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Gurkha Cigars.

Good evening gentlemen. I've recently returned to the world of cigars after a prolonged absence.  I'm 41 years old, grew up in the Bronx, NY around (among others) Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Italians who were part of a certain "thing". Not being insensitive, just stating fact.  The point is that I grew up learning about and smoking a lot of "Old School" ie. "Cuban style" and actual Cuban cigars that tasted and smoked great.
I enjoy a lot of the currrent growers/blenders' lines (Pepin and A.J. Fernandez especially), but: What is really up with the Ghurka brand.
Since returning to cigars, they're all I hear about. I've read interviews with the owner/founder going on about "ultra premium" and "luxury". I've heard him go on about "the most expensive tobaccos" and "most expensive packaging". I've heard many aficianados go on at ecstatic length about these sticks.
What about taste? I've tried several of their MANY lines and so far am not impressed. A Cuban friend once presented me with a hand made cigar rolled by his uncle from a small tobacco patch on his land in Cuba (we're talking just a "hobby" tobacco grower) and it was a phenomenal smoke, certainly better than a lot of these "most expensive" Ghurkas.
Please understand, I'm not a snob and by no means wealthy. But I have no issue with spending some money on something good. $20.00 for a My Father Ltd Ed. 2010? No problem. (The 2011, eh... not so much). But am I missing something with Ghurka? Maybe a little more focus on taste and a little less on 60 coats of perfectly applied lacquer on the box?
Opinions?

Comments

  • docbp87docbp87 Posts: 3,521
    You pretty much hit the nail on the head. Note, all praise Gurkha gets comes from themselves. They never publish any quotes from reliable sources about their cigars. They are the self appointed Rolls Royce of cigars, not the publicly anointed Rolls.
  • KingoftheCoveKingoftheCove Posts: 937 ✭✭✭
    I like the Titans, but not as much as I did a a year ago..................my tastes have changed I suppose?
    My amateur opinion..........Gurkha = lots of hype + marketing.......... resulting in too many cigars, inconsistencies among their lines, some of which are simply not that good imho.
    I'll take the GH Vintage 2002 over most Gurkhas, and they're $2/each, and less on occasion...................

  • Thanks for the response gentlemen. I've been feeling a bit like the subjects in "The Emperor's New Clothes". Great call on the GH Vintage 2002's btw. I've got a BUNCH of those in my humi and cannot believe the quality to price ratio. They look great, taste even better, (and impress the hell out of people when i hand 'em out) :-) Happy puffing!
  • ShotgunJohnShotgunJohn Posts: 1,545 ✭✭
    I use to be a Gurkha fan, but then I tried other brands that were better.
    I really think Gurkha's problem is that they have too many cigars in their portfolio that are mediocre and don't focus on a select core that could be stellar.

    Kaiser focuses on glitzy packaging and gimmicks like knives and coins.
    A few of the sticks I really like from Gurkha are Evil, Blue Steel, Empire IV & VI and believe it or not Cuban legacy (San Andreas wrapper) and Park Ave Maduro. I have always had consistent flavor and success with those sticks.
    A few sticks I really wanted to try and were let down were Genghis Khan, Assassin and Centurian (good sometime and bad others). I am waiting I have a Warlord and hope it is good.

    I think for a cheaper price most of AJ Fernandez sticks are great and Perdomo has tons of great priced quality sticks, you get more bang for your buck.
    Just my 2cents

    Welcome to the forum.
  • Thanks for the .02 ¢ Shotgun, it's worth more than you know.
  • gmill880gmill880 Posts: 5,947
    The Gurkha Centurian and the Rare Breed were 2 I enjoyed . The Rare Breed had a nice peppery flavor that I really enjoy in any cigar .

    By the way , welcome to the forum , hope you stay with us .
  • danielruasdanielruas Posts: 778
    I've enjoyed a couple gurkhas and haven't enjoyed a lot more. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy them but if I'm given them for free I smoke them.
  • RCY_CigarsRCY_Cigars Posts: 5,493 ✭✭✭
    I don't know about being a fan. But I do like the Gurkha Centurian and I have not had one issue with one I've smoked. Hopefully that will never happen. But the Gurkha Crest, I have had a roller coaster ride with. At this point with almost a year smoking. Those are the only ones I like. I wouldn't buy another Crest but, maybe trade for a few. I still have a few others to try. Worth the price, not sure about that even though the Gurkha Centurian is a good smoke.

