Rocky Patel partnership with EO brands

[SkinsFanLarry]

Spot on comments Craig!! :clap:

 

[njstone]

I am kinda suprised all this has turned in to what it has with this and a couple other threads in the last 2 days, I originally came here with the understanding of "smoke what you like", I sure hope that hasn't changed!

It has changed, Craig. From what I've seem myself as well as others I've talked with who have been "scared away," sometime over the last 6 months or so it has change here a lot ... and it saddens me.

 

[Le Buzz]

Craig- excellent points. If don't like a certain brand I don't comment and let others continue to enjoy... it doesn't hurt me one bit. I always advocate mutual respect regarding individual tastes.

Honestly the RP bashing has been pretty bad... but I think in this case it's to inform many of us. Referring to this post -->[ame="http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?t=35615"]Dyed Wrappers[/ame]


This is knowledge that helps us decide where to spend our hard-earned money. If a cigar maker is not being honest about his product, I would like to know about it. If, for example, a certain maker starts marking machine rolled cigars as hand-made I would like to be the first to know. (probably an extreme example but it drives the point home.)

 

[tandblov]

opinions vary on any subject. If someone starts a thread on subject such as this, who is to say the only opinions allowed are ones that are "positive"? Why are some opinions more valid? If this was a review and positive, I could see the point. This wasn't.

if you can't handle a thought or view that isn't "positive" or supportive, I don't know what to tell you. Nowhere did I see someone saying that people shouldn't smoke what they want and like.

I can't figure out those who think the only "good" forum is one where everyone is in agreement. Gentleman can disagree and come at things from different angles, and quite frankly it makes life more interesting than constant back slapping.

 

[njstone]

opinions vary on any subject. If someone starts a thread on subject such as this, who is to say the only opinions allowed are ones that are "positive"? Why are some opinions more valid? If this was a review and positive, I could see the point. This wasn't.

if you can't handle a thought or view that isn't "positive" or supportive, I don't know what to tell you. Nowhere did I see someone saying that people shouldn't smoke what they want and like.

I can't figure out those who think the only "good" forum is one where everyone is in agreement. Gentleman can disagree and come at things from different angles, and quite frankly it makes life more interesting than constant back slapping.

But THIS forum is different, and the difference is this:

THIS forum isn't a place for bashing other's opinions or knocking what others like. In other forums, calling certain people's taste in sticks "noobish" and others "elitist" are commonplace--we don't do that on THIS forum unless it's a joke. On THIS forum, the motto of "smoke what you like, like what you smoke" is taken to heart, and people are not looked down upon for smoking RPs or whatever instead of Tats and Cubans or ... (insert whatever cigar people think is cool).

It's not about everyone agreeing about everything, it's about respect. There are a TON of places on the internet for lively debate (and even a Debate room here), but this place is about Brotherhood.

[This was meant to be informational, not exhortation]

In certian cases--like the "cigar dying" issue as others have pointed out--"bashing" of a practice can be done without making people too mad, I think. But if someone's favorite cigars were Rocky Patels or EOs, for example, that person might be pretty annoyed by many of the posts today.

In other words--since many of us here are Tatuaje fans, preplace all the "Rocky Patel" references today to Pete Johnson/Tatauje ... there would be a whole lot of pissed off people here right now ... and no one wants that.

 

[tandblov]

everyone's opinion is valid. Nowhere did I read anyone saying that a person was less than for liking RP cigars.

you like them, good, fine, enjoy them.

 

[indyrob]

This is the million dollar post:

This is a fun thread. But I do have to say one thing here:

You guys are all acting like Rocky Patel and Pepin are diametrically opposed when it comes to how they distribute/sell cigars. I feel I must kindly disabuse you of that notion.

1) Count up how many Pepin-made blends have come out in the last 2-3 years, then how many RPs. I'd wager the numbers are pretty darn close.

2) People talk about Rocky "selling out" to the internet dealers--but DPG has been selling cigars like mad over the last year or so on CI, Cigar.com, Famous, and Holts just to name a few--including tons of exclusive cigars and promos (pictures, etc).

I know there are some folks here who don't care much for RPs, and that's fine ... different strokes for different folks. But the idea that Pepin pisses excellence and Rocky's finest work is crap is just plain incorrect. And the idea that those two manufacturers are the opposite end of the cigar spectrum is just as incorrect. From someone who's smoked a TON of both maker's products, I can honestly say that in terms of construction quality and consistency, they are neck-and-neck as the best of nearly any brand I smoke.

Pepin HAS been everywhere and has his hand in so many different cigars it's not funny anymore. I don't know how long it will take before he sullies his name with something that his name ends up where Rocky's name is ranked.

