Rocky Patel Premium Cigars

Rakesh Patel, known as Rocky, was a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer who moved into cigars during the mid-1990s boom, founding the Indian Tabac Cigar Company in 1995. Early production was handled in Honduras through third parties. After the boom collapsed, Patel rebuilt the business under his own name and shifted the centre of gravity to Nicaragua, growing in Esteli and eventually establishing his own manufacturing there.

The commercial breakthrough came with the Vintage 1990 and Vintage 1992 lines, built on wrapper leaf held for extended periods before rolling, followed by The Edge and, in 2008, the Decade. The catalogue has since grown very large by industry standards, spanning Sun Grown, Number 6, Royale, LB1 and a long series of anniversary releases at several price levels. The company also sells a broad range of accessories and lighters under its own name.

The company is headquartered in Bonita Springs, Florida, and operates its own factory in Esteli, TAVICUSA, alongside Nicaraguan farming interests. Because published accounts differ on some early dates and on the precise sequence of the Indian Tabac to Rocky Patel transition, this record is marked reported. Rocky Patel has opened branded cigar lounges in several American cities, a diversification few premium brands of comparable size have attempted.