Anyone hear about this?

The Sniper

I was at a Rocky Patel event at a local B&M here in KC a while back (terrible experience BTW!), and their in-store rep told me that they had acquired the EO Brand, who make the 601 Series cigars along with my beloved Cubao.

Has anyone else heard about this? ALEX & TIM - what effect if any do you see this having on the former EO brands?

cabinetmaker

Great, more good brands destined to mediocrity.

The Sniper

Kinda what Im afraid of too Cabby :-(

LeftFive

I've heard it, but I can't remember where.

Joeyjoe21_8

better buy those cubao's!!!

jsnake

It is true but Eddie Ortega still controls EO Brands. He was at IPCPR supporting his cigars in Rocky Patel's booth. Eddie has a great forum site and is working on new stuff. The 601 black is going away but everything else is still going strong. 601 has received a facelift on boxes and bands. If you haven't tried Murcielago out yet you are missing out!!

EO Brands isn't going anywhere. No need to buy up all the stock unless you want to.

kuzi16

this was a similar situation to when Davidoff bought up Camacho.

all the decisions are made by camacho... they are just owned by Davidoff.

docbp87

This happened a few months ago, right? Or am I crazy?

Jetmech_63

I think it was a lon time coming. REO, used to be my favorite budget stick, the "R" is rocky and "EO" is eddie ortega. They also put out Vibe cigars, not bad but REO was better. 601 red is basically the REO just w/ a diffrent band. I used to really dig on RP (i still love his sungrown) but all of his other stuff tastes kind of the same.....smoke a ton of RP and you'll see what i mean, i agree w/ cabby.

docbp87

Jetmech_63:

but all of his other stuff tastes kind of the same.....smoke a ton of RP and you'll see what i mean, i agree w/ cabby.

They call that the "Gurkha Effect"

The Sniper

Jetmech_63:

I think it was a lon time coming. REO, used to be my favorite budget stick, the "R" is rocky and "EO" is eddie ortega. They also put out Vibe cigars, not bad but REO was better. 601 red is basically the REO just w/ a diffrent band. I used to really dig on RP (i still love his sungrown) but all of his other stuff tastes kind of the same.....smoke a ton of RP and you'll see what i mean, i agree w/ cabby.

Gotta respectfully disagree brother If somebody can smoke a Decade, 1961, Connie, Double Maduro, Fusion and Sun Grown and tell me they all taste the same... well, I would certainly make a donation for a palette transplant. LOL

docbp87

The Sniper:

Jetmech_63:

I think it was a lon time coming. REO, used to be my favorite budget stick, the "R" is rocky and "EO" is eddie ortega. They also put out Vibe cigars, not bad but REO was better. 601 red is basically the REO just w/ a diffrent band. I used to really dig on RP (i still love his sungrown) but all of his other stuff tastes kind of the same.....smoke a ton of RP and you'll see what i mean, i agree w/ cabby.

Gotta respectfully disagree brother If somebody can smoke a Decade, 1961, Connie, Double Maduro, Fusion and Sun Grown and tell me they all taste the same... well, I would certainly make a donation for a palette transplant. LOL

True, but the 1961, Decade, and Double Maduro certainly aren't all that different... Obviously the Connie and SG aren't the same, but that's not the point. The point is that he has 9,870,987,598,243 different blends, 99% of them are mediocre at best, oh, and can we talk about the paint jobs? lol...

Joeyjoe21_8

whoa there doc....thats just messed up bud lol...jp jp...i am a gurkha whore

The Sniper

Comparing Rocky Patel to Gurkha like that is on the same level as saying Megan Fox & America Ferrara are the same because they both have dark hair. LOL

Russ55

The Sniper:

Comparing Rocky Patel to Gurkha like that is on the same level as saying Megan Fox & America Ferrara are the same because they both have dark hair. LOL

I dunno. I think Rocky and Gurkha have a lot of similarities. They both have a ton of brands, they both are heavily into marketing, neither make their own stuff, though I guess Rocky has that new factory in Esteli now, and they are both industry outsiders. Personally I don't much care for either of them, but they certainly do seem very similar to me, at least as companies.

Also, I think when Jetmech says all of rocky's stuff tastes the same he's not saying it literally all tastes the same. But a lot of rocky's sticks are very similar. I've smoked a ton of his cigars, and I can taste a lot of the same things in the 1990 that I can taste in the '92, that I can taste in the 1961, that I can taste in the Decade, and that I can taste in the Royal Vintage. Do all those stick taste exactly the same? No, but there's a lot of similarities in the flavor of the those blends. Blending style is one thing, but this doesn't come across to me as blending style. I think that's what he was getting at.

Edit: Add the I press to that grouping as well. Not saying they're bad sticks.

kuzi16

docbp87:

Jetmech_63:

but all of his other stuff tastes kind of the same.....smoke a ton of RP and you'll see what i mean, i agree w/ cabby.

They call that the "Gurkha Effect"

RP was like that before Gurkha.

kuzi16

Russ55:

Also, I think when Jetmech says all of rocky's stuff tastes the same he's not saying it literally all tastes the same. But a lot of rocky's sticks are very similar. I've smoked a ton of his cigars, and I can taste a lot of the same things in the 1990 that I can taste in the '92, that I can taste in the 1961, that I can taste in the Decade, and that I can taste in the Royal Vintage. Do all those stick taste exactly the same? No, but there's a lot of similarities in the flavor of the those blends. Blending style is one thing, but this doesn't come across to me as blending style. I think that's what he was getting at.

you are right on this. RP has a very distinct blending style. many, many elements of flavor carry over from one cigar to the next.

to a lesser degree, gurkha does as well. there is a style there but its harder to pinpoint.


in all fairness, Davidoff (Kelner) has a distinct style as well and even has a trademark flavor (the "kelner musk"). i feel that there are other things going on in there with the Davidoffs and that sets them apart from Gurkha and RP. (beyond taste and complexity, construction and consistency are the most noticeable)