Robusto, 5" x 50 ring gauge
Rocky Patel's brothers are getting more into the act of making cigars this year; I received w sample of Nish Patel's Zen that was shown off at the trade show in July. The story goes that Nish wants the Zen to get people to re-think Connecticut...which may have worked if it had come out two or three years ago...you know, before the Camacho Connecticut, Oliva Connecticut, CAO Gold Vintage, San Lotano Connecticut, Pedro Martin Gold, and E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut (among others). As it is, this appears to be more of a bandwagon jumping than a trend-starter. As a nod to why we decided not to review these show samples this year, this cigar came with a generic, laser-printed band and a busted cap, which I took the time to try to glue back together to make the experience as good as possible. This is one of the only box-pressed Connys on the market and like most of the others I mentioned above, it uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper.
The Zen had a nice, smooth wrapper leaf, a little oily to the touch and flawless...except for the big patch on the bottom just south of the band. The box press was a fairly mild one with soft, rounded corners. The wrapper had a nice, sweet hay aroma, while I got more of a rich, chocolate and earth combo on the foot...so far, so good...now if I can just avoid busting the heck out of the cap again when I clip it...using my Xikar MTX Scissors I was able to accomplish that. The Prelight draw was exceedingly easy, as if the tobacco were not really filled as much as possible. The flavor was good, though, featuring a sweet grassiness and a hint of chocolate.
Initial puffs were stronger and earthier than I had expected, with more of the sweet grassiness you expect from a Conny apparent on the finish. The retrohale had tons of roasted nut and spice notes. Well into the first third, I was ready to admit that this was unlike any Connecticut I can remember smoking, but I would also have to say that it was not different in a good way. The earthier qualities were clearly in control of the blend of this cigar, with very little in the way of sweetness for balance. I paired the cigar with some black coffee and even that didn't seem to go well with the stogie, which is unusual for a Conny.
The second third was creamier and had better balance, but the last third was back to solidly earthly and mostly bitter flavors. So does this one stand out from the crowd of New Breed Connecticut cigars? Yes, but the flavor profile is just not one that I enjoyed all that much, so in the end, this becomes yet another Rocky Patel cigar that I will steer well clear of. As always, you'll have to make up your own mind on the issue.
Note: I am aware that this cigar was recently changed from "Zen" to "Xen," but my label said "Zen" and I finished this piece a couple week before they announced that name change so I left it as is.
Rocky Patel's brothers are getting more into the act of making cigars this year; I received w sample of Nish Patel's Zen that was shown off at the trade show in July. The story goes that Nish wants the Zen to get people to re-think Connecticut...which may have worked if it had come out two or three years ago...you know, before the Camacho Connecticut, Oliva Connecticut, CAO Gold Vintage, San Lotano Connecticut, Pedro Martin Gold, and E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut (among others). As it is, this appears to be more of a bandwagon jumping than a trend-starter. As a nod to why we decided not to review these show samples this year, this cigar came with a generic, laser-printed band and a busted cap, which I took the time to try to glue back together to make the experience as good as possible. This is one of the only box-pressed Connys on the market and like most of the others I mentioned above, it uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper.
The Zen had a nice, smooth wrapper leaf, a little oily to the touch and flawless...except for the big patch on the bottom just south of the band. The box press was a fairly mild one with soft, rounded corners. The wrapper had a nice, sweet hay aroma, while I got more of a rich, chocolate and earth combo on the foot...so far, so good...now if I can just avoid busting the heck out of the cap again when I clip it...using my Xikar MTX Scissors I was able to accomplish that. The Prelight draw was exceedingly easy, as if the tobacco were not really filled as much as possible. The flavor was good, though, featuring a sweet grassiness and a hint of chocolate.
Initial puffs were stronger and earthier than I had expected, with more of the sweet grassiness you expect from a Conny apparent on the finish. The retrohale had tons of roasted nut and spice notes. Well into the first third, I was ready to admit that this was unlike any Connecticut I can remember smoking, but I would also have to say that it was not different in a good way. The earthier qualities were clearly in control of the blend of this cigar, with very little in the way of sweetness for balance. I paired the cigar with some black coffee and even that didn't seem to go well with the stogie, which is unusual for a Conny.
The second third was creamier and had better balance, but the last third was back to solidly earthly and mostly bitter flavors. So does this one stand out from the crowd of New Breed Connecticut cigars? Yes, but the flavor profile is just not one that I enjoyed all that much, so in the end, this becomes yet another Rocky Patel cigar that I will steer well clear of. As always, you'll have to make up your own mind on the issue.
Note: I am aware that this cigar was recently changed from "Zen" to "Xen," but my label said "Zen" and I finished this piece a couple week before they announced that name change so I left it as is.
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