Reo by Rocky Patel Review

[redryno247]

I first want to thank Adam (Chippewastud79) for gifting me this cigar. As this is a cigar made by Rocky Patel, I've been quite interested in giving it a try. As one would expect with other Patel offerings the Reo fits nicely in the Patel arsenal of fine cigars (although it's made for United Tobacco (E0), I believe). This particular cigar was of the robusto size and lasted me just shy of 90 minutes.

The cigar was firm in the hand, and being box pressed, only added to that, IMO. I really prefer the feel of a box pressed cigar in the hand. The smell, pre-light was all tobacco, but not too harsh. The cut was quick and easy and the pre-light draw proved to be a bit tight, so I opted for a second cut, which didn't quite remedy the problem, but did help it a bit.

The cigar lit easy enough but quickly I ran into burn issues. This possibly could have been due to the fact I was outside, but I was forced to try and correct this a few times throughout the smoke. Besides the uneven burn, the cigar burned nice and steady, producing a nice pepper gray ash that held firm, falling about every 1.5 - 2 inch. I noticed too that the Reo put out a fair amount of smoke, which was both bitting and sweet. An intriguing combination I thought. For me I noticed the signature Rocky creaminess, inner mixed with strong notes of wood and an undertone of earthiness.

I really enjoyed the flavor of the cigar which became a bit stronger (the cigar not the flavor) as I neared the end. Still, I'd say the Reo falls well into the medium range for strength. Had it not been for the poor burn of this cigar, I'd have really enjoyed it, but this ultimately lead to the cigar going out, and upon relight, everything went south and I decided to leave well enough alone and walk away with as positive an experience I could.

All in all, a good cigar that I'd most certainly try again. If you get the chance to give an Reo a try, I'd suggest it. Thanks for reading.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by redryno247

I first want to thank Adam (Chippewastud79) for gifting me this cigar. As this is a cigar made by Rocky Patel, I've been quite interested in giving it a try. As one would expect with other Patel offerings the Reo fits nicely in the Patel arsenal of fine cigars (although it's made for United Tobacco (E0), I believe). This particular cigar was of the robusto size and lasted me just shy of 90 minutes.

The cigar was firm in the hand, and being box pressed, only added to that, IMO. I really prefer the feel of a box pressed cigar in the hand. The smell, pre-light was all tobacco, but not too harsh. The cut was quick and easy and the pre-light draw proved to be a bit tight, so I opted for a second cut, which didn't quite remedy the problem, but did help it a bit.

The cigar lit easy enough but quickly I ran into burn issues. This possibly could have been due to the fact I was outside, but I was forced to try and correct this a few times throughout the smoke. Besides the uneven burn, the cigar burned nice and steady, producing a nice pepper gray ash that held firm, falling about every 1.5 - 2 inch. I noticed too that the Reo put out a fair amount of smoke, which was both bitting and sweet. An intriguing combination I thought. For me I noticed the signature Rocky creaminess, inner mixed with strong notes of wood and an undertone of earthiness.

I really enjoyed the flavor of the cigar which became a bit stronger (the cigar not the flavor) as I neared the end. Still, I'd say the Reo falls well into the medium range for strength. Had it not been for the poor burn of this cigar, I'd have really enjoyed it, but this ultimately lead to the cigar going out, and upon relight, everything went south and I decided to leave well enough alone and walk away with as positive an experience I could.

All in all, a good cigar that I'd most certainly try again. If you get the chance to give an Reo a try, I'd suggest it. Thanks for reading.

I don't know the full story of how it evolved to Rocky but REO was originally put out by the same folks that do 601.
Give 601's a try.
I am sure you will like them also if you like REO's.
I have a box of REO Robusto when it was still Eric's brand.

[redryno247]

I've had a couple of 601's and I've enjoyed them very, very much.

[chippewastud79]

Ryan, your welcome man.

Glad you liked it despite the burn problems, it is a very tasy stick. For the price point they are well worth it

[Kaisersozei]

Thought I would add to redryno's review. I smoked one of these on my back porch last night:



My experience pretty much mirrored his. The stick was heavy with tobacco, despite its size; it felt firm and I thought was constructed pretty well. The burn got wavy but it self corrected before getting out of hand. The compact black-splotched gray ash held on, I only ashed twice. Didn't have any problems with the draw until the last few inches, when it got really tight so I stopped smoking with about 1.5" left. I spent a little over an hour on this robusto.

The cigar sure put out a lot of sharp, acrid smoke. At one point I was hit with some slight ammonia, so I wondered if it was still pretty young:



As far as flavors, I thought it had a decent amount of complexity. The prelight draw was of sweet tobacco, but when it fired up I was hit with a fruity (raisin) creaminess that lasted until the halfway point. Had some coffee notes, as well. The coffee took over midway, and was accompanied by some earthiness. The end of the cigar was pretty much just straight tobacco. I thought it had a short finish and medium body.

I had been wanting to try this, so I bought a 5er from jkim05. At a price point of $3, I think it's a very good smoke.

[paul95se]

Nice reviews. Still one of my favorites when I don't know what to smoke. Never have any burn issues and is always consistently tasty. Getting them for $2 makes them even better.

[redryno247]

Originally Posted by Kaisersozei

Thought I would add to redryno's review. I smoked one of these on my back porch last night:



My experience pretty much mirrored his. The stick was heavy with tobacco, despite its size; it felt firm and I thought was constructed pretty well. The burn got wavy but it self corrected before getting out of hand. The compact black-splotched gray ash held on, I only ashed twice. Didn't have any problems with the draw until the last few inches, when it got really tight so I stopped smoking with about 1.5" left. I spent a little over an hour on this robusto.

The cigar sure put out a lot of sharp, acrid smoke. At one point I was hit with some slight ammonia, so I wondered if it was still pretty young:



As far as flavors, I thought it had a decent amount of complexity. The prelight draw was of sweet tobacco, but when it fired up I was hit with a fruity (raisin) creaminess that lasted until the halfway point. Had some coffee notes, as well. The coffee took over midway, and was accompanied by some earthiness. The end of the cigar was pretty much just straight tobacco. I thought it had a short finish and medium body.

I had been wanting to try this, so I bought a 5er from jkim05. At a price point of $3, I think it's a very good smoke.

Thanks for tagging on these great pics...they help bring to life what we're talking about.

[jaymz]

Originally Posted by Blueface

I don't know the full story of how it evolved to Rocky but REO was originally put out by the same folks that do 601.
Give 601's a try.
I am sure you will like them also if you like REO's.
I have a box of REO Robusto when it was still Eric's brand.

Reo is blended by Espinoza / Ortega from united tobaco, and are constructed at Rocky Patel’s Indian Tabac factory in Honduras.

get it? (R)ocky (E)spinoza (O)rtega

I love these sticks - they are a great smoke for the price point, and supposedly the next round is going to have some construction upgrades to help with the burn.

[ChasDen]

Originally Posted by jaymz

Reo is blended by Espinoza / Ortega from united tobaco, and are constructed at Rocky Patel’s Indian Tabac factory in Honduras.

get it? (R)ocky (E)spinoza (O)rtega

I love these sticks - they are a great smoke for the price point, and supposedly the next round is going to have some construction upgrades to help with the burn.

Thanks for the REO explanation

I rotate these into my daily "work smoke" rotation along with 5 Vegas A, La Aroma De Cuba and the Vegas de Fonseca. I have not had the burn problems some have had and been through about 2 dozen or so of these the last few months.

Chas

PS - Thanks for the reviews !

[RevSmoke]

Got a bundle of these when CI had a special. Like them, full-bodied and spicy.