Gurkha Warlord Review

[Volt]

Ok, Massphatness and conducted a trade/bomb that included some Gurkha Warlords. The agreement was I would do a review when I smoked one. Admittedly, I am a Gurkha fan. So here is what I started with:

Gurkha Legend Warlord

Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Nicaraguan
7 x 55

Time resting: ~2 weeks

Drink: Sips of diet Pepsi

Lighter: Colobri Guinness

Cutter: el cheapo double blade

The cigar is wrapped in a cedar sleeve that is held on by 2 cloth bands. Upon removing the band and the cedar wrap inspection of the cigar revealed one of the best looking cigars I have ever held. The dark Nicaraguan wrapper was flawless. No large viens, the color was consistent from top to bottom and the aroma was very earthy and strong. This is a double band with the gold Legend Band on top and a black and gold Warlord band below it. You will have to hold this cigar, at 7 x 55 it's a monster.

To cut this monster all I had was my el cheapo double bladed cutter. I was nervous that I might screw up the cut, and it was close, but it was clean. A 55 RG is just about as big as my cutter will go. I definitely need to get a quality cutter. I was in on the Palio GB, but as the burls are not ready, I'll have to wait.

I toasted the foot for a good 4 - 7 minutes. This is a process I really didn't believe in until I tried it. It definitely makes for a better light, better taste, and makes for an even and consistent burn. At first I thought the draw was going to be a bit loose for me, but it ended up just the way I like it, a little bit of resistance and produced as much smoke as I cared to make. Good comments from the people around me on the aroma.

First third - Ok, still dealing with a newbie at the palette part of smoking. I would say it started out with coffee and nuts. I drink a chicory coffee at the house and definitely a lot of the same flavorings.

Second third - The nutty flavor dropped of and pretty much held with the coffee tones.

Last Third - By this point the cigar had been going for a good hour and 15 minutes or so. Turns out we had to leave the bar so I passed it to another Gurkha whore who nubbed it in the "smoking" car as I was in a non smoking car. At the next bar in conversation he stated it was all good for him.

Final thoughts - It is the best burning cigar I have ever smoked. Excellent draw, beautiful clouds of smoke if you wanted it, and absolutely a beautiful construction. The size and weight let you know your smoking a cigar, not some cigarillo. During the smoke the burn never got out of line. As far as smoking a cigar goes, this one was a joy.

This turned out to be a strong medium (or a weak full if you prefer) type cigar. It seemed to leave dry type feel to the mouth as I smoked it. Decent nicotine buzz as I had skipped dinner. not really a one dimensional cigar, but not the most complex either.

Recommendation - Value of this cigar was about $6. Would I recommend it - yes if your a Gurkha fan and want to try another one. For others, it may or may not be a good value. I think this will need to be revisited (luckily I have a few more in the humi) at a later date.

As a side note, I also had a Gurkha Legend Robusto in the vest case. I smoked this one at the next bar about an hour later. While both bore the Legend name, they are not the same cigar. For what ever reason I think i enjoyed the Legend Robosto better last night. Can't really compare or contrast this as the drinks were different, I ate dinner and was talking with others and not concentrating enough on the cigar.

[massphatness]

Thanks for the great review! I'm glad we were able to do this trade and am now even more anxious to smoke one of these. New England needs to hurry winter out the door first because I don't feel like freezing my haunches out in the garage for a couple hours while I puff on a 7x55.

[Volt]

It is definitly a good 2 hour smoke. I think if I was forced to compare the Regent to the Legend I would take a Regent. It is a much creamier and smother cigar. Between the Warlord and the Robosto last night, the bigest up front diff was the dryness that the Warlord seemed to leave in the mouth as well as some lighter tastes, but as I noted, I wasn't enough attention to the robosto to compare. Could be from the larger amounts of smoke???? Maybe a touch smoother as it had a tighter RG???

Thanks for the trade. I'm looking forward to trying this again after a few months.

[KASR]

I have yet to try one of the warlords. I'll keep my eyes peeled. Thanks for the review!

[gwc4sc]

Very nice review good job. I bought a warlord about 2 months ago from my local B&M for $12. Gotta love CA. I thought the cigar looked and smelt great. But thats where it ended. I think the B&M humi was set at about 85%RH. That thing was so hard to light and burned terribly. I guess most of this was my fault for not letting it rest in my humi for a while but it just looked too good and I could'nt help myself. I am a big Gurkha fan so I will have to give it another chance, but I will have to wait until I find an online deal for them (no more B&M sponges for me). Thanks again for the review.

[hk3]

Great Review!
I need to invest in a new torch lighter so I can get the nice pre-burn action on the cigar.... and not my fingers! My torch lighter has a lid that flips open, but not far enough to be out of the way of the edge of the flame. What a piece...... I gotta try this Gurkha brand again and see if I get a different experience the second time around.

[Volt]

As with most brands, each line will be a bit different. With The Regent and the Masters Select they are all different. I do find though as a brand I tend to like all of them for some reason.

[hk3]

I think that's normal to like a brand in general and possibly just about everything they make.
That also can be true with certain tobacco's as well by their origin.

[Volt]

Originally Posted by hk3

Great Review!
I need to invest in a new torch lighter so I can get the nice pre-burn action on the cigar.... and not my fingers! My torch lighter has a lid that flips open, but not far enough to be out of the way of the edge of the flame. What a piece...... I gotta try this Gurkha brand again and see if I get a different experience the second time around.

The Master Select Robosto is a good smoke as well as Beast. If you can find it at a good price the Ghengis Kahn is an excellant smoke with a dual wrapper.