Gurkha

Yeah, the Gurkha thread. No, not the one where people knock em, the one where people post up the ones they have enjoyed smoking. I know it's a brand that gets a bad rap, but some are pretty good, especially at cbid prices.

I hope a few of our resident Gurkha experts will chime in here as well.

So far for me the Doble Maduro is a winner. I understand the Titan to be a good maduro as well, and will be in my next round of cbid bids. I'm also considering one of the samplers to branch out a bit more.

So what say you bums, anyone care to come forward and admit they found one they like?

I liked the Symphony, the Beast, and half the Regent. The Status and the Master Select were pretty poor.

I have honestly never smoked one, so I got nothin.

I've only tried one, a gurkha viper and it was quite possibly the worst cigar I've ever had. That said I'm not completely ruling them out as I was recently gifted a gurkha prestige from a facebook botl that I've yet to and look forward to trying at some point.

I thought Beauty was good for an ultra mild cigar. I somewhat enjoyed the Warlord too. And I believe they make Black Ops, which is OK for the price. Nothing I've had has blown me away, and there is some serious rough to sift through to find a diamond, but at about $2/stick, you get a decent yard gar when you find one that suits your palate.

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Originally Posted by Laynard

I thought Beauty was good for an ultra mild cigar. I somewhat enjoyed the Warlord too. And I believe they make Black Ops, which is OK for the price. Nothing I've had has blown me away, and there is some serious rough to sift through to find a diamond, but at about $2/stick, you get a decent yard gar when you find one that suits your palate.

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I had forgotten they make the Black Ops. That is a fairly decent yard gar for sure.

Doble Maduro is their big winner for me - I picked up 10 on cbid for $25. I'd say Black Beauty is my 2nd favorite of theirs of the cbid/cigars international type cigars. The regular Beauty is a nice mild smoke as well.

If you get outside those and are talking about the B&M sticks - the Rogue is a nice smoke. I've also enjoyed the (I think it's called) Cellar Reserve - it has a pigtail cap on it.

Don't get me wrong, they have a lot of different cigars (not sure why they choose to have about 100) and some of them are just nasty, but there are some good ones in there too.

I smoke nothing but the finest Gurkhas when meeting with world leaders such as the Sultan of Brunei. He is a fan of the Gurkha Centurian. NBC News Flash: Originally it was made exclusively for him!

It appears there is a great sale at Cigars International on these cigars this week. 16 options at 90% off! Now even a commoner such as yourself can smoke like the great Brian Williams!

Gurkha BIG Bundle Bonanza II - Cigars International

Black ops maduro is decent with proper rest. Like 1+'years.

I had the same experience as @bluenoser with the viper. Worst smoke ever.

Now that I have finished the RyJ review set, I believe I will start a Gurkha set that I have assembled. This thread has me curious about them. My experience with them is limited. I know I have enjoyed 2, the Cellar Reserve and Master Select. Thanks to @samiam2007 , I have 5 from the dog rocket pass, including a Black Ops.

The Centurian was not a winner for me. I've smoked a couple of Black Ops and they're not bad. Other than that I've stayed away from the marca.

I enjoyed the WidowMaker, Beast and the Beauty. I don't think I would buy anymore but they were a solid smoke. The Beauty is the best representation of cinnamon flavor profile I have ever had in a cigar. It was crazy cinnamon flavor.

Cheers
Jay

I have had a couple of Beasts and thought they were very good.
I got one in a sampler and can't remember the name. It was in a cedar sleeve and it was terrible.

So I'm batting .500 with Gurkhas.

I do have a couple of Status maduros that I got on C-Bid on the way. We'll see how they are.

Adding: Oh I forgot, I did have a couple of Black Ops maduros. They weren't anything to write home about but were fine for yard gars or golf course smokes. Definitely not terrible.

The Doble Maduros I wouldn't look forward to trying again but I remember liking the Black Ops. Liked the Centurion too.

Gurkha Park Avenue CT and Maduro are great cheapies. I believe I had one called the Ghost a while back and enjoyed it. Other than that, not a fan. Have had several in samplers and whatnot, which failed to turn my handle.

