Gurkha Blue Steel Torpedo (6.5x53) Revisited

After two attempts to review this cigar, both ending with major burn issues, I decided to let them age a bit. My final verdict is that they were too fresh to smoke when I first received them. After 10 months in the humidor I decided to give them another go. The original review can be found HERE . So let's see how the extra time in the humidor affected this stick. The wrapper is a dark and oily Costa Rican Maduro with only light veining. I couldn't find any information on the binder but the filler is composed of Tobaccos from Nicaragua, Columbia, and Honduras. The wrapper offers the scent of mildly sweet, rich tobacco and hay. The foot offers a mild sweetness. I straight clipped the cap with my Xikar MTX and found a perfect draw with some molasses notes. Toasting and lighting was an easy task with a handy single flame torch.
The initial third opened with some toast and earthy notes. There were a few notes of honey that came and went in the first third. There is a very delicate spice on the retrohale and a sweetness that lingers on the lips and palate. The finish is long and toasty to this point. The second third brought some light coffee notes as the honey notes pop in more often. There is a subtle spice starting to develop that leaves a light tingle on the palate as well as some woody notes. The sweetness is full swing in the second third. Going into the final third the coffee notes begin to pop and gain some depth. Notes of dark chocolate emerge as the honey notes fade away. The sweetness has calmed a bit and the spice has picked up just a touch. The coffee notes dominate the final third but are rounded out nicely with the dark chocolate and woody notes. This go around I only had to make one small burn correction, which made for a very enjoyable smoking experience. The ash held to over and inch at a time. The body remained constantly on the full side of medium-full and was very smooth. I hate that I had almost given up on these and will have to stick a few more in the humidor before the end of their limited run. You can find more information on Gurkha Cigars and their offerings at www.gurkhacigars.com and find them on twitter at http://twitter.com/gurkhacigars

Cuban Legacy Toro by K. Hansotia (6.5x50)

I picked a few of these up in a sampler from Cigars International and left them to rest in the humidor for about 3 months before lighting them up. The Cuban Legacy is an offering from Gurkha Cigar Group's K. Hansotia. If you are unfamiliar with Gurkha Cigars, which I doubt you are, they boast being a super premium boutique cigar company. The are known for having a plethora of limited production cigars and some of the most attractive cigar boxes I have ever seen. I know you're not here to read my ramblings, you want to know if the cigar is worth toasting. The Mexican San Andreas Maduro wrapper is a dark brown color with only one fairly large vein and a fair amount of tooth. The binder is Nicaraguan and the filler is a blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos from Esteli and the Jalapa Valley. I didn't get much scent off of the wrapper other than a light note of hay. The foot smelled of sweet tobacco with a bit of what resembled honey. I clipped the cap with my Xikar MTX and found a near perfect draw with some sweet notes. I toasted and lit with my trusty single flame torch with no problems. The Initial third opened with notes of coffee with a mild, herb-like spice and a bit of maduro sweetness on the finish. The retrohale offered a fair amount of spice but was not overpowering. There were a few earthy notes that seemed to come and go in the first third and a bitter sensation that lingers on the tongue. In the second third the earthy notes move to the foreground as the spice and the sweetness both kick up a notch. The bitter sensation subsides and notes that resemble black licorice pop in on occasion along with notes of dark chocolate. In the final third the dark chocolate notes seem to steal the show but the earth and coffee notes are still present. The bitter sensation made a comeback in the final third but wasn't unpleasant and didn't detract from the enjoyment of the smoke. The ash was a bit flaky but managed to hold on for about 1.5 inches at a time with a ligh-medium gray color.This was a fairly complex cigar with a few burn issues, there were a total of 4 burn corrections and one issue that corrected itself but took an inch to do so. It seems to be a mixture of opinions when you ask other cigar smokers about gurkha cigars, it seems you either love them or hate them. I have only tried a handful of their vast amount of offerings and have experienced a few burn issues but good solid flavor profiles. This is one of their lower end offerings and the price point is 2.00-2.50 a stick from Cigars International if you order a box of 20. The few minor corrections on the burn were a aggravation but for this price and flavor profile it's hard to complain much. As for me, I will remain neutral on my opinion of the brand until I have had the chance to try a few more blends and see if the burn issues continue. I had a similar, but much worse experience with the Gurkha Blue Steel in a earlier review. I have a few more of their offerings in the humidor waiting for me to burn, when I do I will let you know how it goes. You can find more information on K. Hansotia and Gurkha Cigar Group at www.gurkhacigars.com and on twitter at http://twitter.com/gurkhacigars. You can find the link to the Cuban Legacy at Cigars International HERE

 

 

Gurkha blue steel torpedo

I snagged a 5 pack of these from cigars international as a freebie with order. It is wrapped in a beautiful dark and oily Maduro wrapper with minimal veins and nice smooth seams. The pre light draw on the 2 I have tried so far have both been very hard and required poking with a poker to get a draw through. It was a bit hard to light as well. The burn was fairly even with a few touch ups along the way. This one also had a bad case of tunneling. Flavor was great with a toasty-woody earth tone with hints of coffee and leather poking their heads on occasion. It was great for a little over an hour of chasing my my son and his power wheel around the yard. Not the most complex of smokes but dang tasty if you don't mind a little upkeep while you smoke it. It is consistent throughout and worth giving a try. Smoke was medium body in my opinion and upped to a medium-full after the half way mark. I fear the remaining 3 need more resting before I can get them to draw a little easier. My guess is either they are super fresh or were over-humidified before arriving at my door. I will revisit this tasty yet very finicky cigar in a couple of months when i feel they may have aged enough.

Borrowed from Cigarsinternational.com

Gurkha Blue Steel is a perfect example of a limited run cigar. Comprised of toothy Costa Rican maduro wrappers - one of the most expensive leaves on the planet - the Blue Steel was limited to just under 50,000 cigars, total. This is due to the exquisite, extensively aged tobaccos within: a bold blend of Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Colombian long-fillers. Instantly upon lighting, the age of these tobaccos is evident, as your palate is consumed by rich, but mellow nuances.