It's now 3 in the morning my time, and I just finished smoking a Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon gifted to me by ecr. I've never been a big fan of Rocky Patel, but I was pleasantly surprised by this cigar.
First Impressions: The cigar size is a "Toro" (6 1/2 by 52). It has minimal veins, and a nice sheen to wrapper. I clipped it with my Xikar Xi2 cutter, and lit it with my Colibri empire. The cold draw was perfect, and had a slight sweetness to it.
First Third: The sweetness of the cigar was very prevalent from the first draw and continued throughout. There was a ton of smoke, which is something I like to see when smoking a cigar (it's just aesthetically pleasing). The after taste disappeared quickly and was very smooth. I tend to like maduro wrappers more, but they can sometimes leave a harsh aftertaste when smoking certain cigars IMO. So this was a nice change of pace. The burn wasn't razor sharp but didn't need any touch-ups either. During the first third, the cigar was also somewhat light in body.
Second Third: the sweetness was still there, but there was also a bit of added spice. It was just a real light peppery flavor that lingered after the sweet flavor. The draw was still perfect, and the burn stayed the same as well. The second third of the cigar was more medium in body.
Final Third: The final third was much like the second third, sweet followed by a hint of spice. The draw was still spot on and the burn was nice also. Not much else to report. I did smoke the cigar further down to the nub than I do most cigars because it stayed cool throughout. Most of the time a cigar will get too hot for my liking when I get towards the end. This was not an issue at all when smoking the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon. So that was quite nice.
Conclusion: While the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon wasn't the most complex cigar, it did have some very good flavors. It was mild to medium in body. The draw was perfect all the way through. The burn wasn't razor sharp, but did not require any touch ups either. The cigar was constructed extremely well and was an all-around enjoyable smoke & a good change of pace for me. I can't say that I would drive around town going from shpo to shpo looking for more, but I would (if the price was right) pick up another 5er or 10er online. For all you morning smokers, I would recommend this cigar as a light way to start the cigar day!
On my scale of 0-5 Jalapeno Peppers, I would give this cigar a solid 3.5 Jalapeno Peppers.
Big thanks go out to ecr for introducing me to a cigar I normally wouldn't have picked up.
