Here we have the Rocky Patel Edge Missile, weighing in at 5×48 and in a maduro wrapper. The Edge is available in both maduro and corojo wrappers, each in Toro (6×52), Torpedo (6×52) and Missile (5×48) sizes. Though I have no first-hand evidence, I have been told that these now sport a band on the foot because some retailers were passing bundles off as these when they were out-of-stock. So take that bit of information with the same grain of salt that goes with any he-said, she-said information.
Pre-light the wrapper appeared dark and oily with one medium-sized vein running the length of the cigar. The give, when squeezed, is virtually nil. This cigar is near hard as a rock with only a couple of small spaces with any additional give. At this point I’m going through what else I have in my humidor that might be smokable, dreading the draw that is to follow clipping the cap. To my surprise, after snipping the head the draw is perfect. I love it when that happens. 🙂
The foot lights quickly and easily and the first few draws deliver the nice, earthy maduro flavors with just a bit of sweetness from the wrapper. The burn starts off a bit uneven, but leaves behind a very attractive light-gray and very firm ash. The sweetness from the wrapper disappears within the first inch being replaced with the rich, earthy maduro flavors that I have come to love.
The second third brings more of the same earth maduro flavors with hints of cocoa, something I’ve almost come to expect from a fine maduro-wrapped cigar. Speed really has to be watched with this cigar, smoking faster than it wants gives a harsh and bitter flavor that is not to be enjoyed. I’m not a big Rocky Patel fan in general, with only the Vintage 1999 really catching my fancy to date (not so much the 1990 or 1992). Given that this cigars is advertised as ‘not for beginners’ I was expecting a super full body and a nicotine kick from hell. However, I found the body to be just on the full side of medium, building to a full but not what I was expecting.
The finish is long, with the earthy maduro flavors lingering on the palate. I’m still really fighting to keep the burn straight, somewhat distracting from the otherwise pleasant flavors. After a few more minutes I draw tired of fighting the burn and opt to allow the cigar to extinguish itself in the ashtray. I’ve got a couple more of these in the humidor, and while these have already been sitting for a couple of months I’ll allow the others to sit a while longer. Hopefully the additional humidor time will help the burn to straighten out, the construction seems otherwise very good. At roughly $4/each I could see these as a welcome addition to the lineup, but not if I have to fight the burn like this every time.
Brian-
This line: “I was expecting a super full body and a nicotine kick from hell. However, I found the body to be just on the full side of medium”
… is nearly identical to my experience with this the
Rocky Patel Edge
Jerry or someone can you fix the link? I think the Stogie Guys meant to put:
http://stogieguys.com/2007/01/010807-stogie-reviews-rocky-patel-edge-missile-corojo.html
Kirk,
Thanks for catching that, I took care of it
-Walt
LOL @ Kirk…I was in the midst of fixing it…Patrick just forgot to put the “http” part in the link so WordPress assumed it was referring back to our site. All fixed.
My bad!
the edge is my favorite of the rocky line. i have tried almost all of them. all but the edge have been flawed in construction. some were wound too tight, others had the wrappers breaking, the last straw was having three vintage 90’s bust down the middle during smokage. i know how to handle cigars, so that doesn’t seem to be a problem. i think rocky notoriously over does his production rates and puts out less than stellar cigars. the price is what more companies should be getting at if they could just get the quality right.
I smoked one of these a few months back; I don’t remember much, but I do remember how hard this thing was and my amazement after I noticed the draw was fine. I cant say much about flavor, but surely don’t let the feel of the edges scare you off.
This is a really great smoke. Between the Corojo and the Maduro, I tend to lean toward the Maduro but both are very well made and well worth the price. They have gone up but I remember buying them for $5 when they first arrived. My box of Maduros just arrived today.
This is currently my favorite smoke, particularly the Corojo. Full flavor, long lasting, but don’t think I agree with the marketing hype about the kick, either.
I was disappointed with The Edge Maduro and The Edge Lite. Both seemed to die halfway through and neither were unique, interesting or even close to as strong as they are advertised to be. I can think of at least three maduros that are similar but better and less expensive. I also had burn issues with the maduro but none with the Lite.
I found the Edge Lite to be a wonderful cigar. Although mild in strength it is long in flavor. Very creamy taste. Lot’s of aromatic smoke. Good structure, no blems. The ash went clunk when it dropped.