Rocky Patel Mulligans Yacht Club Review
I’m smoking Yacht Club, a stellar new addition to the popular Rocky Patel Mulligans brand, in an attractive 6.5-by-22 Torpedo called the Chief Steward today. Rocky Patel’s latest bundle project pays homage to one of his favorite pastimes – sailing his vessel to a private island somewhere near the equator where he can party into the wee hours with a crew of champagne-sipping pals.
If that sounds like a vacation that’s beyond your budget, hold on. Like every blend in Rocky’s bestselling Mulligans franchise, Yacht Club cigars come with a hefty discount built into the price. Not everybody has access to these high-end gems either. Years ago, your friends at Holt’s secured exclusive rights to Rocky’s prolific list of side projects and unreleased cigars. Rocky conveniently packages and ships these elite treats under the Mulligans banner for the masses to scoop up at everyman prices.
To be frank, the closest I’ve ever come to sailing a yacht is watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island. The only boats I navigate are powered by paddles when I’m headed to the middle of a lake to reel in my dinner. Nevertheless, I’m fully equipped to appreciate and evaluate the subtle nuances of taste, quality, and value of Yacht Club cigars thanks to my insatiable consumption, lofty standards, and insistence they cost as little as possible.
Yacht Club cigars are clad in elegant blue-and-white cigar bands with gold lettering and nautical designs wrapped around the 20-count bundles they come in. They’re blended from premium Dominican and Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos matured for ten years before they’re gently assembled under a caramel-blond Cuban-seed wrapper leaf grown in Ecuador. The Torpedo I’ve plucked from a fresh batch looks as if it were built by an architect with its precisely sloping head and seamless wrapper.
Toothsome notes of coffee bean and leather impart delicious hints of sweetness after I clip the cap with my V-cutter and indulge in the cold draw for a few moments before toasting the foot of the Chief Steward. Yacht Club shows off all the hallmarks of fine cigarmaking in the first few puffs. Elaborate notes of wood and baking spices stir my taste buds while the cigar’s smooth aroma perpetually pulses through my nasal cavity. Most cigars require a bit of time to settle into a cohesive profile, but not Yacht Club. Its succulent flavors satisfy the second the foot is aflame.
Tasting notes of nutmeg, nougat, and gourmet bread mingle ever so delightfully with a woody foundation of cedar and spice as Yacht Club progresses past the first ten minutes. The draw is spectacular and leaves a perfect-looking ash on the end. Once a hint of Dutch cocoa enters the fray, I’ll fully attest Yacht Club meets my criteria for a special occasion. The Chief Steward seduces the senses throughout the second half with a continual sequence of cedar, spice, and a touch of Turkish fig. The finish is sweet and woody when I pause in between draws to let the flavor fully sink in.
Rocky must have been working on something extra special when he blended Yacht Club. Aging the tobaccos after a long fermentation and summoning his longest-tenured rollers to craft each cigar shows in the taste and performance of these superior smokes. I implore you to order a bundle of your favorite size without delay. Normally, I’d suggest sharing them with fellow cigar lovers, but I think you’ll be too tempted to hoard them for yourself. Some of my favorite Rocky Patel Mulligans cigars include Crown Jewel, Trophy Series, and the Groundhog. But Yacht Club rises to another level of extravagance and deserves an elite 93-point rating in my book.
Until next time, long ashes to you!
