Rocky Patel Edge A-10

In 2014, the Rocky Patel Edge, the company’s most popular cigar and one of the most popular cigars on the market, celebrated its 10th anniversary. To commemorate that moment, the company decided to release the Edge A-10, a limited barberpole version of the 6 x 52 toro. It combined the Honduran corojo and Honduran maduro wrappers that are used on the Edge Corojo and Maduro for the special cigar.

I reviewed the special edition Edge last July and I wasn’t particularly impressed:

The Rocky Patel Edge A-10 was a bit pedestrian, but that’s fine. I found it to be smoother, more balanced and fuller than the memories I’ve had smoking a few different versions of The Edge over the last few years, which is fine for me, but potentially too much for your everyday The Edge smoker. I think this would be a very good candidate for those looking to pair with fuller-bodied rums and whiskeys, as I think things could use some smoothing out. I’ve got a couple saved for a redux down the road as I’m interested to see what the cigar would do without some of the rougher and metallic notes. I enjoyed the cigar a bit more than the score likely indicates, but the constant touch-ups are punishing under our scoring system.

• Cigar Reviewed: Rocky Patel The Edge A-10
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: El Paraiso
• Wrapper: Honduran Corojo & Maduro
• Binder: Honduras
• Filler: Panama & Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $7.50 (Boxes of 20, $150)
• Release Date: May 13, 2015
• Number of Cigars Released: n/a
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 1

The cigar slides out of the cellophane easily enough. It’s a relatively mild aroma all things considered with some dry pistachio, sweet brown sugar and raisins—one step away from an oatmeal breakfast. The nose has more of the brown sugar, now joined by some fruitiness and cedar. As for the cold draw, it’s quite different. There’s a mild melted chocolate ice cream, some mint flavors and orange peel. The flavors are a bit muted, but they blend together.

Things start quite pleasant with an interesting mixture of Basmati rice, cedar and a mild bitter cocoa. It’s smooth and definitely umami-forward with no real pepper. When taking my time with the A-10, I’m able to find a pleasant mixture dominated by cedar with some more of that mild bitter cocoa in the first third. I’m no longer able to detect the specific starchy flavor, but there’s certainly one in there. A pepper builds, particularly when the cigar is pushed, but it’s never too overwhelming and stays entirely on the back of the throat. In the second third, the starchiness increases quite a bit, begin to overwhelm the cedar flavor. It’s joined by some pistachio, coffee beans and some peanut butter-like sweetness. The pepper is still present, but it’s now in the tongue and now a white pepper. The flavor is still very much medium-full, although it’s now much more noticeable in the retrohale as opposed to the mouth. Towards the transition into the final third, there’s a bit of a lemon cracker-like sweet citrus flavor, unfortunately, I need to push the cigar to get there and it reveals a chalkiness on the back end. In the final third, the pepper returns to the back end while staying in the mid-tongue, making for a much spicier cigar. Retrohales also become a bit more punishing with the pepper leading the charge before the umami flavors come in underneath.

If there’s one thing I distinctly remember from smoking this cigar last summer it’s that I had quite a few burn issues with it. Needless to say, when a piece of the wrapper wasn’t burning at an even rate shortly into the first inch of the cigar, I wasn’t particularly excited. The good news is, that was it. After that the cigar burned, albeit slowly, without issue. Strength starts medium with a medium-full body, but towards the final third, the strength of the Rocky Patel picked up to medium-full while the body flirted with full.

Rocky Patel Premium Cigars advertises on halfwheel.