Rocky Patel Vintage 2006 San Andreas cigars are made with a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua. This cigar is available in several sizes, including a Robusto (5½ x 50) which was sampled for this review. The cigar was introduced in 2017, and 5-packs of Robustos were selling for around $49 near the end of 2020.
The Vintage 2006 San Andreas cigar began with a predominate peppery flavor and a hint of sweetness. Right off the start, the cigar had a great draw which delivered a generous volume of smoke. The body was at the lower end of the medium-to-full range. After several puffs, the peppery taste moderated just a bit, and notes of sweetness were joined by subtle spices as a cedar flavor also began to emerge.
After 15 minutes, the pepper continued to moderate as the sweet spice tastes faded. Earth and cedar flavors became more noticeable. A minor touch-up was applied around this time to keep the burn perfectly even. After another 10 minutes, cedar emerged as the predominate flavor. During the next few minutes, the pepper began to ramp up again, and the remainder of the cigar delivered a pretty consistent peppery-cedar flavor.
The Vintage 2006 San Andreas Robusto took me 50 minutes to smoke down to two inches remaining. I usually end most smoking sessions at that point, but I was able to squeeze out another 10 minutes after relighting the cigar, and smoking it down to about 1½ inches remaining. If the taste doesn't start to go bad, then there's no reason not to continue (as long as you can still hold the cigar, that is). Overall, the cigar had a very good draw, held a long ash and had a mostly even burn. I rate it with a very good and rock(y) solid 4 points on a 5-point scale.
