The Gurkha Experiment (5 Reviews)
Disclaimer: These are reviews I did for another site, in another time. The photos no longer exist, but the information will hopefully remain useful to some.
The Gurkha Experiment- Part One: Centurian Review
Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper origin: Connecticut
Wrapper type: Broadleaf
Filler / Binder: Dominican Republic
Vitola: Double Perfecto
Length: 6”
Ring: 60
This is the first of 5 reviews that I will post under the title “The Gurkha Experiment”. Since the beginning of my time online I have noticed an unmatched criticism voiced against Gurkhas. Some posters cite experiences with burn issues and shoddy construction. Some seemingly jump on the bandwagon absent of any real familiarity with the brand. I have smoked a handful from this maker, but none have been terribly notable to me (either in a positive or negative way). Recently I went digging through my humidors and coolers to find a total of 6 different Gurkhas that I have either purchased or received in trades on the boards. I want to give these cigars a fair shake by approaching them with an open mind and seeing what they really have to offer. If they do indeed suck, I have no problem saying that, but I suspect that the voices of opposition simply tend to be louder and there are plenty of content Gurkha smokers among us who are more interested in enjoying their cigars than debating them.
This stick was rested ~6 months @ 65Rh.
The wrapper was a medium brown with some small veins but nothing significant. There were a couple minor wrinkles towards the foot, but overall the cigar seemed well constructed. There were two separate bands that took up over 40% of the stick’s surface area. They seemed a bit over-the-top for a perfecto, but were harmless, so whatever.
The foot had a surprisingly robust tobacco scent with a slight cocoa essence. I trimmed about 1/4” off of the head with a guillotine cutter in order to give a better pull. The draw was mild with a “bright” tobacco flavor that bordered slightly on acidic. I toasted the foot with a torch before finishing with a wooden match and purging a couple times.
Once the cigar was lit, I found the draw to be a little tight. This improved as I went along, but was still annoying for several minutes. The flavors however got off to a good start immediately with hints of leather and soil. It was a refreshing profile with a slight “tanginess” but without any astringency. The burn wasn’t razor sharp, but it came along fine on its own without any touch-ups. The ash was a darker grey, layered nicely, and held very tight to the cigar.
The flavor didn’t change drastically as I moved into the 2nd third of the stick. It maintained its mild profile and while the tangy nuances fell away, the leather flavor became slightly woody and mildly sweet. The cigar began to canoe in this section. I left it alone to work itself out, but began to strip off the bands before they became scorched at the halfway point. The burn issues managed to resolve themselves and aside from being ugly, they were of little consequence. I did become a little concerned with how “spongy” the cigar began to feel as I moved towards the nub. The flavors stayed on course, becoming only a little more pronounced as I went along.
I was surprised by how fast this cigar moved along. I was coming into the nub after only 40 minutes. The flavors steadily became more robust, but still similar. The leather flavor returned and was accompanied by a slight nuttiness. The burn remained spastic, but I never had to put a flame to it after the initial light. Total smoking time ended up being 55 minutes.
I think this is definitely an all-day smoke. As quick as it burned, you could almost enjoy one after lunch before heading back to the office. If you want to smoke them on the course, I suggest you take at least 3. Contrary to popular theory- the wrapper never exploded (or even cracked) and the flavor was not adversely affected by the burn problems. They did however make me a little anxious throughout my time smoking. For some reason (mainly people’s chatter) I kept waiting for the stick to blow-up in my face like a gag cigar. Overall, this was a fairly one-dimensional smoke that never tasted bad, but didn’t wow me either. The MSRP is $30, but they can be had for well under $5. If you pick a few up on an auction site at that price, then I think they are worth having around.
Overall 8.4/10
The Gurkha Experiment- Part 2: Gurkha Status Maduro Review
Origin: Honduras
Strength: Medium
Wrapper: USA Connecticut
Wrapper Color: Maduro
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Shape: Torpedo
This was a nice looking cigar with a dark oily wrapper that was slightly toothy with a few small veins. It seemed to be well rolled, felt firm, and I was particularly impressed by the head of the cigar- I could not find the seam in the wrapper anywhere. The foot had a pleasant cocoa scent that was slightly sweet and smelled like a freshly unwrapped dark chocolate bar. There was also a slight toasty smell that made the whole cigar smell reminiscent of a smore. I cut the end with a guillotine cutter. The draw was pretty good with a taste that was mainly cocoa, but it also had hints of grass. It was sort of like Cocoa Puff cereal. There was a bit of pepper in the taste of the wrapper. I used a torch to toast the foot and finished the light with a match.
The very first taste I got from this cigar was like a well balanced cup of black coffee. It was one of the better first couple puffs I can recall getting from a stick. Often times I purge after lighting, but there was no need to do that here. The burn was good early on and I enjoyed watching the wrapper get extra oily just ahead of the fire. Behind this coffee flavor cam a slightly bitter chocolate, but most interesting was a faint barnyard flavor in the retrohale. I think this might have been connected to the dty grass I picked up on in the cold draw. The first third was excellent.
The burn started becoming unbalanced in the next section. It was very humid outside when I smoked it and that might have contributed to the canoeing. The sweetness began to come out in the stick and I caught a very distinctive taste of cumin in the smoke. This is something I don’t notice too often, but it’s hard to ignore that toasted seed flavor. Once the canoe was over ½” long, I touched it up with a torch in order to get things back on track. After the correction and a purge the flavor mellowed out some and slightly buttery medium profile settled in. Overall, the 2/3 was a pain in the rear, but the cigar seemed worth continuing on at that point.
As I approached the nub a peppery spice came back out in the wrapper and it literally left my lips burning. This was accompanied by a split in the wrapper that grew from the base of the burn line and headed towards the head of the cigar. The draw became very tight and the stick went out in spite of my consistent puffing. I knocked off the ash and used my torch to get it going again. It seemed to recover okay and I can only assume there was a knot of excess tobacco rolled unevenly in that section. The split did not grow and the flavor became heavy with dark chocolate with some molasses aftertaste. As the cigar finished up, it stayed fairly stout, but grew sweeter until the very end.
Total smoking time was 95 minutes. This one could be enjoyed anytime of the day, but I smoked immediately after lunch and found the timing quite satisfying. The best part of this one was the flavors. They were more medium than mild and rich. There was enough “movement” throughout the smoke to keep it interesting. The burn issues that required a few lighter revisits were frustrating, but I’m optimistic that this was partially due to the weather (though some was definitely the way it was rolled). Overall, this stick seems to run in the $7-9 range, which I feel is a little bit high. You can grab them on auction sites for <$5, and at that cost I would give it an 8.5/10. It would have hit a 9 if the damn thing had burned better.
continued in next post...
