And the most buzzed about cigar on the trade show floor…? The Rocky Patel 50th. It’s a bit shocking even to me given what else was released, but the combination of relative secrecy prior to the show, a high price tag and the Rocky factor seemed to combine into what was a barrage of people asking me random questions I had no answer to about Rocky’s newest creation. That, a few other new lines you probably know about and updates regarding EO Brands newest releases after the jump.

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601 La Bomba
It was supposed to be limited, just not his limited. The hope is at some point the production will pick up enough to support the demand, but the well-marketed EO Brands creation is, as of now, at the mercy of the production of My Father Cigars. The first two shipments are supposed to be very small, so it’s unclear how many shops will see La Bomba for the time being, particularly outside of the state of Florida.

601 White The other release from EO Brands, which Eddie Ortega sort of indicated as the successor to 601 Black, has been released. Unlike La Bomba, most should see this soon, if they haven’t already.

Java Mint
This will sell, I assure you. Plenty of buzz around the next Java.

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Murcielago Toro Grande
6 1/2 x 54 is the size. Not really a whole lot else going on here, have to wonder if some major/minor update is coming to the brand itself, but that’s just speculation.

Patel Brothers
It’s gone. For all I can say about Rocky and the vast amount of lines, at least something was cut.

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Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary Tubo
The 6 x 50 size of last year’s 15th Anniversary gets a Tubo. I will say, the Rocky Patel 15th that Patrick Vivalo gave me to smoke (after I voiced my thoughts on the cigar to him) was far better than what I was smoking eleven months ago. Definitely going to see if I’ve got some more of those left, but the difference was night and day.

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Rocky Patel 50th
Big MSRP, big buzz and I think big expectations. Rocky has said this is made in his “boutique” factory, which raises the bar expectations wise, I think. I haven’t smoked the cigar yet, but for what it’s worth the boxes look humidor-quality. This ships in October.

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Rocky Patel Vintage Cameroon 03
Same sizes and price points as the other Vintage line.

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Thunder by Nimish
Nimish finally gets his own cigar! Rumors floating around that there will be more from Nimish in 2012. For now, enjoy three sizes: Short Robusto (4 1/2 x 54), Toro (6 x 52) and Torpedo (6 1/4 x 52). And for those wondering, there is a thick pigtail on the Short Robusto.

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Zen by Nish Patel
The new Connecticut is one of the cigars that’s returned excitement to the Connecticut wrapper category. Review will be up at some point soon, but the short of it is, what was sent to me a few weeks ago was a good cigar.

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From what I had before the show (Thunder and Zen) and what I heard about during the show (Rocky Patel 50th), product is getting a lot better. Sales? Those seemed to be going well. — el niño diablo.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.