Gurkha – A Wonderful Ninja

It is only in recent months that I have found Gurkha cigars.  A number of years ago a friend raved about them.  And, I tried one.  I didn’t like it all.  He told me I was crazy.  And, he was right.  Maybe it’s that the cigars have changed for the better, (unlikely), or my palette has changed.  But the lesson to be learned from this is that if you tried a cigar some time ago and didn’t like it, maybe its time to give it another shot.  Particularly if you are hearing good things about the stick.

The cigar that I took from my humidor was a great shape.  I love the figurado shapes.  Years ago I wsa told that only the best rollers are asked to roll the funny shapes.  This makes sense since they are the good, and these shapes are harder to roll well.  I also found out that every morning in the cigar factories the rollers take their tobacco by the seniority system.  So the best, longest roller, will get the best tobacco.

My Gurkha Ninja, clipped easily and lit without a problem.  It produced a nice volume of smoke.  The first few puffs were reminiscent of a grassy woods field.  The wrapper, a nice Brazilian maduro leaf was oily and veiny.

This is a well constructed cigar.  It burns well holding a nice tight edge.  The ash stays quite a long time, I almost got 2 inches, and is light grey.  I thought the draw was open.

Flavor wise, the cigar fell a little bit flat.  It was cedary, woodsy and had a bit of spice which intensified as the cigar smoked.  At the last third the pepper recede, but nothing else was prominent.  All in all, a rather boring flavor profile.

This cigar is price quite favorable and ranks highly for value.  At around $5. it will fit most budgets.  Obviously Gurkha decided that they should make something for a lower budge point.  They have done quite well with this Ninja.  While the flavor is monotone, it is certainly a well made cigar that compares quite favorably to other in its price class.  Enjoy!