Finding Balance in the Rocky Patel Number 6 Toro

Cigar Reviewed: Rocky Patel Number 6

Smoked at: Long Beach, Mississippi

Rocky Patel has a way of putting out blends that carry his stamp but still find a way to stand apart. The Number 6, rolled at the El Paraiso factory in Honduras, leans heavily on Honduran tobacco with a Corojo wrapper, Honduran binder, and fillers from Honduras and Nicaragua. It is very much a Honduran-forward cigar, and that shows from the start.

The Toro I smoked had a medium brown wrapper with a soft sheen of oil and a clean presentation. The tall black and gold band makes a statement, and the secondary footer band adds some extra polish. After a straight cut, the cold draw gave me sweet natural tobacco with a little earth and even a faint fruit like sweetness.

Once lit, the cigar opened with sweet tobacco, cedar, and earth along with a light floral trace in the background. Pepper stayed soft early on and was mostly noticeable in the retrohale. Moving into the middle portion, the sweetness pulled back and cedar and earth took more of the spotlight. A touch of bitterness slipped in but it did not upset the balance. The pepper built slowly and gave the profile more energy as it went along.

By the final third, pepper had stepped forward to sit alongside the natural tobacco. Sweetness and bitterness shared space without either taking over, while earth and cedar stayed steady in the background. The finish was warm, balanced, and flavorful enough to keep me interested until the end.

The burn line wandered and needed a few touch ups, though it never became unmanageable. The ash held fairly firm and the draw was excellent with just the right resistance and plenty of smoke. In terms of strength, the cigar stayed medium from start to finish while the flavors leaned closer to medium to full in body.

Overall, the Number 6 Toro was smooth, flavorful, and consistent. It starts off sweeter than expected but evens out quickly and holds a steady profile all the way through. It may not be a cigar that breaks new ground, but it is one I would gladly smoke again. For me, it falls in the category of worth a try, enjoyable without necessarily calling for a box purchase.

I would be interested to hear if others found the smaller vitolas to smoke any differently.