. It also had a great draw that delivered a nice volume of smoke and the cigar held a long ash, but the burn was uneven at times and required several touch-ups but no relights. I rate it with an excellent 4.5 points on a 5-point scale. This is a medium-to-full bodied cigar recommended for seasoned cigar smokers, but it is not a cigar for newbies.