If you know cigars, you know Gurkha. Reputed as one of the Cadillac brands of smokes, sourcing from the worlds best tobaccos, Gurkha Cigars are among the very best sticks you can buy. When I first got bit by the cigar bug I tried about everything under the sun and really spend the time honing in on what types of smokes I liked, experimenting with all sizes, wrappers, fillers, and countries. Since then, I have always been a brand loyalist and a creature of habit so I find myself sticking with my favorite producers to avoid the scourge of disappointment when venturing out and trying new sticks. As it goes, I seldom reach for something out of the ordinary or branch out my plastic cigar bubble. This, however, is one of those times that I am glad I did.

The Gurkha Crest is a superbly packaged cigar; equipped with a Connecticut Maduro wrapper leaf that has no veins; it looks and feels like silk. Simply put in other words; flawless. The tobacco in the binder and filler comes from Nicaragua and has been aged for 8 years. Yes, 8 years.

At first glance this is a striking cigar. One of the first things you will notice when you exhume this from your humidor is the wrapper. The oily sheen on the stick is gleaming like a new Ferrari freshly painted and waxed. You know those cigar catalogues we all get in the mail where every photo of a cigar looks like the thing was dipped in olive oil to get that shinny sheen that makes you want to buy them? So you bite and order one but when you take it out of the package there’s no glitz, gleam or shinny sheen and is dull as unbuttered toast? Well this is not one of those. The oily sheen and artful red band provoke you to smoke this stick.

The scent of the Gurkha pre-lit is that of powerful cedar and dense spice; when lit, it is not much different but more giving. Generous amounts of smoke pour into your mouth like smoky waves of pleasure accented by full bodied flavors of leather, coffee, spice and again, tons of cedar wood. The draw is as smooth as sucking through a straw. The Crest burned cleanly and evenly for the most part and the ash held on for a good two inches.

My overall impression was that I was truly blown away. I try not to get overly excited about any one product but I really did enjoy this smoke and I think most will agree that this is a great stick to indulge with. The richness of flavor and the consistency of the stick throughout the hour I had the pleasure smoking really speaks to the quality of the cigar. Though expensive, I will definitely be stocking up on a few to keep for a special occasion.

Keith O’Gorman