My first Gurkha

So I hit up my cigar lounge on the way home from getting my car serviced and had myself an Oliva Master Blends III that had gotten in a sampler I bought in January. Very sweet and tasty cigar which I rather enjoyed. I have another in my humidor which I now know I will save for a while. He closes shop at 7 on weekdays so when I got home I was still in a smoking mood. So between a DPG blue lable (which I love), and a Gurkha Centurian (which I have yet to smoke) I went with the Centurian. Mind you, the Centurian was part of the same sampler I got the OMB III in, and I read so much about the almighty Gurkha on this forum I really wanted to try it. Quite a disappointment. First off all, it had construction problems the entire smoke. The wrapper started peeling off of this thing the moment I unrapped it. The more of it I smoked, the worse it got. And when I peeled the band off of it, forget about it. I'm really stumped about the wrapper issue, because I got my humi always between 65% and 70% RH and I don't have any issues with my other sticks. The strength I felt was typical for a medium bodied cigar. As for the flavor...it was enjoyable, but nothing to write home about. Nothing really jumped out at me, though. In my short tenure with this wonderful hobby, I've smoked cigars at a third of the price with hearty flavors that have really wowed me. This didn't wow me . Perhaps I set the bar too hight. Higher than the Sultan of Brunei I guess. I would appreciate any input on this cigar. I have another one left in my humi, but I'm not so sure now if it won't just be a give-away.

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bigharpoon

I've smoked several Centurians and have been less than wowed myself. I got them as a package deal and I really wanted to try them and, like you, was pretty disappointed. Lots of people chimed in and told me how much they love them, blah blah. I ended up giving them out to others who clearly like them, and they were psyched! Good for them, but I don't get it, I thought the flavor was boring, one dimensional, the body thin and the draw tight to impossible.

jfaciane

Same here bro. I had my first Gurkha too the other day, a Ruination, and I wasn't impressed either. After hearing so much about it I was expecting a lot more and it definitely didn't live up to the hype or the price. Thankfully I didn't pay full price for it, I got it in a sampler too. Now I had a $3.85 Padron today and it was by far the best cigar I've had yet. I will definitely make this cigar my first box purchase, very flavorful, burned beautifully and just a great relaxing smoke all the way through.

rzaman

Gurkha overall a over hyped brand-my personal opinion. At the same time I also respect others opinion who likes it. Cigar taste is always individual. Here is my personal observation about Gurkha: Many of their cigar wrapper come off during unwrap, also during take off the band. I like Crest and Beauty. Other than that so far tried over 10 different Gurkha but will never buy them. Right now I am smoking a Gurkha grand reserve-well, it is a mild, smooth. So far not bad. Another thing I do not like about Gurkha is- they push their selling too hard. More or less every on-line vendor offer special X,Y,Z deals. I wonder why they push too hard. No doubt they offer great deal to the cigar vendors so they also promote Gurkha. Aggressive marketing a strategy but years after years is annoying. Many cigars retail price is $12,15,30 even $750 but you can always buy cheaper with some sort of deal. What is the actual price then? There are actually few cigars in the market which can ask for $15 if you think about the actual value. When I see the cigar production, business cost in Nicaragua, I ask myself why some cigars cost so high. However, even Arturo Fuente, Padron cigars are over priced. In that sense AJ Fernandez offer better price and value. However, I am not sure how long it will last. Anyway, overall Gurkha is not my favorite brand in terms of the price and value. I am willing to pay hefty price if a cigar maker can offer value like Stradivarius or Partagas Decade reserve.

y2pascoe

Ironic, in the description of the perfecto shape: "This requirement means that you can expect flawless construction, appearance, and taste from this cigar." Nah. That didn't happen. Obviously I didn't pay MSRP for that cigar, but for a stick that holds a $20 price tag, I expected more. Don't want to give up on the brand though based on one cigar. I would definitely like to try others. Any suggestions?

wwhwang

jfaciane:
Same here bro. I had my first Gurkha too the other day, a Ruination, and I wasn't impressed either. After hearing so much about it I was expecting a lot more and it definitely didn't live up to the hype or the price. Thankfully I didn't pay full price for it, I got it in a sampler too. Now I had a $3.85 Padron today and it was by far the best cigar I've had yet. I will definitely make this cigar my first box purchase, very flavorful, burned beautifully and just a great relaxing smoke all the way through.

