Rocky Patel Year of the Horse

For the third time in less than a week, it’s a review of a Year of ___-themed cigar.

The blank space is referring to the 12 animals—one is a dragon, which is probably not an animal—on the Chinese Zodiac calendar. In 2012, the first Davidoff Year of the Snake was introduced, kicking off what has become an annual tradition for around a dozen cigar companies to introduce new limited edition cigars inspired by the calendar, which is popular throughout Asia. As I noted in a recent review, the limited edition Year of ___ concept is very popular in the cigar industry, though seemingly hasn’t caught on quite the same in some parallel industries.

This year was the third time that Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, Inc. has created a Year of release, though unlike the previous two years, this year, there’s just one cigar and not separate versions for American retailers and international markets.

As for the cigar, the Rocky Patel Year of the Horse is a box-pressed 7 x 48 Churchill that uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Honduras and Nicaragua. Notably, while most of the company’s blends are developed by Rocky Patel, the person, this cigar was blended by Nish Patel, who serves as the evp of the company.

• Cigar Reviewed: Rocky Patel Year of the Horse
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A.
• Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Honduras & Nicaragua
• Length: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Shape: Pressed
• MSRP: $35 (Box of 10, $350)
• Release Date: April 2026
• Number of Cigars Released: 6,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (60,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

These wrappers are about as dark as any I’ve seen of late. Unlike say a broadleaf varietal, there’s no discoloration, even the veins keep the same color. With both bands on the cigars, I don’t really think “Germany,” but once the large secondary band is removed, the color scheme seems like it would fit in well with a German football kit, err, “soccer jersey.” The aromas from the wrappers are right on the edge between medium-plus and medium-full. All three have plenty of barnyard, though the first and third cigars have lots of sweetness—chocolate and cola, respectively—which transforms the manure scent quite a bit. The feet are more muted, leading the barnyard scent into a more generic earth, around medium-plus, with chocolate and citrus from the first cigar, cinnamon for the second, and caramel and berries for the third. Cold draws are rather sweet, though quite different. The first tastes quite sweet, like animal crackers and raisin with orange and oatmeal underneath; the second cigar has vanilla and earth leading cocoa, berries and artificial coconut; while the third cigar has lemon lime soda, earth and leather. Each is medium-plus in intensity.

Despite all the sweet flavors on the cold draw, the Rocky Patel Year of the Horse starts dry, largely leaning into earthy and toasty flavors, including some burning oak. The first cigar has a secondary note akin to a grilled carrot, the second has lots of white rice, and the third has a touch of caramel. The first two are medium-plus, while the third is slightly stronger, but all three are very smooth. After the first inch, there’s a noticeable uptick in both intensity and some darker flavors. Dry earth and cracker flavors—pretzel in the first, more plain crackers for the other two cigars—lead with cedar, creaminess and both black and chili pepper serving as accents. The finish is a bit softer. There’s some generic meatiness and paprika in the first cigar, white rice and nuttiness in the second, and cinnamon, leather and creaminess during the first. However, earth is the leading flavor for each cigar. Retrohales have much softer flavors like sourdough bread, white rice, nuttiness and lemon peel. Eventually, a crisp terroir emerges for each cigar, transitioning into a lingering flavor that is earthy with accents of terroir and minerals. Flavor is medium-full to full, while body and strength are consistently medium-plus. Construction-wise, there are no outright problems. The second cigar has a slightly tight draw, while the third is slightly loose, though with more smoke production than the other two cigars.

If sweet was the theme of the cold draws and earth was the theme of the first third, bread is the flavor to take the mantle in the second third. In the first cigar, it’s more of a toasted bread, though dough for the second and third cigars. Other than that, I’m unsure there’s much of a connecting thread as to what I’m tasting. The first cigar retains some of its unique coconut flavor, mild but distinct; the second cigar has more creaminess than dough, and the third cigar is a lot drier with leather and some saltiness. The finishes are more similar: lots of dry bread and dry creaminess with lingering saltiness, and a spice blend. Those flavors tend to become more alive in the retrohale, where paprika, salt and black pepper are stronger. Like the first third, there are fewer flavors but what’s present tends to be more complex than the flavors in the mouth. The second cigar still has a unique amount of white rice flavors, acting more as a binding element, while the third cigar has some burnt pretzel flavor. The finish has even fewer flavors, at one point I jokingly type that I could go for some cheese to pair with the black pepper, salt and cracker flavors that are present on the third cigar. Flavor is full, while body and strength are medium-plus to medium-full. Each cigar needs at least one touch-up, combustion-related for the first two cigars, though the third cigar requires some help for an uneven burn.

It’s difficult to draw connecting threats between the three final thirds of the Rocky Patel Year of the Horse cigars. The first one gets spicier with the familiar mixture of terroir and nuttiness behind, the second cigar has the combination of the latter, but I find it crisper and without that much more sharpness. The third cigar starts the section really thin with dry earth, terroir, saltiness and pepper—in that order—but after a half-inch goes by, I start to detect some leather at the top of my mouth and citrus on the sides of my tongue. Whereas the other two cigars don’t have all that exciting of a finish, during the third cigar, I really enjoy those brief seconds after the smoke leaves, as I detect sour bread, burnt black pepper, creaminess and even some berries. Retrohales of the first cigar aren’t all that different from the mouth flavor, though the second cigar is quite dusty, a term Patrick Lagreid often uses. There’s dry wood and earth, some sweet acidity and even a plain doughnut flavor, but it’s all buried underneath this generic dryness. The third cigar continues to shine in this third: bread, dark nuttiness and some sweetness, which transitions into a watered-down American whiskey flavor with some added saltiness and creaminess. Flavor is full, body is medium-plus and strength is medium-plus to medium-full. Construction is great, with no further combustion issues.

Final Notes

• As best I can tell, the Zodiac-themed cigars are here to stay. I don’t get the sense that the American market is over the concept, and with the industry’s push in Asia, these items have some inherent use.
• Chinese New Year is what kicks off each Year of ___. I think if the holiday took place in June, as opposed to February, the concept would be far less popular. February is one of the worst sales months of the year for most cigar companies; having these limited editions in January or February can help to provide a new shiny object for retailers to order during the slow time.
• This year is known as the Year of the Fire Horse, something that only happens every 60 years. While some companies were very explicit about incorporating the fire elements into the horse concept, it’s not all that explicit here. However, compared to the packaging used for the Rocky Patel Year of the Dragon and Snake cigars, it seems like the fire aspect meant adding black to the packaging.
• If you are wondering if the horse logo is close to the famous Ferrari logo, it’s similar but also very different. For example, Ferrari’s prancing horse has the horse pointed the other direction.
• While largely overshadowed by other elements, my favorite part of the packaging is the serif font that was used.
• Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, Inc. advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• Rocky Patel lists the Year of the Horse as a 7 x 48 Churchill, above are the dimensions I found for the three cigars I smoked.
• Final smoking time was right around two and a half hours for each cigar.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Daily, Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co., JR Cigar and Small Batch Cigar carry the Rocky Patel Year of the Horse.

Churchill
Nicaragua
Rocky Patel Premium Cigars Inc.
Rocky Patel Year of the Horse
Rocky Patel Zodiac Series
Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A.
Year of the Horse (2026)