The Rocky Patel Nording 50th Anniversary Review and the La Sirena Merlion are at the center of today’s cigar reviews.  Are they worthy of a spot in your humidor?  Keep reading to find out.

Rocky Patel Nording 50th Anniversary

Rocky Patel is easily one of my favorite brands of cigars, so when I heard about the Nording 50th Anniversary, it was definitely music to my ears.  This particular cigar was created in honor of pipe maker Erik Nording’s 50 long years in the tobacco industry.  The Nording 50th Anniversary is a pretty recent release, as its official ship date was earlier this month.  The cigar was originally debuted at the 2012 IPCPR show.  It’s said to be quite flavorful, so enough with the intro – let’s get to smoking this puppy!

The Rocky Patel Nording 50th Anniversary comes in just one size.  It’s a Toro Grande that measures 6 x 54.  The cigar’s filler and binder are both made up of Nicaraguan tobaccos.  The wrapper, on the other hand, is of the Ecuadorian Habano variety.  In terms of strength, the Rocky Patel Nording is listed as being medium to full-bodied.

The most noticeable aspect of the Rocky Patel Nording 50th Anniversary’s appearance is its pair of decorative bands.  The top band displays the Nording 50th Anniversary label, while the one below it displays Rocky Patel’s name.  Both bands are mostly gold and red in color and really catch the eye with some snazzy graphics.  The cigar itself has a beautiful rich chocolate colored wrapper that is oily in nature.  Feeling the cigar lets me know that it is well-packed with tobacco and free of any soft spots.  No real imperfections are detected and construction seems to be solid overall.  The cold taste is of chocolate, while the pre-light aroma is sweet.

Once lit, the Rocky Patel Nording 50th Anniversary offers some solid gray ash and a nice draw.  The burn stays even for the most part, with only a couple of touch-ups needed here and there.  There’s plenty of smoke, and smoking time is around 90 minutes or so.