Thegreekone
Banned
True dat! My first box (split) :cbig: is the Tatuaje Petit Cazadores Reserva!
Good brands with bad cigars? Bad brands with good ones?
- Thread starter megladon8
- Start date
TravelingJ
Banned
- Joined
- May 23, 2010
- Messages
- 1,234
OUCH! That had to hurt a LOT!
I've never had a terrible Gurkha but I can't remember of the hundreds of names which ones I've had. I have a fiver of Gurkha Triple Ligero that aren't bad. I've always bought them off CBid for $2-3 a stick. I do agree that Rocky Patel has come out recently with a lot of different cigars. I like his Edge Maduros. When I first started smoking, there was the Vintages, Edge and Sungrowns. Now he has probably six more lines. I think there are much better brands to explore besides Gurkha. Actually I remember having a K. Hansotia that I think was called a Triple Ligero or Triple Maduro that was pretty good back around the first part of this decade. It was a good smoke but I guess Hansotia and Gurkha didn't think so because I can't find it now.
Just made my first-ever CI order!
A box of 5 Vegas Gold, and a sampler containing 2 of each of these...
Alec Bradley Tempus Terra Novo (5" x 50)
Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic 1979 (5" x 50)
Oliva Master Blends III Torpedo (6" x 52)
Padilla Miami Churchill (7" x 48)
Rocky Patel Decade Torpedo (6.5" x 52)
A box of 5 Vegas Gold, and a sampler containing 2 of each of these...
Alec Bradley Tempus Terra Novo (5" x 50)
Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic 1979 (5" x 50)
Oliva Master Blends III Torpedo (6" x 52)
Padilla Miami Churchill (7" x 48)
Rocky Patel Decade Torpedo (6.5" x 52)
have to say ditto about gurkha being overpriced. ive smoked a centurian, titan, ligero. comperable to $8-$10 dollar cigars (cali prices). so if you can find a deal on em go for it.
as for the brickhouse try for yourself. handed out a couple to my friends on our last fishing trip. 3 loved em, 1 said ok, and 1 didn't care for it, note that these guys were primarily cigarettee smokers.
as for the brickhouse try for yourself. handed out a couple to my friends on our last fishing trip. 3 loved em, 1 said ok, and 1 didn't care for it, note that these guys were primarily cigarettee smokers.
njstone
BoM January 2010
Here's my opinion of Gurkha, it differs from the general consensus here:
Gurkha makes some very good cigars. Some of their good stuff can even be found for good prices (CI specials, cbid, etc.). I like and smoke a number of them. The "problem" with Gurkha is multi-fold.
1) They put out a TON of different cigars. Because they are a very different cigar operation (they don't own farms or have long-term production sites--they buy certain batches of tobacco, blend them, and have various factories roll the sticks for them), they have an unusually large amount of shorter runs and lines that only last 1-3 years. Because of all this, it can be very difficult to keep track of what's what. (I find it VERY curious that many of the people who mock Gurkha and Rocky Patel for putting out a lot of cigar lines don't say a WORD about the fact that Don Pepin has put out just as many in recent years ...)
2) To compound the problem above, most of their labels look the same, making it very hard to know what you have
3) When they get a line that's really good/popular, they will try to keep it going. But if you buy a batch of tobacco and it get's used up, you'll never quite be able to get the same cigar again. To a degree, any cigar line will change over time as the tobacco crops differ. But it's easier to keep things consistant with long-term farms/suppliers than with batch-buys.
4) Many people don't like Gurkhas marketing strategy (including me). Their tac is to pull the over-inflated MSRP thing, and therefore have their cigars always on "special." CI is the worst offender here. For example, you'll find the MSRP of the Gurkha Legend at about $20 or so ... rediculous. The Legend is a good stick (especially with age), but $20 is a joke. Of course, they don't charge $20 for it. CI charges about $8 and frequently puts them on sale for $4. A lot of people find this "It's a $20 cigar, really!" thing to be highly annoying. Many people's apparent negative opinion of Gurkha is price-sensitive. You might say "Is the Beast a good cigar?" And they'll say "It's not worth $15-$20, I'll tell you that!" If you reply with "Is it worth $6?" They might think it's an awesome $6 cigar.
5) Gurkha has some cigars that actually are very high in price. People always complain about this, no matter the company--Graycliff, Padron, regional Cubans, high-priced Tatuajes, etc.
As far as which of them are good ... that's a matter of opinion. Most of these are significantly better with 2-3 years of age. I got mine at cbid, where you have to be patient but can get some good deals. I'll include the prices I paid when I bought some. There are some nice ones in particular if you like Cameroon cigars. Here are mine:
--Nepalese Warrior (aka Class Regent Nepalese Warrior--these can be had for close to $2/stick if you're patient, and they're a very good Cameroon cigar!)
--Blue Steel (also around $2-3, might be discontinued now I"m not sure)
--Legend (~$3, ~$4 for the perfecto--good cigar, fantastic cigar with age!)