Only have a Titan sitting in the humi waiting its turn but have never had any smoking experience with them yet. I've heard people say there is a couple of lines which PDR make for them and they are quite smokable. I doubt I'll ever smoke much of them for the simple fact that they like to make the vast majority of their sticks in *big* vitolas, which doesnt suit me much. Only true test is to smoke up, brother!

The status maduro, and European selection habano are good online ghurkas. I also enjoy the Ghosts only available in BM's. My main issue with ghurkas is construction. The wrappers practically fly off.

The Park Ave are fine.

I've seen the Ghost mentioned a few times here. I've heard it was good.
I know many here don't like him, but Bryan Glenn gave it praise in his review of it as well. I say that because I have seen him be pretty honest with Gurkhas before. I remember him looking at the camera in disgust with one and saying sarcastically, "Good job Gurkha." So he's not just a shill for them.

I fell for the CI Gurhka Mega samplers when I first got into cigars. $30 Beautys and Titans for a few bucks...WOW! Then I experienced the horrible construction issues & poor burns with the majority of them. I know some of them are not bad but I had so many that were unsmokeable that I don't think I would ever take the chance again. I do recall liking the Warlord many years ago and I think I had a Beast that was ok. But it just turns me off so much that they try to make it seem these are ultra premium sticks

Class Regent Robusto and Shaggy Lancero are the two that were smokeable with at least three months rest. Six is better...

Oooh I remember the Shaggy. Really decent smoke...

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Originally Posted by thechasm442

Black ops maduro is decent with proper rest. Like 1+'years.

I had the same experience as @bluenoser with the viper. Worst smoke ever.

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Heck I heard you need to age Cubans for 5 years before they're ready to go. If you only have to age a Gurkha for 1+ years for it to hit it's prime that's another point for Gurkha baby!

DogRockets sent me a Black Ops. I suppose I'll find out soon. It sounds promising enough.

I don't care much for oddball brand names and have generally passed on those. Ghurka is one of those that sounds far away from a quality cigar. I prefer a name that reminds me to roll my R's.

*EDIT*

AlanS sent me the Black Ops, which I liked. I thought it seemed odd saying DogRockets had sent it and so I went and looked. Sure enough I misspoke. DogRockets did send me a Ghurka though, which is a moduro Titan.

And so it seems as though I like Ghurka so far.

So it sounds like going down the Gurkha path will have quite a few ok options, and almost as many bad sticks.

Should be interesting. I might just stick to picking a few up here and there to fill out cbid orders then.

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Originally Posted by Hardheaded

Should be interesting. I might just stick to picking a few up here and there to fill out cbid orders then.

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That's basically what I do.
I was on C-Bid picking up a few 5ers the other day and saw the Status maduros. The time was almost up and I snagged a couple for $2 a stick. Hell for 2 bucks I'll give the a try.

Smoking a Ghurka Titan that DogRockets sent me to try. Though a bit for my small frame (I feel like his avatar!) it's a nice smoke. I'm certainly enjoying it!

*EDIT*

I used my larger punch from Montecristo on this one being a large ring cigar, and I must say this thing is pretty smoky.

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Originally Posted by Cool Breeze

That's basically what I do.
I was on C-Bid picking up a few 5ers the other day and saw the Status maduros. The time was almost up and I snagged a couple for $2 a stick. Hell for 2 bucks I'll give the a try.

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For two bucks I'd try just about any cigar. I've blown more on worse decisions.

Cellar Reserve got me... I adore that stick... that and the Factum

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Originally Posted by rodwha

Smoking a Ghurka Titan that DogRockets sent me to try. Though a bit for my small frame (I feel like his avatar!) it's a nice smoke. I'm certainly enjoying it!

*EDIT*

I used my larger punch from Montecristo on this one being a large ring cigar, and I must say this thing is pretty smoky.

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If you want to see a smokey Gurkha, light up one of those Shaggy Foot lanceros. It's the only cigar I've ever seen produce smoke like a Liga #9. Every time I've smoked one, the damn fire department shows up because somebody called them thinking the back deck was on fire....

Beauty... Would not light!
Crest... Forgettable
Titan... Ton of smoke off foot, overall ok
Trident... Good honest $3 cigar

As I always say, Gurkhas are (usually) solid $3-$4 smokes. And if they billed themselves as such, I'd have no problem with them. It's all the excessive hype that renders the brand laughable.