Gurkha Master Blender

[s15driftking]

Brothers, i have a problem. I am a newb and i need the help of some of the elders!

Two weeks ago i ordered a couple of Thompson Samplers which included the likes of a Gurkha Vulcan and a Gurkha Masterblender.

So.... It's the usual Friday night with a couple of guys from work (We're all 25-26 years old). We get together at someone's house, we all bring a couple of cigars and a bottle. I am the Gin & Tonic man. We sit there and pregame with some sticks, mixed drinks and play Madden or Tiger woods until we go downtown to a local Columbus wharehouse district (arena district).

Anyhow (i love giving backstories!!!) i brought a couple of new sticks from one of the samplers including the Gurkha Masterblender and i decided to give it a go. I am newer to cigar smoking and i have never had a gurkha.


Here is the dilemma.

the masterblender has the upper gold label ring of the gurkha legend accompanied by a lower ring that reads "masterblender". I CANNOT fidn this cigar anywhere.

I called gurkha, they told me that it's a thompson-only make. So i call thompson and i GET NO-WHERE because i spoke with a women who seemed to have "less than desireable" experience with stogies.

She proceeds to tell me that it is VERY similar to the "Master Select" but that it is NOT the same identical smoke.....

so here is my dilemma, Thompson told me that they would only sell me the samplers that the Masterblenders came in and Gurkha told me that the only person they sold masterblenders to was Thompson.


So here it is. i lay myself before the wolves.... does anybody work at/know anybody at thompson who can sell me 10-20 masterblenders? or any other way to get them?


thanks guys,

Yours in the Brotherhood!

- Bob

[NCRadioMan]

Bro, I almost hate to say this but you are better off forgetting about them and finding something else that is similar. But if you buy them from Thompson you will get unsolicited sales calls the rest of your life. Thompson's has a horrible reputation.



Here is the Master Blend 10 cigar sampler: http://www.thompsoncigar.com/gs/gurk...r-r69233.shtml

It says:
Note: Due to limited quantities you will receive Gurkha Master Blend (6 x 60) instead of Gurkha Master Select as pictured.

[Legend]

Boo Thompson. I swear customer service is a lost art.


However. The deal may be that TC got these prepacked from Gurkha and they really truly aren't available by themselves.

[texasbadbob]

Here is a good idea, forget Thompsons and just bid on a lot of Gurkha master select at the devil site. You will pay much less and get better customer service.

[Legend]

Gurkha has another cigar in the master series a 12x100 called the baiter.

(groan)

Ok that was a wee bit offsides.

[sonic_mike]

im with texas c-bid id your friend

there might be some one here that might know where to get them.

[s15driftking]

Originally Posted by texasbadbob

Here is a good idea, forget Thompsons and just bid on a lot of Gurkha master select at the devil site. You will pay much less and get better customer service.

Elaborate my friend, i am not familiar with this "devil" site!!!

help a helpless noob out!!!!

[cricky101]

Originally Posted by s15driftking

Elaborate my friend, i am not familiar with this "devil" site!!!

help a helpless noob out!!!!

www.cigarbid.com - it's a cigar/accessory auction site. Just be sure to shop around and know how much you want to spend. Sometimes, particularly on high-end smokes, the same items can be found at similar prices (or lower) at other sites.

Patience and educated bidding can yield deals, though.

[s15driftking]

Thank you very much!!!

[cricky101]

Happy bidding

And if you haven't seen it yet, check out the 'cheap smokes thread' for some tasty, relatively inexpensive smokes - it's a great resource.

[s15driftking]

Cricky thats awesome man, thanks for the link!

[jledou]

I also liked the Master Blend a lot. I am would assume that the Master Select is the same ... at least close enough that it is where I am headed next.

[PerpetualNoob]

Between the Gurkhas and related brands, there are so many blends and vitolas available that you can spend many, many happy hours just working your way through them without even venturing into other brands. There's something in their line that covers just about every price range and flavor profile you could ever want. If you're a latent Gurkha Ho anyway (I may be one, too), a couple of 5-packs from CI every payday will give you a good base to make your decision and find one that you like just as much as, or probably more than, the Master Blender. I haven't had the Master Blender or the Master's Select, so I can't give a direct comparison, but the Class Regent is one of my top-10 cigars of all time, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone.

My first two online orders were from Thompson, one of a humidor and cigars, another of just cigars, and both orders were prompt, the prices were good. I couldn't figure out why everyone hates them so much. Then I ordered another humidor and some more cigars for my third order, and now I understand. It took just under a month to get everything I ordered, and get all the billing straightened out. A complete cluster, start to finish, and it wiped out any lingering goodwill I might have had for them.

BTW: I have two unopened bundles of La Condessa toros that someone can have for whatever the actual mailing cost would be. Thompson sent them to me for free, and I'm pretty sure they're worth every penny of it.

[s15driftking]

found a way to beat the system....

A box of MAster Select is about 120.00 for 25....

I'm looking to purchase about 20 of them... look what i found out.

CI sells two 5'ers for 30.00..... so 20 Master Selects would cost 60 bucks!!!

The other way is that thompson sells a 10 pack for 40.00 ... so that would be 20 MAster Selects for 80.00 bucks!!!

Regardless... is there any disadvantage to buying 5'ers compared to a box?

[PerpetualNoob]

Originally Posted by s15driftking

found a way to beat the system....

A box of MAster Select is about 120.00 for 25....

I'm looking to purchase about 20 of them... look what i found out.

CI sells two 5'ers for 30.00..... so 20 Master Selects would cost 60 bucks!!!

The other way is that thompson sells a 10 pack for 40.00 ... so that would be 20 MAster Selects for 80.00 bucks!!!

Regardless... is there any disadvantage to buying 5'ers compared to a box?

Aside from not having a box to put them in?

Not sure where you saw the CI deal, but good on ya. I like too many different things to ever be a very good brand ho, but I did go a little crazy and buy the CI Absurd Gurkha Sampler, with 12 Centurions and 6 Royal Brigades, all in perfecto. It's $80, which still comes out less than $4.50/per. A little more than I generally spend, but I do like me some Big Stink from time to time. I haven't tried any of them yet, so I can tell you how much I'm enjoying them. It's actually about the same as what you're talking about spending. So, Mr. Gurkha Pimp, did I do good?