Brand guide
Rocky Patel cigars
Rocky Patel Premium Cigars is a Florida-based cigar company founded in 1995 that makes its cigars in its own factories in Honduras and Nicaragua.
A Hollywood lawyer turned cigar maker
Rakesh "Rocky" Patel founded the company in 1995 as Indian Tabac Cigar Co., after leaving a law practice in Los Angeles.
He'd been an entertainment and product liability lawyer, and a founding member of the Grand Havana Club. Then came the cigar boom of the 1990s and a business offer. He took it. The first Indian Tabac cigars were rolled in Honduras. The name itself was licensed from Indian Motorcycle.
The company later moved its marketing to Rocky's own name and became Rocky Patel Premium Cigars. The Indian Tabac brand was dropped in 2014. The company's own story puts its headquarters in Naples, Florida.
A family team runs it
Rocky Patel shares the work with relatives: his brother Nish Patel handles sales and major accounts, and his cousin Nimish Desai heads production.
Early on, the leaf side had outside help. Wikipedia credits Phillip Zanghi III with running growing and manufacturing in Honduras, on land leased from Nestor Plasencia in El Paraíso. Later the company began growing in Estelí, Nicaragua, with Amilcar Perez Castro.
Where are Rocky Patel cigars made?
Rocky Patel cigars come from two company factories: El Paraíso in Danlí, Honduras, and TaviCusa in Estelí, Nicaragua.
The Honduran plant is the big one. The company gives it 120,000 square feet and nearly 500 employees, with sorting, fermentation, aging and packing all on site. It makes the Decade, Sun Grown, Twentieth Anniversary and every version of The Edge.
TaviCusa is smaller. The company calls it a boutique factory on a side street in the heart of Estelí. Every Rocky Patel brand made from Nicaraguan production comes from there.
Rocky Patel lines and their stated wrappers
Rocky Patel names a wrapper for most lines on its website, and sometimes the leaf's age.
| Line | Wrapper (maker) | Maker's body note | Notable sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vintage 1990 | Honduran Broadleaf, aged 12 years | Medium, leaning mild | Robusto (5 1/2 x 50), Churchill (7 x 48), Sixty (6 x 60) |
| Vintage 1992 | Ecuadorian Sumatra, aged 10 years | Not published | Juniors (4 x 38), Torpedo (6 1/4 x 52), Toro (6 1/2 x 52) |
| Decade | Sumatran | Not published | Forty-Six (4 1/2 x 46), Robusto (5 x 50), Emperor (6 x 60) |
| Sun Grown | Ecuadorian Sumatra, aged 5 years | Medium-plus | Petite Corona (4 1/2 x 44), Toro (6 1/2 x 52), Sixty (6 x 60) |
| The Edge | Sold as Connecticut, Corojo, Sumatra, Habano and Maduro versions | Not published | Varies by version |
The Vintage 1992 lists a Nicaraguan binder and a Dominican and Nicaraguan filler. Most other line pages name only the wrapper.
Rocky Patel milestones
Rocky Patel grew from a single Honduran brand into a two-country maker with its own lounges.
- 1995: Indian Tabac Cigar Co. founded.
- 1996: Indian Tabac shows at the RTDA trade show in Cincinnati.
- 2008: Decade released for the company's tenth year.
- 2010: first Burn by Rocky Patel lounge opens in Naples.
- 2014: Indian Tabac brand discontinued.
- 2020 to 2024: official cigar of the Cigar Smoking World Championships.
What to know before you buy a Rocky Patel
Rocky Patel lines often come in the same set of sizes, so the wrapper and its age are the main things that set one line apart from another.
Look at the Vintage 1990, Vintage 1992 and Sun Grown: all three list a 4 x 38 Juniors and a 6 x 60 Sixty, among others. The leaf changes; the shapes repeat. Check where those sizes fall on the cigar size chart.
Wrapper age is part of the pitch, and Rocky Patel prints it on several line pages: 12 years, 10 years, 5 years. For how maker labels like "medium-plus" line up with each other, see the strength and body scale.
Rocky Patel questions
Where are Rocky Patel cigars made?
Rocky Patel cigars are made at two company factories: El Paraíso in Danlí, Honduras, and TaviCusa in Estelí, Nicaragua.
Who is Rocky Patel?
Rakesh "Rocky" Patel is a former Los Angeles lawyer who started the company in 1995 as Indian Tabac Cigar Co. and later renamed it after himself.
What wrapper is on the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990?
Rocky Patel lists a Honduran Broadleaf wrapper aged 12 years on the Vintage 1990. The Vintage 1992 uses a 10-year-old Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper.
Which Rocky Patel factory makes the Decade?
The company lists the Decade among the brands made at its El Paraíso factory in Danlí, Honduras, along with Sun Grown and The Edge.
Where the Rocky Patel facts come from
- Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, Wikipedia
- Story of Rocky Patel, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars
- Cigar Factory: Honduras, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars
- Vintage 1990, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars
- Vintage 1992, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars