Wow, how time flies. It has been 20 years since Rocky Patel introduced to the market a wallet friendly cigar known as “The Edge”. I remember this cigar so well, as I smoked tons of them and my favorite was always the Edge Sumatra. Originally the cigar came in 100-count humidor trays and the cigars had no band on them until 2006 when the company finally added bands on the foot to distinguish the various blends added to the line.
Back in the day, Rocky explained to Cigar Aficionado:
“When I came out with The Edge, people laughed at me. A 100-count tray? A cigar with no band? They said it would never sell.”
Of course, sell they did and for me it was one of my go-to cigars as it was wallet friendly and offered a pleasing array of notes and decent burn characteristics.
Now 20 years later, the company is celebrating its Edge success with a 20th Anniversary Edge that is a bit less wallet friendly with an MSRP of $11 to $13.50 and come in 20-count boxes. Actually, the Edge on shop shelves came out about 18 years ago, but Rocky conceived the idea 20 years ago, so he decided to call this one the 20th Anniversary.
The company describes the blend as:
- Wrapper – Ecuador Sumatra (10 years old)
- Binder – Honduran broadleaf
- Filler – Honduras and Panama
The 20th Anniversary Edge is expressed in 3 vitolas:
- Robusto (5.5 x 50) – MSRP $11.00
- Toro (6 x 52) – MSRP $12.00
- Sixty (6 x 60) – MSRP $13.50
For this review, I sampled one 20th Anniversary Edge Toro which I purchased at my local Brick & Mortar – Executive Cigar Shop & Lounge in Melbourne FL.
Pre-Light Examination
The Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary is a dark reddish brown cigar that has some marbling running through the wrapper and exhibits a few veins. The cigar is very firm to the touch. There are a few bumps along the relatively silky smooth wrapper. A simple cap finishes the presentation.
I like the branding on this cigar with its primary and footer bands. It is an upgrade from the original that had just a single band eventually and clearly denotes that this is a Rocky Patel product. The white, gold, and red motif gives it a regal look and the the name “The Edge” is clearly noticeable in the primary band under the company’s logo. The footer band declares it as the 20th anniversary.
Running the Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary across the nose, I picked up a distinct earthiness along the barrel while the foot presented earth and rich nuttiness.
Once I opened the cap with my CigarMedics Baller cutter, I gave it some cold draw puffs that I found to be good with restriction while offering notes of sweetness, nut, and deep earthiness.
Using my dual flame torch, I warmed the foot to an even orange glow and drew in the first puffs of smoke that I felt were a tad harsh on the palate. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- A little harsh to start
- A heavy dose of peppery spice hitting the back of the throat
- A white “stacking dimes” ash forms on top of a thin and mildly jagged char line
- Full volume of of thick creamy smoke right off the first puffs
- Pepper pulls back as sweet cinnamon notes grace the palate with a lingering earthy component
- Ash fell in a decent chunk revealing a flat but centered burn cone
- Bittersweet cocoa joins the mix in the second third with a touch of nut
- Ash gets flaky
- Sour note deep in second third
- Continued cinnamon notes
- Peppery spice takes it down to the final
- Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 35 minutes
Final Analysis
Overall, I had great expectation for the new Rocky Patel Edge 20th Anniversary with its beautiful packaging and pleasant pre-light flavors and aromas. Unfortunately, that experience did not play out through the journey as I had anticipated. The cigar started off harsh, attacking the palate. Eventually it started to deliver a heavy hit of peppery spice that eventually morphed into a sweet cinnamon note with an added bittersweet cocoa. Things would have been good, but then it developed a sour note that through me off before eventually returning in the final to a peppery spice. With the aged Sumatra wrapper, I was truly expecting more natural sweetness than what it offered. This is one I may try again but I can not say I would go buy a bunch of them like the original Edge Sumatra. – I rated this an 88.
Point Deductions: (-1) Harsh Start; (-1) Flat but centered burn cone; (-1) Wavy Burn; (-1) Sour notes deep in Second third; (-1) Flaky ash in second half; (-1) May Try Another
