This is another one of those cigars that just seem to come out of nowhere. A couple of weeks ago, I had no idea Rocky Patel was even planning on releasing a double maduro. Most of my attention was focused on the new NUb cigars and the Camacho 10th Anniversary Corojo. (Neither of which I’ve had yet, dang it.) And then one day I was browsing the posts over at CigarLive and stumbled on a thread about this new cigar. One of the guys had scored some in a sampler and loved it.
That clinched it. I’d never heard of it and it sounded great. I had to review it. The problem is, how to get my hands on them. The only place that has them, Cigars International, has them all on back order. But with a little dumb luck, I scored a sampler off of Cigar Bid that included some. Now let’s see if it was worth the hassle.
Cigar Stats:
Size: 6 1/2 x 52
Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Smoking Time: 2 hours
Beverage: Water
Price: ~$8.00
Looks loose, but the draw tended to be tight
The Pre-Smoke
The first thing I noticed when I pulled these cigars out of the shipping box was that they are definitely not as dark as the pictures online show them. Not even close. They looked so much different that I actually went back and verified that I bought the right smokes.
With that initial surprise aside, it was time for a closer look at the cigar. The wrapper was a very mottled combination of dark and lighter browns, which probably accounts for the unexpected lightness of the cigar. Against this colorful background, the dual green and gold bands contrast nicely. Then I noticed the “Fusion MM” on the band. Does that mean “maduro maduro”, I wondered? Or did I just get some other version of the RP Fusion? Back once more to the website to verify I’m not crazy.
Having now doubly checked that I got the right cigar, I proceeded with my discussion. I also noticed how perfectly round the cigars seem. That isn’t to say that there weren’t prominent veins. There definitely were big thick ones covering the cigars. But as a whole, the cigars visually appeared to be flawlessly round. Each cigar was also nicely firm, with one exception. I did find a soft spot right at the end of the first third in one cigar.
The wrapper had a nice chocolaty barnyard aroma, but I noticed something faintly synthetic in the scent. Something a bit unnatural. After clipping the pruning the cap nicely with my cigar scissors I tested the cold taste. I got an interesting savory molasses flavor.
The Burn
I found the draw in these cigars to a bit on the tight side. A little more than I prefer, but very smokable. And generally speaking the cigars burned evenly, or within a comfortable margin of error.
As it turns out, that soft spot I noted earlier foreshadowed a re-light point in that cigar. And it went out again at the beginning of the final third. I didn’t have that trouble with the other cigars I smoked for this review.
The Flavor
I really did get noticeably different smoking experiences in the different cigars, so I’m going to focus on what they had in common. The first third was a great combination of creamy coffee, earth and chocolate. Interestingly, in the cigar that didn’t abruptly go at the end of the first third, the flavor just seemed to disappear. It almost tasted like the funky tap water. (I have to also note at this point I got beef jerky in one of the cigars too. Yeah, I know.)
At the beginning of the second third things took a turn for the worse when I tasted paint thinner in both cigars. It was only there for a couple of puffs, but it was really unpleasant. The rest of that third was all about creamy leather, chocolate and pockets of cinnamon. The final third finished out with a lot of creamy leather and dark chocolate.
By the end of each cigar, I noticed I was getting a fair amount of ammonia in the flavor and it started to irritate my throat. It was considerably worse in the cigar I photographed for this review. This prompted me to put it out to pasture a bit earlier than I usually do.
The Price
I noted above that the cigar goes for around $8, which is the per stick price if you buy them one at a time. The price comes in at closer to $7 if you buy them by the box. While that is a reasonable price for a good cigar, it seems to be a little high in this case.
The Verdict
I get the very distinct impression that this cigar was rushed. A lot. I haven’t encountered that much chemically, ammonia flavor in a cigar in a long time. I suspect that in the hurry to get these to market, some corners were cut in the fermentation process of the tobacco.
I’m probably giving you the distinct impression that I hated the cigar. I didn’t. In fact, when the chemical flavors weren’t present, it was a very tasty cigar. In fact, if those flavors didn’t appear, I’d give it a solid thumbs up. Perhaps with a little age, the remaining cigar will become a good smoke. I really don’t like the idea of having to age a cigar to make it smokable, but I don’t plan to smoke it anytime soon. Here’s hoping the next batch of these smokes will be made of tobacco that’s a bit better fermented.
Liked It: Yes and no
Buy It Again: I’ll wait a while
Recommend It: Not now
Tower of Burn
Here for your viewing pleasure is my trademark Tower of Burn.
Wow! Thanks for the heads up Brian. I’m going to take your advice and wait to try these.
Sounds like some aging would turn this cigar into a gem. I hate that ammonia irritation in the back of the throat. I’ve got some Oliveros cigars that had a horrible amount of ammonia and I’m letting them sit for a year. Hitting the 9 month mark now. Hoping that fixes the problem.
