Gurkha Crest - Revisited
Steve2010
Posts: 1,036 ✭
Excerpt from Gurkhacigars.com
Sometime late last year, I reviewed the Gurkha Crest Churchill and
was hugely disappointed. I originally bought two and was rearranging my
humidor and came across the remaining one.
Rather than tossing it out of spite, I decided to fire it up and perhaps give it a chance to redeem itself, so here we go.
The Gurkha Crest Churchill is 7 x 52, with Nicaraguan Ligero binder and fillers and a Connecticut Maduro wrapper.
It says it has a Connecticut Maduro wrapper, but its
mottled and looks more like an Indonesian or Sumatran wrapper. It looks
more like a Rolando Reyes cigar than a Gurkha.
The cigar seems solidly
rolled with no soft spots.
The pre-light smell is like freshly baked
bread with just a hint of pepper.
It fires right up and the initial notes are woody with a slight
peppery bite on the front of the palate. The burn is straightforward and
the draw is very loose.
About a ½ inch in and the hints of pepper disappear.
About a ½ inch later and the all hell breaks loose, and not in a
good way. Some sour notes appear along with a metallic aftertaste. Sort
of like when you bite a piece of aluminum foil.
But wait, it gets worse.
Back in 2005-06, Baghdad was even worse than it is now. The Sunnis
hated the Shiites and vice-versa. Plus they both hated Americans.
Anyway, thered be bombings, shootings and general mayhem. Wed be on
patrol and turn a corner and see dozens of bodies lined up, executed
with their hands tied behind their backs.
One of the most offensive and distinctive odors in the world is a
dead human. Once youve smelled it, it lingers with you forever.
Another smell that stands out in a bad way is South Korea. As soon as
you step off the plane, your senses are assaulted. They use human waste
to fertilize their rice paddies. Yes, really.
The South Koreans have Porta-johns all over the place. Once theyre
full, a truck comes by and sucks it up, then goes straight out to a rice
paddy and unloads it into the water.
The entire country smells like a sun-baked outhouse.
Now that you have those two images in your mind, combine them and you
know what the Gurkha Crest smells and tastes like: Dead Iraqis and
South Korean rice paddies.
Seriously, 1 inch into a 7 inch cigar, and I was forced to toss it into the desert.
When a cigar is listed as having a Nicaraguan filler and binder, I expect a bit of oomph and flavor. This one is oomph-less.
I have no idea where they got the idea that these can be touted as
extra strength, triple ligero. The only thing extra strength about
the Gurkha Crest is its offensive odor and foul taste.
Listerine barely helped. I think I may rinse my mouth out with gasoline.
Dont get me wrong, I still have a place in my heart for a few Gurkhas
just not this one.
The worst part? Singles can be had for $25+ and boxes of 30 sell for over $500.
Hindsight's 20/20 and in hindsight, I should have just tossed it before even lighting it up.
Comments
this picture shows how splotchy fermentation can make a cigar. (especially the way LFD does it) that cigar IS a sumatra wrapper with heavy fermentation. im not sure they call it a maduro but it is as dark as some maduros.
the problem comes in if there are spots that are to light or greenish or to dark and the wrapper thins.
you experience with this cigar does not surprise me though. the ones i had were a giant disappointment.
could be a bunch of things.
it could also be the inconsistency that is Gurkha.
That is what kept me from trying anything from Gurkah for so long. I figured that they make a ton of different cigars because they can't make one good one.