For more than a decade, cigar industry pioneer Rocky Patel harbored a vision that eventually became a pet project: the crafting of a unique small-batch cigar, rolled exclusively by four of his top torcedores in Patel’s Estelí, Nicaragua factory (with a combined 130 years of cigarmaking experience between them).
Production would be limited to 50,000 cigars total (with each pair of torcedores assembling no more than 250 sticks per day). Five different filler tobaccos would be sourced from five storied farms in Estelí and Condega, Nicaragua, dating all the way back to 2014 and undergoing meticulous aging. Two Nicaraguan binders and an oily Mexican San Andréan wrapper would be utilized, the latter fermented in old palm leaves according to the old Terciario Cuban method of generations ago.
At last, in 2024, Rocky brought his long-held dream to life, just as described above. The end product of this vision is the Rocky Patel Conviction, a 6.5-inch-long, 52-ring-gauge stick offering a world-class smoking experience that’s simply unparalleled in its refinement and complexity. Divine essences of honey, chocolate, caramel, coffee, espresso, and lingering spices are delivered in a decadent, flavorful, complex, yet balanced product that’s box-pressed and as close to ideal as anyone in the industry can make it.
Cigar Aficionado accorded the Conviction a nearly unheard-of 95 rating in 2025. In 2024, it bestowed a score of 94 — not once, but twice — calling it the seventh-best cigar of the year; a higher ranking can be expected for 2025. Available individually for a very limited time, the Conviction is as close to perfection as Rocky Patel has been able to come in a storied cigarmaking career that spans three decades. Don’t miss out on your chance to own one of the premier smokes of modern times.