Which brings up an interesting questions Brian. I’m only assuming that aging them will get rid of the problem. What are your thoughts and experiences in the matter of ammonia and aging in your own humidor? I use a thermoelectric cooler as my humidor so I’m sure the cooler temperatures slow things a bit but it’s only at 62 degrees F. Barely cooling.
Dave
Good plan lucky7, I have high hopes for this cigar in the future.
Dave,
Yeah, I really think what these cigars need is age. I think with time these cigars, even in a smaller desktop humidor or your cooler should improve. But in a situation like this, what the tobacco really needed was more time fermenting before being rolled. That would have been the optimal way reduce the amount of ammonia in the cigars. I’m really not sure about the temperature, though. I would think that, as you say, the cooler temperature may slow the process down a bit.
I think this would make for a good YQMA discussion!
I think the way you describe every move you made in smoking this cigar, and your laughable descriptions makes people want to VOMIT! Just smoke the damn thing, and say yea or nea!!! “cholaty barnyard aroma”
give us a break……
Real men use their real name…
You know what makes me want to vomit:
http://idiot0406.blogspot.com/2008/04/jerrys-review-of-equus-limited-ligero.html
😉
Dear Real Men,
Unfortunately my incredible good looks and finely tuned palate has been known to cause jealousy and vomiting in people with weaker constitutions. I appreciate that you read the review in spite of such unpleasant symptoms.
In the future, I’d recommend keeping a bottle of Pepto-Bismol handy. And to address the self esteem and jealousy issues, perhaps you should pick up a copy of I’m OK, You’re OK. Best of luck with your problems!
Mitch,
Be nice. Perhaps “Real Men – Smoking Sticks” is actually his or her name. Could you imagine the hell you’d have to live through growing up with a name like “Smoking Sticks”?
Tom,
Truly excellent! That video is a classic, and deserves it’s own category of Oscar!
Look, there is nothing wrong with real men smoking sticks. If that’s the life they choose, who are we to judge? It doesnt make them bad people.
Hello, I just stumbled apon this site, surfing for Rocky Patel. I was turned on by this cigar about 4 months ago, and have tried a few different lines. I think it is one of the best brands I have ever smoked! I am Very new to any kind of discussion forum, and would love to start out here.( if thats ok?) Thanks’ much, and I look forward to furthering my education on an activity I truly love and enjoy.
Sincerely… Rob.
I found this while searching for something else and just so happened to have finished 2 RP Fusion MMs. The box of torpedos I received were much much darker than those pictured. A dark dark chocolate. The first one I smoked hit me kind of hard. I wasn’t prepared for that…they weren’t rumored to be that full and I’m a seasoned cigar smoker. So I couldn’t say whether it was the cigar, the Knob Creek, the empty stomach or maybe I was just light headed anyway. Stil a great smoke though. The second one I lit 2 days later (after I ate a light snack) and really enjoyed it. lots of flavor even burn, and a fair amount of complexity. Flavor profile changed at least 3 times maybe more.
I’m looking forward to what the last stick will be like in several months.
Dwight
Got a box of these the other day while waiting for my back-ordered Oliva Series Vs. The first cigar was disappointing — some odd taste that I couldnt’ describe. Maybe a bouquet of comet. It was nasty. I smoked it about a half-an-inch and then put it out of its misery. The second one was just as bad. Same fate. I can’t comment on the burn, since I didn’t let it live that long. The draw felt very tight — too tight for me. I just ran over to the cigar shop to get some other cigars to keep me going. As it is, these are a major rip off and I don’t know what I’m going to do with them. Bummer.
I tried one at a herf last weekend and had to dump it after about 4-5 minutes. Pathetic smoke hyped way too much.
So I just scored a box of the torpedos for $82. Looked like a nice investment to save for later. I wasn’t wowed with my first Rocky 92, but after solid redemption with the Olde World reserve (REALLY freakin’ good) I thought I’d take another look at some of the other RP offerings.
I scored some in a sampler pack and they had a very dark wrapper and seemed very firmly rolled, almost wooden. I got all pepper on the prelight, and pepper all the way through the burn, with coffee and a little cocoa underneath. The pepper was subdued a little about 1/2 way in, but came back strong. Not my favorite RP, but not bad at all (no ammonia by the way, but maybe these where produced a little later in the run)
Thanks for the update scott, I’ve been thinking about revisiting these in a video weekend update. I still have one left over from the ones I bought earlier this year. I’m interested to see how they are after an 8 month rest.
These are not good….I tossed it after the first third….
I just found this site looking for info on the Fusion Double Maduro. I got this in a sampler from
C.I. and even though I prefer milder cigars I found this one enjoyable. I am new at this so I don’t know if I carry any weight, but I thought I would throw my hat in the ring.
I picked up a sampler with these in it also. I don’t rember smoking he first one it didn’t stand out at all. Well diging around in the odds & ends tray I came across one. Well it’s two plus year nap in the humidor made this in to one of the best smokes I have ad this year