In 2018, Rocky Patel released the First Edition of his A.L.R. line, which stands for Aged, Limited and Rare.
Restricted to just 10,000 cigars, the buzz was so intense for this release that Rocky followed it up with a Second Edition in 2019, this time limited to 120,000 cigars, entirely box-pressed and fabricated in small batches.
The Second Edition uses a blend of aged tobaccos grown on Patel’s own Condega and Estelí farms in Nicaragua and in Honduras. But then Rocky goes one step further and sequesters the finished sticks in fragrant cedar bins inside a locked aging room for two additional years, adding a discernible maturation and complexity and delivering a legendary cigar that’s made waves in the industry.
Only 10 veteran rollers at Rocky’s Nicaraguan Tavicusa factory are permitted to craft this edition of the A.L.R. line, which features a hearty, dark Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper around the aforementioned select tobaccos, bound by Nicaraguan leaf.
An extremely smooth and refined medium-bodied smoke, the A.L.R. Second Edition features rich chocolate and nutty flavors, along with essence of vanilla bean and refreshing hints of shredded coconut.
The Toro vitola of the A.L.R. Second Edition took the number five spot on the Cigar Aficionado Top 25 list for 2019, with a rating of 94. These are sophisticated cigars that are worth the relatively steep price, not just for their pedigree, but also for the time and care they took to make; consider them top-of-the-line representations of the Rocky Patel brand.