Rock A Feller Vintage Nicaragua Connecticut Cigar Review

I like it when I come across a fine Connecticut cigar to talk about. Don’t get me wrong, I written my fair share of Connecticut Shade cigar reviews, but some just really stand out and today I would like to discuss the Rock A Feller Vintage Nicaragua Connecticut. If you have followed along here at Stogie Press,  you know I recently was in contact with the new owner of the Rock A Feller Cigar Group, Kevin Schweitzer. If you want to learn more about that acquisition or read the review of the Rock A Feller Vintage Nicaragua Maduro you can click here. But if you want to learn some more about the Rock A Feller Vintage Nicaragua Connecticut then keep reading.

The Rock A Feller Vintage Nicaragua Connecticut is one of 3 core blends in the Vintage Nicaragua series from Kevin Schweitzer and Rock-A-Feller cigars. The other two are the Maduro and the Habano. You will hear more about the Habano soon; as it is resting in its new humid home here at Stogie Press headquarters.

So what makes the Vintage Nicaragua Connecticut special? Let’s start with the choice of blend for this cigar:

• Wrapper: Equadorian
• Binder: Indonesian
• Filler: Nicaraguan
  

Yep, you read that right. The binder is Indonesian which gives this cigar a special level of sweetness throughout the burn and balancing out any characteristic Connecticut bitterness.

Like its siblings in the Vintage Nicaragua series, the Rock A Feller Vintage Nicaragua Connecticut is available in 5 vitolas and comes packaged in a glossy blue and gold 20-count box:

• Robusto – 5 x 52
• Toro – 6 x 52
• Torpedo – 6 1/8 x 52
• Churchill – 7 x 48
• Toro Gordo – 6 x 60
• Box Pressed Toro – 6 x 52

Closer examination of the  Rock A Feller Vintage Nicaragua Connecticut reveals a well  constructed, solid cigar, with a beautiful light tan Ecuadorian  wrapper. The blue and gold motif of the box continues into the band, with the standard  ROCK-A-FELLER VRC ESTELI R NICARAGUA 2010 CIGARS emblazoned on it. I gave a description of this band in the maduro review, but I recently  found the company’s actual trademark filing and description of the band:

The mark consists of the words ROCK-A-FELLER appearing in a curved pattern over a line, which is over a circle in which is a capital R, on both sides of the circle are images of a horse rearing on its hind legs which appear to be standing on a label saying Esteli Nicaragua, under the R is a design of tobacco leaves, and under those leaves is the word CIGARS, and on the left of this central design the letters VRC are superimposed over a curly design, and on the right of the central design the number 2010 is superimposed over a curly design.

Amazing what you can find on the internet these days. The Rock A Feller Vintage Nicaragua Connecticut is produced at  American Caribbean Tobacco S.A. in Estelí, Nicaragua.

For this review I sampled two Rock A Feller Vintage Nicaragua Connecticut Toros

Cigar Review Notes

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

• Smooth light tan wrapper
• Sweet tea aroma on the foot
• Cold draw offered a muted pepper through an open draw
• Once fired up,  I was graced with a citrus and pepper mix to start
• Mouth watering fruit and sweetness enter that just increases with each puff
• The fruit has a long finish on the palate
• White ash with a slight flake to it develops
• Smoke is full and creamy 
• Citrus sweetness is joined with a dry slightly bitter cocoa component that enhances the sweetness – bitter is good in this case
• Once the ash fell,  you can see the well  centered burn cone that contributed to the pristine burn
• The smoke smoothed out by the middle of the second third
• A subtle spice enters opening the nasal for more enjoyment
• The spice and citrus are blending well together
• A sugary sweetness wraps it all together, like having that morning grapefruit with sprinkled sugar
• Final third brings white pepper on the back of the throat along with a pleasant nutty aroma
• Well centered burn cone
• Solid medium strength – this is not a mild Connecticut!
• Total  Smoking Time was one hour and 10 minutes

Overall,  I found the  Rock A Feller Vintage Nicaragua Connecticut a very pleasant cigar to smoke.  It carried more flavors than most Connecticuts I have experienced and had little bitterness to it. Even when the bitterness appeared,  it was underpinned with a cocoa note, only enhancing the flavors. It had a perfect, trouble-free burn, through the journey. This is certainly a cigar that could be enjoyed any time  of the day and day of the week.

Rock A Feller ‘Vintage’ Nicaragua CT