I still like the Aged 10 & 12 from Rocky...loved them since the first time I had one. Yes, I have had shit sticks from him too but the same can be said for Pepin too. some of Pepins stuff goes bland after a coule of years. I've had boxes that I bought 3-4 years ago that I've tossed out recently because the were nothing anymore in comparison to what they were young.

 

[benday]

wow, with all that's been said i would like to thank weskimad for the news update and creation of the post. i don't have the best resources for important news like this in the cigar industry and we all need to view this post as a news report...not a pro or anti cigar manufacturing thread...there are already enough out there.

i'm also very appreciative of Eddie Ortega contributing and doing his part to keep this post on the line of facts. despite speculation i could only expect this post take the appropriate direction of discussing the news of this merger and not crossing over into another topic such as manufacturing methods or who makes better sticks.

some of the info is clearly debatable and i'm glad to see the contributions discussing how money is made in the industry, and the benifits / drawbacks to mergers in general. but as this thread continues to stay on top and i'm distracted back to what i can only expect is news related to the merger...only to find info that is pure opinion that has nothing to do with this merge (cigar bashing some of you have called it).

thanks again for all the inside news from Eddie Ortega and C. Roberts

 

[daniyal]

I think I had one 601 can't recall which one it was but think it was Blue or Green and really enjoyed it... shame now it will have dyed wrappers.

 

[Craig Mac]

everyone's opinion is valid. Nowhere did I read anyone saying that a person was less than for liking RP cigars.

That attitude is present here, maybe you just don't see it. Hang around the chat room a bit and you'll hear it on the daily. The part that gets me is some of the worst comments about RP come from guys who used to smoke them heavily until they realized it was "not cool". And no, I am not calling out JJ as he freely admits he used to smoke them.

Great points Nate in comparing DPG and RP!

 

[whodeeni]

With all of this finger pointing going on, I would like to see RP Clay
or Rocky himself address the dying wrappers issue, the changing of
blends, and whether things will IMPROVE in the future...

A good friend of mine (who has never posted on a forum by the way)
told me last year that some of the old rocky sticks were amazing and
cheap, but the flavors did change over the years. That said he still used
to smoke 4 to 5 (both corojo and maduro's combined) a day. Now when
brickhouse came out, he started adding one or two of those into the mix,
and when 7-20-4's came out, he smoked one and didn't go back....

Sometimes i just watch these guys (when i have time to go the B&M) to
see what they're smoking because they're REAL smokers.... (anywhere
from 5 to 8 a day) and they buy the majority of their sticks at the B&M's!
(They're not loading up/hoarding boxes like we do on cbid, monster, CI's
Jam!)

So anyone from the RP Camp want to tell me what's going on? I recently
bought a Decade "Edicion Limitada" Maduro because the guy at the B&M
swore that this cigar was "Amazing" and had Some great flavors and a great
burn....

Now after all the rocky bashing, and seeing the dye threads, i was RELUCTANT
AS HELL to buy the stick but i was like what the hell.... "F*ck It"
i'll give him one shot to impress me. I've never come across the Edge Sumatra's
otherwise i would buy one of those two because of all the rave
comments i've heard others make, but that's my 2cents....

I wanna know what's going on with you guys at RP....:scratchhe

 

[Danilo]

All 601 production will be moved to Honduras. Not sure if they are going to adjust the blend or not but Pepin will not be rolling them. I got this from my RP rep.

That means that it will have to be a new blend I'm sure... as I doubt Pepin is gonna give up the original blends to the competition!

 

[SkinsFanLarry]

Hey guys, just registered when I saw this post. Even though I just registered and haven't posted before, this is one of the boards I check often to keep tabs on what you guys are chatting about..

This is definetely a communication error, you can tell the rep who started the rumor, Eddie says he is seriously mistaken.

All EOBrands currently in the market, will continue to be manufactured by Pepin and his family at their Nicaraguan factory in Esteli. The only 2 major changes, will be;

1. The repackaging of the 601 lines, the changes are mainly attributed to requests by retailers in order to better accomodate shelf space. Even though the packaging will change, all blends will remain intact....repeat, the blends will not change.

2. The greatest change will occur at the retail level. We have signifacantly reduced all the prices on the EOBrands (601,Cubao and Murcielago) by a substantial amount of $2 to $3 dollars per stick.

That's it for now, but now that I've registered will try and keep you guys up to date on anything else going on.

