 The history of Rocky Patel cigars could be described as a love story, one that takes an average Hollywood attorney with a passion for cigars and turns him into a multimillion dollar cigar brand. When smoking a Rocky Patel cigar, you can’t help but reflect on the fact that anyone can realize their dreams, no matter where they come from, as long as they have a belief in what they are doing, and a zest for the day to day work and sweat that will get them closer to their goals.
When Rocky Patel decided to leave his law practice behind, which included such clients as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gene Hackman to pursue his new found love for cigars, people thought he had lost his mind. Unlike most cigar manufacturers, Rocky did not have a family history of growing, blending, and rolling tobacco. All he had was a desire to learn the industry from the ground up, and a work ethic that got him through the trenches during his humble beginnings. Starting from field and barn work in Honduras, Rocky had a lust for learning the industry, and put a lot of hard time into creating what is now over a $25 million dollar brand.
In the 1990’s, Rocky introduced the Indian Tabac blend after teaming up with the Plasencia family, one of the largest tobacco growers in Nicaragua. He worked with this line of cigars while keeping his law practice for over a decade. In 1999, Rocky moved to Florida and sold his practice. After visiting hundreds of cigar shops and realizing that most of the hard core customers were serious cigar coinsurers, his focused turned to quality assurance. After a few years of acquiring skills in quality control with regards to growing, aging, blending, and rolling of his tobacco products, Rocky released the first Rocky Patel cigar line.
The Rocky Patel Company does not own any plantations or factories. All of the materials are purchased from growers, the Plasencia family, and produced in El Paraiso, Honduras. Rocky’s relationship with the Plasencia family can be defined as a joint venture in the way that the Plasencia’s grow the tobacco in several countries, and Rocky has the first right of refusal on all of their shipments. Rocky Patel has carte blanche in the manufacturing process and stays on top of every aspect of production, all the way up to fermentation techniques.
What does this mean for consumers? We know that Rocky is allowed to do what he wants with his controls and processes, which facilitate him to “take his passion and run with it.” When you smoke a Rocky Patel cigar, you aren’t smoking just a brand name that’s been around for centuries…but you are experiencing first hand a truly special lady that Rocky has fought long and hard for, and has groomed with his own hands to satisfy the most experienced of palates when it comes to cigar smoking.
Recognitions/Ratings/Statistics
Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 and Vintage 1992 series: “Best of the Best” from Robb Report.
Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robusto was rated 92 by Cigar Aficionado
Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 Torpedo was rated 90 by Cigar Aficionado
Rocky Patel Decade cigar achieved a classic 95 rating by Cigar Aficionado. The Decade marked the 10th year of their business.
As of 2006, Rocky Patel Premium Cigar Company's annual sales exceeded $25 million.
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