Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Honduran (Jamastran)
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan
Size: 6.5 x 52 “Toro”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $12.20 MSRP
The Rocky Patel HR 500 made its debut at the 2012 IPCPR trade show.
Rocky Patel Press Release:
“July 23, 2012 (Bonita Springs, FL) — The Rocky Patel Premium Cigar Company announced today the release of Homerun 500.
HR 500 is a special celebratory cigar blended to commemorate baseball great Gary Sheffield’s milestone 500th home run. This special edition brand is limited, much like Sheffield’s own exclusivity being only one of 25 MLB players to hit 500 or more home runs in his career.
HR 500 is blended with a dark Ecuadoran Habano-seed wrapper along with filler tobaccos from Honduras and Nicaragua and a Honduran Jamastran binder. This medium- to full-bodied cigar is balanced with flavors of sweet spice, pepper and coffee.
HR 500 is available in the Toro size (6 1⁄2 x 52) at the price of $12.20 and is manufactured at the Tavicusa Factory in Nicaragua.”
Sheffield was a NY Met when he joined the 500 Club. He played from 1988-2009. He played for 8 different teams and won All Star Player 9 times.
This is supposed to be a limited run production but it is still being sold in 2014. Go figure. Or maybe because it is one more cross promotion cigar that no one is giving it a chance. Patel is the king of cross promotion. Anything to make a buck.
This is a massive cigar. I had to let it rest for 6 weeks. I tried one at the three week mark and I ended up wasting a good cigar. I tried one a couple days ago and it’s good to go.
Construction is a cross between rustic and impeccable. A nice dark coffee bean oily wrapper with a lot of tooth. And when I say oily, I’m talking about looking like it was dipped in 10-40 motor oil. Seams are so-so. Lots of big veins bulging from the surface of the shaft. (Yes, I write for Penthouse). And wrinkled like a newborn babe. A very nice triple cap tops it all.
The baseball themed double cigar band is kind of goofy looking. Not one of Patel’s best.
I clip the cap and find aromas of dark and sweet cocoa, very earthy, coffee, and leather.
Time to light up.
The first puffs have a combo of herbal notes and floral notes. Cocoa is strong. And a spicy element builds from the ground up.
The foot makes a run for the border. A terrible run that needs immediate attention. I’ve smoked two of these cigars and not a problem with either. I get the run under control but lose about half an inch in doing so. Bad luck.
That’s out of the way. Now I can focus on what the damn cigar tastes like.
Here are the flavors, in order at the 1” mark: Earthy, floral notes, cocoa, coffee, cedar, spice, and leather.
In trying to find out the background of this cigar, I had to read a couple reviews. As usual, they didn’t give the cigar a decent chance and I’m beginning to think these guys are real snobs. Not in touch with the Everyman’s tastes. Like me. I’ve read more comments about smokers saying I have the same taste as them in cigars. I take that as quite the compliment. I mean, that’s the whole point to this thing. Make a connection with guys like me who love cigars. Not just the effete snobs that only buy 90+ rated Cigar Aficionado blends and brands.
At the 2” mark, the cigar becomes creamy. Black cherry notes enter stage right. A raisin element shows itself as well.
The sweet spot begins just before the second third begins. Flavors explode. The spiciness has found a home near the top of the flavor list.
Here are the newest flavors, in order: Creaminess, cocoa, red pepper, earthy, floral notes, coffee, cedar, leather, black cherry, and raisins.
This is a helluva cigar.
I can tell by the other reviews that they really didn’t give this cigar much humidor time. I don’t care what they say, they didn’t do it.
Now the price point. It is everything I expect in a $10-$12 cigar. BestCigarPrices has the Gary Sheffield Home Run 500 by Rocky Patel – Rare Edition – Signed by Gary Sheffield Cigars in a box of 20 for $220.
This stick is one of those kitchen sink flavor bombs. It is balanced perfectly. Very complex with a long chewy finish. I’d be happier if it were in the $7 range but it is Rocky Patel after all.
The problem with the runaway char line was fixed and never returned and has had a dead nuts burn line ever since.
The construction is superb. The cap won’t let go of the smallest amount of loose tobacco. The draw is wonderful. And the flavors are top notch. This is a high premium stick.
