What’s new at Rocky Patel? That’s a loaded question. Rocky Patel Premium Cigars has quite the reputation for rolling out several new lines of cigars each year, especially at the annual PCA Convention and Trade Show. So make this inquiry at your own peril.
But there are several newer developments at the prolific cigar manufacturer apart from the release of new series, line extensions and commemorative cigars. Some changes are related to cigar production, some to the development of the accessory lines, and others to the evolving responsibilities of the company’s leadership. Let’s start with the latter.
One might think that, after some 28 years as an innovative and highly successful manufacturer of premium cigars, company founder Rocky Patel might start slowing down. And in some ways he has. The ever-energetic corporate lawyer-turned-cigar impresario has a well-earned reputation as the hardest-working man in the cigar business. But now the years of traveling 300 days on the road are finally giving way to ceding various responsibilities to his highly trained team, allowing Patel to develop his expansive cigar portfolio and burgeoning accessories line, while developing other business models, such as his universally acclaimed BURN by Rocky Patel chain of high-end cigar and spirits lounges. He is currently considering an entry into the spirits business, and, with all that on his plate, still spends a considerable amount of his time in Washington, DC, lobbying for the cigar industry.
Patel’s transition from traveling cigar apostle to elder statesman has been in large part facilitated by the expanded role of his brother Nish Patel, who serves as Executive Vice President of the company. The younger Patel brother, already active in the marketing and promotion of the brand, has taken on a growing role as the face of the company, working closely with National Sales Manager Dave Bullock and his team of in-house sales reps. Nish’s days and nights are filled with holding events and calling on distributors and retailers alike. He has increasingly taken over his brother’s role of traveling ambassador. “Last year I was on the road quite a bit. Every day,” he notes.
Still, if Rocky Patel is considered the hardest-working man in the cigar business, then Nish Patel can be considered the happiest. Always outgoing and eager to engage, Nish seems to have a permanent smile on his face. Clearly, he loves what he does. And yet, like his older brother, Nish has recently decided to trim his road schedule, so that he can focus on his other responsibilities.
One area he has prioritized is the development of the accessory segment of RP Cigars. He is responsible for the design and execution of the company’s increasingly diversified selection of smoker’s accessories. Patel proudly points out that the accessory business “has been growing at about a 150 percent clip. It’s millions of dollars now in accessories.”
The company offers a wide selection of torch lighters, cigar cutters, ashtrays, and humidors, all of which are now produced in-house. They currently offer more than a dozen torch flame cigar lighters, ranging from $25 to $80 MSRP. All lighters come with a full warranty, allowing retailers to provide over-the-counter replacements. Custom leather cigar cases, glass and ceramic ashtrays, and a full range of RP-branded cigar cutters round out the accessories. There is even a Rocky Patel Art Gallery, offering full-color acrylic prints depicting every phase of the cigar-making process.
Perhaps the most interesting change has to do with the increased emphasis of Nicaragua in the creation of RP cigars, from utilization of Nicaraguan leaf in the blends to the establishment of Patel’s own factory, Tabacalera Villa Cuba, S.A., or TaviCusa, in Estelí, Nicaragua. While the greatest percentage of RP cigars are produced in Honduras by the El Paraiso factory, sublet by Patel from the Plasencia family, many of the newest blends and brands are now rolled out from the smaller Nicaraguan factory. As Nish Patel explains, the factories’ capacities are quite different: “Nicaragua is more of a boutique factory. Right now we’re doing about 26,000–28,000 cigars a day. In Honduras we’re up to about 78,000.”
And then there are the varying methods of cigar rolling which distinguish each facility. “The two factories are completely different,” says Nish. “In Honduras, when we bunch a cigar we do it accordion-style with a single cap. In Nicaragua we do it in tubular fashion, like they do in Cuba, and it’s all triple-capped.”
Another distinction of the Nicaraguan facility is how the tobacco is sourced. Nish emphasizes, “We have our own fields and our own tobacco. We’ve been growing for a while, but it hasn’t been ready until the last three years.”
Both countries turn out award-winning cigars. The Edge, the trend-setting concept of a rustic crate containing 100 no-band, no-cellophane cigars, is created in Honduras, where it is now produced with six different wrapper leaf variations. Last year saw the release of The Edge 20th Anniversary, a newly tweaked version, offering the original Ecuador Sumatra wrapper first used in 2002. The Edge is still the number one selling cigar in the RP portfolio. El Paraiso also makes the hot sellers Sun Grown and Decade, and two more recently released lines, Number 6 and LB1.
Nicaragua is where Nish Patel’s own BOLD line is produced, and is the home of newer releases Disciple, White Label (RP’s first U.S.A. Connecticut-wrapped cigar), and Cigar Aficionado’s Number 2 cigar of the year for 2022, SIXTY by Rocky Patel, the subject of this issue’s review. The company is building a new, larger factory in Nicaragua to accommodate the increasing emphasis on producing cigars there with their own leaf. Patel adds, “In Nicaragua we have more of the various tobaccos we can blend with.”
Between the two countries, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars employs about 2,000 people, and now produces over 100 lines of cigars, sold in 105 countries around the world. And in 2022, according to Nish Patel, “The total cigars we delivered was 28 to 29 million.”
There’s still room for growth for the Patel brothers and their ever-expanding portfolio of fine cigars. Nish says, “International sales is the fastest growing market right now. Cuban cigars have been getting priced out of the market. Every U.S. manufacturer is doing fantastic in Europe. The far east is really growing, as are Central and South America.”
So the next time you find yourself wondering what’s new at Rocky Patel Cigars, be prepared for a long answer!
– Photography courtesy of Rocky Patel Premium Cigars. Story by Larry Wagner.