Shape: Toro Grande
Origin: Honduras
Body: Medium - Full
Wrapper: Costa Rican Maduro
Binder: Mexican
Filler: Nicaraguan
Smoke Clock: 1 hr 25 min
Plopping down at one of my usual park benches amidst the meager number of families at the lake, I pulled out my Rocky Patel Nording and took it in with the surroundings.
My first glance at this cigar made me want to skip all the foreplay and get right to the smoke. The wrapper on this cigar is absolutely beautiful. Consistent color, seamless, smooth, and oily, the wrapper on Nording cried out to me, “Please smoke me!”
Before I gave in completely to this wily wrapper, I forced myself to take a whiff. Delicious wafts of sweet leather, earth, and spice glided through my nose and made me start salivating like a black dog on a hot day.
Unable to wait any longer, I snipped the end and took a draw. The very first thing I tasted was sweet iced tea. Inexplicable in an unflavored cigar, yet it was there. Another draw revealed leather and spice and… sweet tea.
At this point, waiting any longer to light this puppy would’ve been unbearable so, giving in, I lit up. Reading directly from my notes, the first word I wrote down was “heaven.” With plenty of pepper on the lips and palate, the first light profile rounded out with leather, oak, and cedar notes with a hint of that sweet tea I detected in the pre-light draw. The body started out round and robust and solidly medium.
As the first quarter progressed, wood & nut notes became formidable players in the profile. Spice continued to be a presence on the palate and through the nose with compost notes joining in. Towards the beginning of the second quarter, chocolate and coffee notes began to creep in with hints of toffee. Mmm mmm!
Cocoa and coffee with a sweet toffee background emerged as dominant in the flavor profile in the second quarter. This cigar was proving to be quite an incredible ride! A lot of the spice had abated by this point, giving way to evolving coffee notes towards the third quarter. Progressing through the second quarter, I noticed that there was a natural sweetness felt on the lips which made every puff that much more delectable.
The third quarter continued the trend set by the second quarter, but continued to evolve. This was most noticeable towards the end as cocoa and spice began to overtake the coffee notes and the sweetness ramped back up. This trend continued through the long and satisfying finish of this fantastic smoke.
This cigar held my complete attention throughout the entirety of the smoke, nearly blinding me to the babbling of the creek nearby or the playing of children and parents in said creek. My environment did effect me, however. Playing outside in the sun and amongst nature tends to bring out my artistic side, but this cigar moved me to poetry. If I may:
(Clears his throat)
Roses are red
Cigar smoke is blue
Nording is sweet
So pick up a few!
(Takes a bow)
Rating:
Presentation: 4/5 – Excellent design running with the Viking theme, the band features two butting rams which, for me, invokes a Viking energy. Great use of color and contrast on the double bands.
Appearance: 4/5 – The wrapper was seamless, oily, smooth, and exhibited a beautiful dark red/brown color which was very consistent all over. This is pretty impressive considering the size of this stick. Absolutely mouth watering.
Construction: 42/45 – The pack was firm, leaving the draw feeling a bit tight, but the tight draw proved to be an illusion once I started smoking. The burn was pretty wavy but never presented any real problems.
Flavor: 43/45 – This blend blew my socks off, offering lots of sweetness and evolution throughout the smoke. A mind blowing blend to say the least.
Overall: 93/100 – I thoroughly enjoyed this smoke and will definitely be picking up another. From the first glance at this cigar until the time you set it down, the Rocky Patel Nording does not disappoint. This cigar is a cut above the rest and, in this reviewers opinion, cannot be beat at its price point.
-DH
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