History
Born in India in 1961, Rakesh "Rocky" Patel introduced the Indian Tabac blend in the mid 1990s. Rakesh was originally a Hollywood attorney who represented several actors, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gene Hackman. Patel was exposed to cigar smoking by spending time with the actors between takes. This led to an interest in the industry. He subsequently sold his legal practice and spent five years in Honduras working and learning the cigar trade, including field and barn work.
In 2002, the company changed its name from Indian Tabac to Rocky Patel Premium Cigars.
In 2003 Rocky Patel launched the Vintage 1990 and Vintage 1992 cigars. The Vintage Series received "Best of the Best" accolades from the Robb Report. The Vintage 1990 Robusto was rated 92 by Cigar Aficionado, and the Vintage 1992 Torpedo was subsequently rated 90.
As of 2006 Rocky Patel Premium Cigar Company's annual sales exceeded $25 million. The company manufactured 16 million cigars in 2007.
In 2008 the Rocky Patel Decade cigar achieved a classic 95 rating in Cigar Aficionado. The Decade marked the 10th year of their business.
In 2011 Rocky Patel launched a new online store featuring a complete line of Rocky Patel lighters including the collectible, individually numbered Limited Edition Series.
Read more about this topic: Rocky Patel Premium Cigars
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“the future is simply nothing at all. Nothing has happened to the present by becoming past except that fresh slices of existence have been added to the total history of the world. The past is thus as real as the present.”
—Charlie Dunbar Broad (1887–1971)
“The history of medicine is the history of the unusual.”
—Robert M. Fresco, and Jack Arnold. Prof. Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll)
“No matter how vital experience might be while you lived it, no sooner was it ended and dead than it became as lifeless as the piles of dry dust in a school history book.”
—Ellen Glasgow (1874–1945)