...What? The Ruination isn't a Gurkha. It's a Man O' War.

rzaman

Y2pascoe, try Beauty and Crest. Of course with special price LOL

y2pascoe

Speaking of Ruination, didn't Alex say that MOW sampler with the 3 Propers, 3 Virtues, 3 Ruinations, and the Armada was going to be available this week. After smoking the Virtue I really want to get my hands on the other blends and try them out. Definitely want to grab that sampler!

kaelaria

To me the brand is way over priced, way over hyped and you pay for the boxes more than the cigars.

kuzi16

if you can find the older centurians they are better
as far a gurkhas that im not mad at: Regent, Centurian, Legend.
that is about it. more times than not i am let down by them. the marketing, the hype... its just a cigar. never blow me out of the water cigar.

stephen_hannibal

Gurkha is a bit touch and go it seems... Personally I love the stuff I've had.
The Centurian was my first wow cigar. and it still hits me every time I light one.

jfaciane

wwhwang:
jfaciane:
Same here bro. I had my first Gurkha too the other day, a Ruination, and I wasn't impressed either. After hearing so much about it I was expecting a lot more and it definitely didn't live up to the hype or the price. Thankfully I didn't pay full price for it, I got it in a sampler too. Now I had a $3.85 Padron today and it was by far the best cigar I've had yet. I will definitely make this cigar my first box purchase, very flavorful, burned beautifully and just a great relaxing smoke all the way through.
...What? The Ruination isn't a Gurkha. It's a Man O' War.

Lol!! Oh man what was I thinking! I think I was still tripping from that Padron I smoked earlier with my whiskey. My bad, still, I didn't care for the MOW Ruination. Still learning my man, I didn't have the cigar in front of me and I forgot who made it. So I retract my statement, I haven't had a Gurkha yet.

AJGARLETT

I cant speak much to your experience with the flavor profile as everyone's palette is different (in both preference and refinement) however I will say that the Centurian is a staple in my humi and I've never had a single one with construction issues. With all that being said, you have a pm

Vulchor

Centurian I think is great, I also think the Viper is pretty good. HOWEVER, I have smoked probably a doxzen other Gurkhas and havent found one of them worth the price of the gas to get the to B & M. They are truly a love or hate brand I think as some people think its the most diverse and flavorful brand going-----but those of us with sense

alienmisprint

I have yet to smoke a Gurkha that I would pay MSRP for. That being said, there are some good Gurkha blends to be had, just make sure you grab 'em off a daily deal or something of that sort. I really dig these by Gurkha:

Signature 101 Maduro
Beast
Titan
Legend
Regent
Centurian
Royal Brigade
Ancient Warrior
Empire VI

Joeyjoe21_8

the titan is badass...but the TITAN II was so much frakin better! lol....too bad they dont make these anymore cuz ive been hunting for them...if i ever find them again i may just buy a few boxes and let them sit! lol

docbp87

See, the Centurian is the one Gurkha I would ever choose to smoke... but even then it is ridiculously over priced, and never burns well. Flavor wise it's good (and by that I mean it doesn't taste like wet dirt, like most Gurkha cigars). All of that said, I have pretty strongly negative feelings towards Gurkha. Their entire operation goes pretty squarely against how I would ideally want the industry to work.

MTuccelli

I haven't smoked a Centurian yet but I do love those Regents and Symphony #4

The Sniper

I had the same experience with the Centurian both times I tried it. Ive said it before and I will say it again - Rolls Royce of Cigars? MY A$$! If I was Rolls Royce I would be suing Gurkha into the dirt for even hinting at such a comparison.

For my money, Gurkha should be called the Kia of cigars - because the only cigars of theirs I enjoy have been their "budget" sticks - Cuban Legacy, Park Ave, Sherpa Cafe, and Turk.

wwhwang

My favorite Gurkhas that I've tried so far are the Centurian, Symphony, Assassin, Viper, Ninja, Grand Reserve, Legend, and Black Dragon.

There's a lot of Gurkha hate out there, but I like most of the ones I've had. Are they worth MSRP? No. But I still like 'em. Just make sure to get them on sale.

boydmcgowan

wwhwang:
My favorite Gurkhas that I've tried so far are the Centurian, Symphony, Assassin, Viper, Ninja, Grand Reserve, Legend, and Black Dragon.

