Gurkha Widowmaker: Sorry, but no marriage made in Heaven for this noob.

raisindot

All the cigar catalogs just endlessly hype the Gurkha cigars as being these absolute top-notch luxury brands, and the Widowmaker as being a cigar that retails for $50-$100 a piece. Well, no way I was going to pay that much, so when one was available for $3.90 as part of the Cigar.com sampler I had to snap it up. Well, I tried it yesterday, and I must say that, while certainly a pleasant medium-bodied smoke, there's nothing here that would come even close to justifying more than few dollars for it. Am I missing something here?

Steve2010

fla-gypsy

I have smoked a few Gurkhas that I liked but I really can't remember which ones, that kind of justifies your whole point though, doesn't it?

scarlin

Steve2010

Smokindaddy

Steve2010

Smokindaddy

pross

Timely post, I just finished a widow maker and it had a tough draw, decent flavor, and came apart at the foot.

Lee.mcglynn

I'm not a fan... I have yet had a gurhka that I thought was really good. For the price well I think they are smoking crack and not cigars! I have the new centurians and have been sitting on them for alittle over a year. Well I tried one the other month and it was like a rolled up news paper. I had to throw it in the fire pit halfway threw!

catfishbluezz

Gurkha...sucks. Even the cellar reserve, which I looooooove, burns like crap more often then not.

Rhamlin

Only two sticks I ever tossed because of the taste were Gurkhas. Gave up on them but I've recently revisited the Centurian and the vintage 2001 and loved them. But yeah the price they retail at is obscene.

Vision

Still one of may favorite yard work smoke. I agree you need to but a sampler of 20 in hopes of getting 3 that burn correctly but I have found a few that are better then just "good". The Crest, Titan, Beast, Copper Label, Ancient Warrior, and Fury are really enjoyable smokes for me. If anyone wants to trade some away hit me up.

Padre Harvey

Heavy

I've smoked a few Gurkhas, and the only one I ever really enjoyed was their supposed budget stick - Park Avenue connie. Once I realized how many different 'blends' they have (or should I say how many different names/wrappres they have - not sure how many blends are actually different), I decided I didn't want to waste my time exploring all of them. There are too many other good brands out there to explore.

nickiam

Vision

Vision

John Werner

First, this cigar is not a $50 stick on this, or any other, planet. Second, and this is subjective, I do not find this flavor profile either complex or refined as expected in any reputable maker's high-end range. This is a very grassy tasting stick. I almost thought it had a dreaded component of ammonia (not properly or completely aged?), but decided it was innocuous and, perhaps, was simply meant to taste grass-like. Ghurka has not got a stellar stick here as I think it just tastes "off". I'll go further, and make a point using an analogous example. I've never seen an Audi dealer attempt to sell an A8 (top range) by blatantly replacing an actual retail sticker with one that is maybe 10X the actual price and then mark it back down attempting to make a case for what a fantastic car at a dirt cheap price the A8 is. If a product is really good no hype is needed and in fact it will sell the entire lesser range of a manufacturer by building credibility. Somebody tell Ghurka to make a lot fewer sticks. Make 'em good without the hype and with the quality to price ratio serious smokers relate to and the whole line will gain much needed credibility.

wahooschock

John Werner:

First, this cigar is not a $50 stick on this, or any other, planet. Second, and this is subjective, I do not find this flavor profile either complex or refined as expected in any reputable maker's high-end range. This is a very grassy tasting stick. I almost thought it had a dreaded component of ammonia (not properly or completely aged?), but decided it was innocuous and, perhaps, was simply meant to taste grass-like. Ghurka has not got a stellar stick here as I think it just tastes "off". I'll go further, and make a point using an analogous example. I've never seen an Audi dealer attempt to sell an A8 (top range) by blatantly replacing an actual retail sticker with one that is maybe 10X the actual price and then mark it back down attempting to make a case for what a fantastic car at a dirt cheap price the A8 is. If a product is really good no hype is needed and in fact it will sell the entire lesser range of a manufacturer by building credibility. Somebody tell Ghurka to make a lot fewer sticks. Make 'em good without the hype and with the quality to price ratio serious smokers relate to and the whole line will gain much needed credibility.

Great first post.welcome.

Denero

Darktower007

Gurkha celler reserve from a BnM are really good. All others... Not so much.

SM0K3Y

I just got the sampler from here and theyve been sitting for a week in the humi, tried WARPIG last night...great smell, pretty meh until about halfway through, then started tasting as good as it smelled, not blown away by any means but im looking forward to trying the rest of the sampler. Not as strong as I thought it would be, but its was a good smoke, not great but good. My 2cents anyway, i would smoke again, if i dont have to pay top dollar

Johnny O

SM0K3Y

Good to know