I have a little vignette story about baseball I shall end the review with. Gotta have something don’t ya know.
Again, the balance is perfect. Flavors are blossoming like a gorgeous orchid.
I’m at the halfway point. It is as though the flavors have found their places in the universe. Nothing is out of place or in the wrong order. A great cigar.
To be honest, it reminds me of an AJ Fernandez blend. Clearly, the folks at Patel realized the devil is in the details with this cigar. And no issue was left up to chance.
Again, I could not find if this was a limited production cigar. Obviously, the signed boxes are but what about the 10 count boxes? I think Patel has a winner here and would be foolish to let it fade away. All smokers are wary of cross promotion sticks. Have you tried a Duck Commander cigar yet? No. I haven’t either and don’t plan to.
I just reviewed the Man O’ War Ltd. Edition – Orange County Choppers by AJ Fernandez and this is another cigar that proves that cross promotion doesn’t necessarily mean dud. This MOW is one of the finest AJ blends to date.
In fact, Gary at Orange County Choppers just informed me they have had over 17,000 hits, in 24 hours, on their FB page, and all the accompanying social media where they posted my review. And I have a record on my blog like no other cigar has accomplished.
Of course, they priced this incredible cigar at a price point everyone can afford. A box of 10 goes for $70 on CI and Cigar.com. I got a box on Cbid for $40. Or should I say, my dear daughter won it for me.
Back to the Sheffield.
I am really digging this cigar. It started out at medium strength. At the halfway mark, it has moved to medium/full. But no nicotine yet.
The last third arrives and brings with it the nicotine devil. Strength has moved to full bodied.
I like this cigar because it flavor bombed on me early. Nothing pisses me off more than an expensive cigar that either doesn’t reach flavor bomb status or doesn’t get there until the last third.
My only adamant advice is that you must let this cigar rest for at least a month.
And yes, the baseball card in some of the photos is my daughter, Katie. She was 6. And we had just moved to Mesa, AZ. We got her on a T Ball team but what we didn’t expect was the incredible heat. The second game, I brought a spray bottle with water in it and I constantly ran to all of the players in the field to spray water in their little red faces. She even got a trophy. But that was the last time we did this. It was just too damn hot and dangerous for little tykes.
The cigar is the epitome of smooth now. The nicotine has calmed down. The cigar comes in one size only and they picked the perfect size.
The cigar finishes out perfectly. A real dream of a cigar. Kudos to Rocky Patel for stepping out of his comfort zone of producing drek and blending a fine cigar.
And now for something completely different:
Back in the 1990’s, the construction company I worked for did a lot of work on the Diamondback ball park. It was amazing watching the park go from chunky earth to the final product. This was a first for me.
My company’s CFO got tickets right behind home plate in the VIP section from Bank One. I have no idea what Bank One changed its name to.
Anyway, I got there early to watch batting practice. The Diamondbacks were playing Cincinnati. And I wanted to watch Mark McGwire in batting practice. It was a hot day and they hadn’t closed the roof yet. So I sat in direct sunlight in 110° weather. I was really schvitzing.
And then there he was. He was like a redwood tree amongst scrub brush compared to the other players.
Every pitch ended up in a ball flying over the centerfield fence. It was amazing. Of course, back then no one knew he was juiced.
He batted for about 10 minutes. And his last hit put a big hole in the giant Jumbotron screen in centerfield. The crowd roared.
This guy’s arms were like tree trunks. I sat there in awe.
The CFO showed up and I relayed what I saw and told him he missed out on something akin to a miracle.
During the game, one of the players hit a high fly ball and it went over the protective screen protecting people behind home plate. It was coming right for me. I reached out and it hit the palm of my hand but the force behind the ball was too much for me to close my fingers around it.
It bounced down a couple steps in the aisle and some old coot who brought his baseball mitt to the game picked it up and showed off. Did he offer me the ball? Of course not. The bastardo!
Every time McGwire came to bat, the crowd cheered. No one cared if he was making mincemeat out of the Diamondbacks.
The whole juicing debacle was a real shame. I grew up in the 1950’s and 1960’s having real heroes in baseball. I saw all the greats play. From Mickey Mantle to Sandy Koufax.
It was a different era and one, I’m afraid, that will never return.
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