There's a lot of Gurkha hate out there, but I like most of the ones I've had. Are they worth MSRP? No. But I still like 'em. Just make sure to get them on sale.

I'm right there with Wayne on this one. there is alot of Gurkha hate out there, but I haven't had too many bad ones. so I wanted to offer some Gukha support so here's my long winded view on the brand. The marketing does get under my skin a little (like sniper said, Rolls royce for cigars? really?), as does the number of blends they put out there. I don't know why but I feel like a company should focus more on fewer core lines and do those really well. When one starts slowing down on sales, pull it for a bit to generate interest again before re-releasing it, or just dump it and then put out something new. Throw in a few LEs and maybe a budget line to use up the lesser quality tobacco, and you got yourself a brand.

Gurkha has alot out there, and it makes the consumer feel a little like your bobbing for apples when you try to figure out which to try for the first time. You read a bunch of other peoples opinions, and then you guess, and you smoke whatever you end up with, if your not wowed by it, your right back at the apple bucket bobbing again, and you eventually give up because its not worth guessing so much. When I first tried them in the early to mid 2000s there werent too many lines out, so it wasn't really hard to try them all. Each year they seem to add 3-5 more lines while sill putting out the oldies which is why there are so many lines out now.

I've smoked through 2 and a half boxes of the Masters Select Perfectos, had alot of construction problems with that wrapper, but it never bothered me becuase I think they use that H2000 wrapper which is notorious for burn issues. I like the flavor, so you just need to know what your getting into with that cigar. Age does help, but they still unwrap on me from time to time. But that cigar has a soft spot in my heart.

The ones I've had that I enjoy are the Masters Select, Regent, Park Avenue, Sherpa, and the Legend. The rest I either haven't had or weren't really my thing. So becuase of that, I'm pretty neutral on Gurkha. I like what I like, and don't wory about the rest, and try not to pay MSRP for them. I haven't had many that I hated, but not many that wowed me besides the masters select. Its what got me into boutique brands which ultimately led me to Ccom years ago and I still enjoy each one I smoke, although its not much anymore as I'm out and I'm more into other stuff these days.

So yeah, give them another try but try not to hold such high expectations when going into it. Also they seem to be very good at mild-medium super smooth cigars, some have a little spice to them, but even that is not much. Also there is a new sampler out right now I think where it has all of K Hansoitia's (sp?) favorites. When you want to know what a company is about, try what the owner likes first, chances are good you'll get a feel for the whole line.

Anyway, like I said, this was way too long winded. haha. sorry guys.

alienmisprint

MTuccelli:
I haven't smoked a Centurian yet but I do love those Regents and Symphony #4

Add Symphonies to my list as well, forgot about those.

MTuccelli

alienmisprint:
MTuccelli:
I haven't smoked a Centurian yet but I do love those Regents and Symphony #4
Add Symphonies to my list as well, forgot about those.

I forgot to mention the Sherpa Cafe is on my list of Gurkha favorites too

Ken Light

Anyone remember when ccom's catalog used to have the decision tree for which line/blend of a certain brand to try? I specifically remember a 5 Vegas but I know there were more. They should do one of those for Gurkha.

Well if they did it'd probably have to be this crazy fold out center thing and take up a whole wall if you ever wanted to use it. So maybe they shouldn't.

Or once started, it might take on a life and consciousness of its own and the beard itself would have to spring from the face of its wielder as the only hope to subdue and contain it. Which would be more awesome than anything ever to happen on Earth thus far. So they should definitely do it.

...I think its high time I started drinking...

kaspera79

My favorite Gurkhas would be Symphony ( for sure) Legend, Ancient Warrior, Centurian. and oddly enough I like(d) the sherpa. Blue Steel was pretty good too as I remember.

The Sniper

Ken Light:
Anyone remember when ccom's catalog used to have the decision tree for which line/blend of a certain brand to try? I specifically remember a 5 Vegas but I know there were more. They should do one of those for Gurkha.

Well if they did it'd probably have to be this crazy fold out center thing and take up a whole wall if you ever wanted to use it. So maybe they shouldn't.

Or once started, it might take on a life and consciousness of its own and the beard itself would have to spring from the face of its wielder as the only hope to subdue and contain it. Which would be more awesome than anything ever to happen on Earth thus far. So they should definitely do it.

...I think its high time I started drinking...

From this post, I think you already did... LOL