Indian Tabac

Indian Tabac was the founding brand of what would eventually become Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, launched in 1995 by Rakesh "Rocky" Patel, a Hollywood entertainment and product liability attorney who fell in love with cigars as a founding member of the Grand Havana Club in Los Angeles. Patel sold his legal practice and invested in the cigar business at the urging of partners who saw an opportunity in the early stages of the cigar boom. The company debuted at the 1996 RTDA trade show in Cincinnati and drew immediate crowds with its bold packaging and full-flavored Honduran blends. Initial production was grown entirely from tobacco leased from Nestor Plasencia in El Paraiso, Honduras.
The Indian Tabac name was licensed from the Indian Motorcycle brand, to which Patel paid a royalty, giving the line its distinctive Native American identity. The lineup in this database spans the brand's full catalog, from the Classic Corojo series with vitola names like Boxer, TeePee, Scout, Chief, and Tomahawk, to the Cameroon Legend series, which featured primate-named figurados including the Gorilla, Chimp, and Baboon, all in both Cameroon natural and Brazilian maduro wrappers. The Cameroon Legend Gorilla, at 6 x 58, was one of the largest cigars available on the U.S. market in the early 2000s and is credited with helping spark the industry's broader movement toward larger ring gauges. The Habana 2000 and Deluxe Tubo series rounded out the catalog. In 2003, Patel shifted focus toward his eponymous Rocky Patel brand, and Indian Tabac was officially discontinued in 2014.