It seems like the Year of the Dragon is becoming Year of the Cigar.
Originally Davidoff cornered the market on cigars celebrating the Chinese New Year but recently other companies have been taking part in the tradition of releasing a cigar celebrating that year. . Joining Davidoff this year is Rocky Patel, La Galera, Plasencia, Oliva, Liga Privada and Gurkha to name a few. However, Gurkha didn’t want to play with others and they launched a lawsuit vs Davidoff crying of copyright infringement over the mark Dragon, and they tried to trademark Year of the Dragon. That lawsuit won’t be heard until September 2025. So what should be a joyous time for cigar smokers is being marred by what looks like a greedy mentality of a manufacturer.
The Rocky Patel Year of the Dragon 2024 is available in three sizes, Robusto Grande (5 1/2 x 52 – Duty Free Exclusive), Toro (6 1/2 x 52 – USA Exclusive), Robusto (5 x 50 – International Exclusive)
The USA Exclusive Toro is limited to 6,000 boxes of 10 cigars.
Cigar Review: Rocky Patel Year of the Dragon 2024
Size: 6 x 52 (Toro)
Wrapper: Mexico San Andres
Binder: Dual USA (Connecticut Broadleaf & Unknown)
Fillers: Nicaragua (Condega, Esteli & Jalapa), Honduras (Jamastran)
Factory: Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A.
Release Date: April 2024
Box Count: 10
The Cigar: The Rocky Patel Year of the Dragon features dual bands of red and gold. The secondary band was so beautiful we added a picture of it at the end of the review. The dark San Andres wrapper has some nice toothy appearance with some subtle oils. In the hand the cigar has no soft spots, a slightly spongy foot and a slightly less then average weight to it.
The Taste: The prelight draw has a subtle marshmallow fluff to it with an abundance of leather and mocha. The foot is loaded with cedar notes and the tobacco seems well aged. The Year of the Dragon started off with mineral notes and a subtle nuttiness to it. Around the time of the picture the mineral notes faded away.
Smoking the first third this medium bodied cigar continues to have a nuttiness to it with the additional of mochal and leather. The retrohale serves up notes of black pepper and sesame seeds which is new to me in a cigar. The flavors are constant but lack a richness.
The second third sees notes of black pepper make their way to the palate witch such earthiness and the mineral aspect of the first inch or so begins to come back. There is a subtle mocha that shows up from time to time, but never constant enough to make an impression on the overall taste of the cigar. The retrohale is less aggressive with subtle pepper and lychee nuts.
The last third is earthy with a subtle floral component and leather finish. While the cigar was med-full throughout I can feel the strength in this final third. There are additional notes of oak, and a subtle cinnamon as the cigar closes out. As we move past the band the pepper on the retrohale intensifies.
Conclusion: We don’t let pricing factor into our scores but $35.00 seems like an inflated price especially given the pricing that is normally attached to Rocky Patel Cigars. I’ve begun referring to this as COVID pricing, because it seems like after the pandemic cigar pricing has gone through the roof. It’s been document that cigar factories are struggling to keep employees and wages have gone up nut not nearly enough for the pricing to be where it is at today.
The Rocky Patel Year of the Dragon while a good cigar isn’t a memorable cigar. I’ve been looking forward to smoking this one so maybe I built it up in my mind, but I don’t know if I will smoke another one until it has about a years worth of age on it.
Score: 88
Price: $35.00
Small Batch Cigar has the Rocky Patel Year of the Dragon in stock at the time of this review. You can use coupon code: BARRELBURNER and save 10%.