-Eddie Ortega / EOBrands

Danilo, what do you think about Eddie's response to Tim's post.....:dunno:

 

[njstone]

I concur with our reigning BoM. We joined about the same time, and have both been seeing these trends here that concern us. This isn't about "camps," not at all, it's just about making sure there isn't, well, snobbery--an unspoken sence that if someone likes/smokes certian types of cigars they are better/worse than someone else--cigarwise.

Now, we're predominately guys here, so of course there will be bragging and such. But have you noticed, for example, a tendancy in the "Today's Smoke" threads to post only if you smoked something "cool"? Not everybody is doing this, of course (and many just don't think to post there every day), but I used to see a whole lot more Flor de Oliva, CAO, and 5 Vegas on those threads than I have lately.

 

[SkinsFanLarry]

I agree with this completely, between the Tat Elitist mentality and the bashing of RP and Gurkhas, it gets to be to much. How many RP bashing threads are going on right now?

If my post of several days ago was perceived as me bashing Gurkha's than I apoligize to everyone. It is just not a cigar that I smoke anymore because there are so many more out there that are in my current taste profile.

 

[blooz4u]

It's not an "elitist" thing or "too good to smoke em" thing with me. When I started smoking, that's all I had. RP Edge and Edge Lite. When my cigar "world" started opening up and suddenly there were other brands that appealed more to my palate, I got away from em and never went back. Does that make them bad? Probably not. I'm not one of those guys who light up 4-8 sticks a day, so when I do smoke, I usually go for something that I know I'll enjoy.

Smoke on bruthas....

 

[Clint]

There is a thread here on BOTL entitled "Dyed Wrapper son Cigars", in which some RP cigars are documented in using dye on their wrappers.
In it I wrote what I think is also applicable to this thread:

Maybe I am too passionate about cigars, but I consider dying cigars to be a disgrace, and a blatant slap in the face to the most important part of the equation: The Customer.

This is equivalent to selling an expensive car, and having the paint job dissolve when you drive it out of the lot. Sure, the cost is more, I get it…But it’s the same idea.

Hey RP....…Pick up a real cigar sometime and take note that the sheen and oiliness comes from using quality product instead of crap hidden under makeup.

 

[strife]

Nothing wrong with a little heated debate so long as it's civilized and loyalty to a brand will always make peoples hair stand up when challenged. What saddens me most is when an owner like Eddie comes here to share with us and we provide a hostile environment.

The original issue was the merger and a concern that DPG would no longer be blending the cigars. Eddie comes here and assures us that would not be the case and his credibility is questioned to the point of embarrassment. Is this the way we want to greet the people that are responsible for the success of one of our passions?

Until proven otherwise I truly believe that DPG will continue blending 601 cigars because Eddie told me so, he deserves that much. Anything thing else posted in this thread is off topic including my rant and for that I apologize.

 

[SmokeProper]

Nothing wrong with a little heated debate so long as it's civilized and loyalty to a brand will always make peoples hair stand up when challenged. What saddens me most is when an owner like Eddie comes here to share with us and we provide a hostile environment.

The original issue was the merger and a concern that DPG would no longer be blending the cigars. Eddie comes here and assures us that would not be the case and his credibility is questioned to the point of embarrassment. Is this the way we want to greet the people that are responsible for the success of one of our passions?

Until proven otherwise I truly believe that DPG will continue blending 601 cigars because Eddie told me so, he deserves that much. Anything thing else posted in this thread is off topic including my rant and for that I apologize.

EXACTLY!!!! Ok guys, nothing else to see here.

Thanks Strife.

 

[Clint]

Nothing wrong with a little heated debate so long as it's civilized and loyalty to a brand will always make peoples hair stand up when challenged. What saddens me most is when an owner like Eddie comes here to share with us and we provide a hostile environment.

The original issue was the merger and a concern that DPG would no longer be blending the cigars. Eddie comes here and assures us that would not be the case and his credibility is questioned to the point of embarrassment. Is this the way we want to greet the people that are responsible for the success of one of our passions?

Until proven otherwise I truly believe that DPG will continue blending 601 cigars because Eddie told me so, he deserves that much. Anything thing else posted in this thread is off topic including my rant and for that I apologize.

No hostilty, just people voicing their opinion that being slapped in the face with a cover up is not being taken well bytheir customers...Nor should it.

Are you saying that this kind of overt, bait and switch should be welcomed? Especially at that price point?

Shame on RP for selling one thing, and providing another.

At least when Pete realized issues with Boris, he immediaetly posted the news and how to handle the issue on his website. RP continues to NOT address the issue of adding dye to their wrappers...Pretty disgraceful, IMHO.

I expect a leader to provide quality product to their customers...Saying so is not hostile.