--Black Dragon (don't pay more than $4, but they're pretty good)
--Signature '101' Maduro (~$2, great maddie with some age on it)
--Symphony (~$2, nice mild stick)
--Tripple Ligero (~$2, nice flavor, NOT a strong cigar despite the name)
Others I don't smoke as often but are very good:
Beast (~$6)
Titan (original, ~$6)
Beauty (one of their best)
Royal Brigade Perfecto (~$4--Cameroon, full-bodied)
Grand Age (~$4, all nice and especially the perfecto--Cameroon)
Centurian (~$4)
Ghengis Khan (hard to find)
G3 (hard to find)
Boer (discontinued--Cameroon)
Class Regent (~$2-3their 90+ rated by CA cigar, I like the Cameroon version "Nepalese Warrior" better)
Master Select (~$2-3)
Sherpa (~$1 ... I'm not sure if they still make these, but I routinely got them for $1/stick for a while. Best $1 I've ever smoked by far)
Gurkha makes some very good cigars. Some of their good stuff can even be found for good prices (CI specials, cbid, etc.). I like and smoke a number of them. The "problem" with Gurkha is multi-fold.
1) They put out a TON of different cigars. Because they are a very different cigar operation (they don't own farms or have long-term production sites--they buy certain batches of tobacco, blend them, and have various factories roll the sticks for them), they have an unusually large amount of shorter runs and lines that only last 1-3 years. Because of all this, it can be very difficult to keep track of what's what. (I find it VERY curious that many of the people who mock Gurkha and Rocky Patel for putting out a lot of cigar lines don't say a WORD about the fact that Don Pepin has put out just as many in recent years ...)
2) To compound the problem above, most of their labels look the same, making it very hard to know what you have
3) When they get a line that's really good/popular, they will try to keep it going. But if you buy a batch of tobacco and it get's used up, you'll never quite be able to get the same cigar again. To a degree, any cigar line will change over time as the tobacco crops differ. But it's easier to keep things consistant with long-term farms/suppliers than with batch-buys.
4) Many people don't like Gurkhas marketing strategy (including me). Their tac is to pull the over-inflated MSRP thing, and therefore have their cigars always on "special." CI is the worst offender here. For example, you'll find the MSRP of the Gurkha Legend at about $20 or so ... rediculous. The Legend is a good stick (especially with age), but $20 is a joke. Of course, they don't charge $20 for it. CI charges about $8 and frequently puts them on sale for $4. A lot of people find this "It's a $20 cigar, really!" thing to be highly annoying. Many people's apparent negative opinion of Gurkha is price-sensitive. You might say "Is the Beast a good cigar?" And they'll say "It's not worth $15-$20, I'll tell you that!" If you reply with "Is it worth $6?" They might think it's an awesome $6 cigar.
5) Gurkha has some cigars that actually are very high in price. People always complain about this, no matter the company--Graycliff, Padron, regional Cubans, high-priced Tatuajes, etc.
As far as which of them are good ... that's a matter of opinion. Most of these are significantly better with 2-3 years of age. I got mine at cbid, where you have to be patient but can get some good deals. I'll include the prices I paid when I bought some. There are some nice ones in particular if you like Cameroon cigars. Here are mine:
--Nepalese Warrior (aka Class Regent Nepalese Warrior--these can be had for close to $2/stick if you're patient, and they're a very good Cameroon cigar!)
--Blue Steel (also around $2-3, might be discontinued now I"m not sure)
--Legend (~$3, ~$4 for the perfecto--good cigar, fantastic cigar with age!)
--Black Dragon (don't pay more than $4, but they're pretty good)
--Signature '101' Maduro (~$2, great maddie with some age on it)
--Symphony (~$2, nice mild stick)
--Tripple Ligero (~$2, nice flavor, NOT a strong cigar despite the name)
Others I don't smoke as often but are very good:
Beast (~$6)
Titan (original, ~$6)
Beauty (one of their best)
Royal Brigade Perfecto (~$4--Cameroon, full-bodied)
Grand Age (~$4, all nice and especially the perfecto--Cameroon)
Centurian (~$4)
Ghengis Khan (hard to find)
G3 (hard to find)
Boer (discontinued--Cameroon)
Class Regent (~$2-3their 90+ rated by CA cigar, I like the Cameroon version "Nepalese Warrior" better)
Master Select (~$2-3)
Sherpa (~$1 ... I'm not sure if they still make these, but I routinely got them for $1/stick for a while. Best $1 I've ever smoked by far)
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Thats a pretty good list. The only one on that list I havent tried is the RP. Padilla Miami is a great smoke, and can be found on cigarbid for real cheap. Pepins are always good, the black is one of my go to sticks. Cant go wrong with Oliva, and the AB Tempus is a good smoke too. For anyone interested in 5 Vegas I always recommend the Miami. I think its the best thing 5 Vegas has to offer. Pepin blends it, so how can you go wrong.
This says it all. Nice job brother!!
I enjoyed all 6 of the empire series smokes. Heres a link to my review thread where I reviewed 30 gurkhas, all 6 of the empires are in there.
http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/non-habanos-reviews/262706-perspective-novice-30-cigar-journey-gurkha-enlightenment-6.html