    On another more important note. Welcome to the forum....

  • rwheelwrightrwheelwright Posts: 3,296
    I can say this. I had the Genghis Khan and it was awesome. For a more mild - medium smoke I really like the Shaggy. The Shaggy Maduro was good to but I lost most of them due to beetles (which I believe is where they originated from). The Centurian is hit or miss for me. The dragon fire and dragon fury were just ok. Both started off really good but got blah quickly. I think I liked the blue steel but don't remember. It's been too long since I had one. There were some Legends that I loved and some that were ok. The Grand Reserve and the Platinum XIII were good but I think I aged them too much and they are past their prime. The rest were ehh. Some good some bad and I have a *** load. Some of the rare breeds were good, the grand age is pretty ok, the warlord is pretty ok, the royal reserve was good from what I remember, the titan and beast were very similar and the titan 2 was similar also and they were good. The G5 was good but strong. I've only had one of them. The cuban legacy was ehh but I only had one. The triple ligero was good but the last one I had sucked. The regent was pretty ok along with the Nepalese Warrior, the elegance was smooth, the holy grail was smooth too, the Beauty is really good for a connie (which I am not a fan of).

    I have so many that I can't remember all of the lines. Doble maduro, signature, small batch this and that, royal brigade, etc...
  • gmill880gmill880 Posts: 5,947
    Forgot to mention ... The Ancient Warrior , I really enjoyed the 5-10 I've had of those .
  • HaybletHayblet Posts: 2,429 ✭✭✭
    while they do make good cigars now n then I think it is summed up best as they offered a "tasting club" not that long ago and one of the "questions" was something to the extent of "Can you put Gurkha Cigars in a positive light in your reviews?" really speaks of what they look for.
  • RhamlinRhamlin Posts: 9,022 ✭✭✭✭✭
    KingoftheCove:
    I like the Titans, but not as much as I did a a year ago..................my tastes have changed I suppose?
    My amateur opinion..........Gurkha = lots of hype + marketing.......... resulting in too many cigars, inconsistencies among their lines, some of which are simply not that good imho.
    I'll take the GH Vintage 2002 over most Gurkhas, and they're $2/each, and less on occasion...................

    #1 I liked the empire series but most I've had was just ok some I didn't make past the fourth draw and that was forcing it hoping it would get better.
  • Thanks for all the great responses so far gents, and keep 'em coming. I'll have to try a few of your suggestions and get back to you. And thank you all for the welcomes. It's a pleasure to be here!
  • Ok, so I had the centurian about a year ago....loved it... In the past month or so, I have picked up 30 Gurkhas.... I figure I got some pretty spendy (MSRP) sticks, (centurian, beauty, beast, titan, crest) for around 2.75-3.50 per stick through samplers/sprint sale deals....So over the next year or so, I will make up my mind on Gurkha, good or bad...
    I tried my first crest and wasnt impressed, swiftly traded my other away to JSaint!!!!
  • The SniperThe Sniper Posts: 3,910
    Ah yes, Gurkha....

    My assburn with Gurkha's is well known to long tenured members of the forum, so I will not rehash my complaints in length here. With the exception of the Titan and Titan II, I have had some sort of issue with EVERY SINGLE one of their "premium" sticks Ive tried (burn problems, wrappers unraveling, tasting like a dog rocket, etc).

    However, I have had much better luck and enjoyment out of their "budget" lines. The Cuban Heritage, Triple Ligero and Park Avenue have all been great experiences for me.

    Someone brought up something earlier in this thread that I wasnt aware of in myself where Gurkha is concerned. They come out with TONS of different lines of cigars, trying to cover all bases of sigar enthusiast's tastes - which I suppose is fine...

    ... but if they didnt hype every single new line as THE GREATEST CIGAR EVER CREATED (and charge for them accordingly), perhaps my disappointment wouldnt be AS great when they disappoint.

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