Gurkha Fuerte XO Review

[Zarathustra19]

Hey everyone, this is my inaugural review post here at Puff, and its on a cigar that I was very happy to try out. This first photo is a stock image from CI, as I forgot to take a proper picture before removing the band (which I did because it was a little loose anyway and would have annoyed me). In any case, the cigar is the Gurkha Fuerte XO, which I believe is a CI exclusive size from Gurkha. And with that, lets get underway.



Shape: Toro
Length: 6"
Ring: 60
Wrapper: Costa Rican
Binder: Cuban seed Nicaraguan/Honduran
Filler: Cuban seed Nicaraguan/Honduran
Strength: Full
MSRP: ~$12.00/cigar

The ring gauge is a monster for me. I'm used to smoking cigars around the 50 to 52 range. However, the cigar didn't really feel too big as I lit up (maybe due to the Nubs I've had lately)

In any case, the pre-light draw was free, but not too airy. I got flavors of natural tobacco and some slight hints of spice (not hot, but flavorful).

I lit the cigar with my butane torch and was surprised at the sweet flavor I got right away. It wasn't anything like a swisher sweet or other cigars like that, but a natural tobacco sweetness. The aroma held much of the same, which was great.



About half an inch into the cigar, a burn problem presented itself. One side burned about half an inch further down than the other, as you can see in this second picture. I let it go in the hope that it would self-correct, and moved on.



At this point, the flavors remained in the sweet tobacco range, but with something else there which my pallate will not let me describe. There was also some mild spice flavor in the background. The smoke was thick and plentiful and left my mouth watering, not dry.

At about an inch and a half in, I touched up the burn problem with my torch, as you may be able to see from the picture below. After this, the burn line remained straight throughout. I think it may have been an issue with my humidor, which had just been seasoned. A few other cigars had the same problem, but all is well at this point.



After hitting the second third, the flavors grew more complex, and are rather out of my range of description. In any case, I still tasted sweet tobacco, spice, and that elusive flavor in the background. I'll have to get a few more of these and try to identify more flavors.



As you can see from the pictures below, I smoked this thing down to the nub. The smoke remained cool throughout, and presented no problems smoking it close to the lips. The strength was med-full to full, and I'm glad I ate a big dinner before smoking it.

CI has these on sale right now for 49.99 for 12 cigars, which is a steal. I'm going to have to try to hide that expense in the budget report to the parents at the end of the semester!

In any case, I highly recommend the Fuerte XO. I've not had any other Gurkha's yet, so I'm not sure how it compares for all of you out there who love the brand. I'd just say give this one a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[randommcsmokesalot]

nice review, I just acquired a second one through a puff.com purchase, so now I get double the fun

[Thumper2672]

I won a fiver of these last fall. They've been resting since November and I had one a few weeks ago. Not bad. Not great, but not bad. Maybe need a little more rest.

[docruger]

good review thanks its always nice to see reviews posted here.

[golfermd]

Thanks, man. Nice review...