Review: Gurkha Special Ops – SRS Limited Edition

This is the second cigar I have smoked from the selection of Gurkha cigars I managed to get hold of. The last one I quite enjoyed but the issue of the MRRP made its recommendation difficult unless you could get it at a significant discount. This cigar seems to be widely available at a much more reasonable price, so here goes…

Appearance 8.5/10

The cigar is a very dark chocolate brown, almost black, its not a maduro wrapper, but its so dark you could easily think it is. The cigar has a lot of tooth, and quite a few small veins. Just like all other Ghurka’s the band on this cigar is a work of art, if a little ostentatious, it was extremely well printed, and very detailed.

Construction & Draw 9.0/10

The cigar had no hard or soft spots, and the wrapper as mentioned had some tooth and veins, unlike the last Gurkha I smoked the wrapper on this cigar looked great, and there were no problems.

Cap construction was excellent, I got a really clean cut from my Palio cutter, and the draw was excellent. Once this cigar got going it produced a lot of smoke.

Flavour 7.5/10

This cigar kicks off with quite an earthy flavour with a slight hint of cocoa, and a very subtle pepper note. This cigar started off very light, and did not reach a medium strength profile until about half way through, the dark colour of the wrapper had led me to expect this would be a stronger cigar, but this was not the case.

About an inch into the cigar I detected a sweet almost sugared almond flavour that stayed throughout the middle third of the stick. Towards the end of the cigar the strength picked up, but overall the flavour profile was pretty one dimensional and flat.

Value 7.5/10

This Churchill seems to retail at around 6-7 USD, and represents fair value for money, due to its size and construction.

Summary 7.0/10

This is an okay cigar, its not got an exciting flavour profile, but there are a couple of nice notes, its not exceptional value for money either. I would say this is a solid if unexciting cigar, would I have one again, yes, if someone offered me one, would I buy a single, probably not, would I buy a box, No !

I suspect I wont have another of these cigars as it just did not float my boat.

 

Review: Gurkha Titan Double Perfecto

I recently managed to hold of some Ghurka cigars, I have never had these before but I have read about the brand, and decided it would be interesting to try something I had never had before.

I managed to lose the picture I took before I started smoking it, so a half smoked cigar is all I can put in this post.

Appearance 8.5/10

The cigar is a very dark chocolate brown, almost black. The cigar has a fair amount of tooth, and quite a few small veins. The band on this cigar was a work of art, if a little ostentatious, it was extremely well printed, and very detailed.

Construction & Draw 8.0/10

The cigar had no hard or soft spots, and the wrapper as mentioned had some tooth and veins, however the wrapper did look a little fragile, and did indeed developed a small split about half way through, so that drops the score.

Cap construction was excellent, I got a really clean cut from my Palio cutter, and the draw, as you would expect from a cigar this size was excellent. Once this cigar got going it produced a lot of smoke, so not one to have in a room that does not have windows and doors open!

Flavour 7.5/10

The predominant flavour of this cigar is tobacco, I could detect a small hint of caramel, there was a little pepper (but not much), a slight woodiness, and a note of something similar to madeira. The flavour profile was pretty static throughout the cigar, overall I would describe this cigar as smooth and creamy if a little bland.

Value 5.5/10

I found it difficult to get a price for this cigar, it would appear that it was initially around the 20 USD mark, but it is heavily discounted if you shop around. I would say that at 20 USD this cigar is very overpriced, you can get an Anjeo Shark, or Ferel Pigs for less, and they are way better cigars. If you pick them up for around the 6-7 USD mark then the represent good if not excellent value. I have to rate this at the full retail price, and this is why it only gets a 5.5.

Summary 7.0/10

I enjoyed this cigar, it was not as strong as I expected, burn and construction were excellent, and it had some of the flavours I really like. I have had to give it a lowish score as its just overpriced, and I would not pay full retail for this cigar as its just not that good. If you can get them for the heavily discounted price at around 6-7 USD or less, then they are worth a go.

Review: Cohiba Minis

There are a number of Cuban mini’s on the market, whilst they are no replacement for a “proper” cigar, if you only have 5 minutes (or if its really cold outside), and you want something much better than a tin of small cigars from a supermarket, then they are a good option.

Appearance 5/10

These are not he prettiest cigars you will ever see, they have large veins for their size, and the wrapper is “nobly”. There is also no real distinct cap to the cigar.

Construction & Draw 7/10

These cigars are so small there is no real way for them to be plugged, the burn is even, and as these are so small they are very unlikely to have any burn issues.

Flavour 7/10

You do get a taste of a Cuban cigar, there is a hint of spice and a reasonably earthy taste, they are more rough and ready than your average Cohiba.

Value 8.0/10

These are cheap but then again they are small. At around 9 GBP for 10 they do represent good value, they offer a “taste” of what a real cigar would be, just quickly! You can probably finish one of these as quickly as your friends who smoke cigarettes.

Summary 7.0/10

These are great if you want a quick 5 minute fix (perhaps when your friends nip out for a cigarette), but for my money the Cohiba Clubs are a better bet, no sooner have you started a mini then it is finished.