#NowSmoking: Rocky Patel The Edge 20th Anniversary

#NowSmoking: Rocky Patel The Edge 20th Anniversary Cigar Review (Video)

Cigar Details:

Factory: El Paraiso., Honduras
Size: 5 ½” x 50 (Robusto)
Strength: Medium-plus/Full
Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
Binder: Honduras Broadleaf
Filler: Honduras and Panama

Presented in boxes of 20

Rocky Patel The Edge 20th Anniversary Backstory

The Edge 20^th Anniversary honors the period when Rocky Patel first conceived the Edge cigar. A short two years later, The Edge debuted without bands—or any other identifying characteristics—and available in 100 count rustic, wooden trays. Looking back, what made the release remarkable was that its presentation was entirely unremarkable.

Rocky later said about The Edge, “people laughed…they said it wouldn’t sell.”

Fast forward to the present, and The Edge is one of Rocky’s most popular and enduring cigar lines and has expanded to include 7 variations. And since 2006, The Edge cigars now sport foot bands—to easier identify the blends—and come in 20 count boxes.

Cigar Basics

The packaging for The Edge 20^th Anniversary looks the part of a cigar celebrating a milestone—as in, it’s dressed to the nines with dual bands with an oxblood, white, and gold color scheme. The Edge 20^th features an all-new blend consisting of a 10-year-old Ecuador Sumatra Maduro wrapper over a Honduran binder and long fillers from Honduras and Panama. The cigar is firmly packed, and the wrapper is dark brown and silky smooth with some visible veins.

Rocky Patel The Edge 20th Anniversary Review

Rocky Patel The Edge 20^th begins with significant white pepper—the kind of pepper that can catch you off guard and that you feel in the back of your throat. The pepper settles in quickly, and baking spices make an appearance—cinnamon and ginger, kind of like a ginger snap cookie—with roasted nuts, and earthiness right on their tail. As the first stages of the Rocky Patel The Edge 20^th Anniversary draws to a close, the strength is medium-plus, and the construction is flawless with the ash resembling a stack of dimes.

As The Edge 20^th Anniversary transitioned into the second half, I picked up additional notes of baking chocolate, natural tobacco sweetness, and some general floral elements. The blend is now nearly full-bodied, and the smoke is fragrant, dense, and has a creaminess to it.

Overall, and I mean this in a good way—Rocky Patel The Edge 20^th Anniversary didn’t surprise me. I anticipated the cigar to be loaded with flavors and transitions, to be balanced, and to have demonstrably good construction—and in each instance The Edge 20^th lived up to expectations.

Are Rocky Patel The Edge 20th Anniversary Cigars Worth Buying?

I’d definitely recommend the Edge 20^th Anniversary to Rocky Patel’s many legions of rabid fans. It’s especially a no-brainer for those enthusiasts that routinely smoke The Edge Sumatra blend, but extending past that, fans of the entire The Edge lineup should try the 20^th Anniversary.

As for the completists—i.e., those that want to smoke every RP The Edge cigar or every RP Anniversary blend—and those stronger cigar devotees, you won’t regret giving the Rocky Patel The Edge 20^th Anniversary a try.