Posted this in another forum, wanted this groups take on it too

I've been smoking since the boom in the early 90's. I was a young 20-something back then and of course, went in to my local hip cigar store (Willow Glen Cigars in San Jose, CA) and asked for "something mild". Needless to say, I walked out with a Connecticut Shade wrapped Macanudo.

Anyway, I've smoked hundreds of different kinds of cigars since then and have my personal "everyday smokes" that are my favs, such as A. Fuente Short Story, Punch Grand Cru and Padron Anniversario. I've always smoked various incarnations of these brands over the years and stay pretty loyal to them.

Anyway, I've been trying to branch out recently, and at the suggestion of my smoking buddy (my cousin) have smoked CAO Brazillias, various RP's and last night, a Gurkha Black Dragon.

This brings me to my question...

Is Gurkha really the "best cigar in the world"? I have to say...I think not. Don't get me wrong, it was an OK smoke. Medium bodied and IMHO a somewhat unremarkable smoke with a slight earthy tones and notes of leather. Honestly, nothing to get overly excited about especially considering the $16 per stick price tag. I think, considering my particular fondness for Nicaraguan cigars, I should have spent half as much and tried an Oliva maduro torpedo. Anyone else feel like Gurkha is the Starbucks of the cigar world, benefiting from slick packaging and marketing? Or, should I try something different from this maker with an expectation of finding a truly great cigar?

PS LOVE this forum!

It seems that Gurkha comes out with a new cigar every week. Their selection is mind boggling. They definitely depend on slick advertising. With so many varieties out there it only stands to reason that you will love some and hate others, while most will fall somewhere in the middle.

They can be a good cigar, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who really thinks it's the best cigar in the world.

Definately not the best in the world. The that stick out to me is the Ancient Warrior and the Napalese Warrior. Mark (Shelby) gave me a few Ancient Warriors and I had them all smoked within 2 weeks. They are delicious.

But as a whole, definately not the best. If you must try some, check out cigarbid.com They have them way below MSRP.

/agree with shelby and chris, there are a couple of good ones out there, but most are average at best.

imo they really killed themselves with creating too many varieties and talking them up too much. I don't bother paying attention to anything they do anymore. Gurkha is the 'boy who cried wolf' of cigars brands.

Love the Black Puro and really enjoy the Nepalese and the Ancient Warrior.

Cigar International runs the Black Puro at $90/dozen, however I've gotten them on cigarbid for as low as 30/dozen so like Chris said, you can definitely pick them up for waaay below msrp.

Oh, and as for the BEST??? I'm still looking for that one, and enjoying the journey.

My favorite smoke to date was a Bolivar Belicoso Finos with a couple of years on it. But I'm still looking for a new favorite. No Gurkha has even come close to the Bolivar. I agree with the guys above. The Ancient Warrior and Nepalese Warrior are my two favs from the Gurkha line up. I haven't tried the Black puro yet. Gurkha has some hidden gems but I don't think the majority of them are worth the asking price.

I think you guys have a good handle on this brand. The marketing is amazing. How could the product possibly live up to all that hype?

I agree on the general consensus on the Warriors. The Legend series is not too bad either and can be found on c-bid once in a while. Enjoy!

Alot of good ones...alot of not so good ones.

It really just depends but definitely NOT the best cigar in the world...

Decent cigars, but there are way more better cigars out there for half the price. Hence, never buy them at your local B&M. Go online and get them. When I know I am running out of my favorite Gurkhas (nep warrior & Class Regent) I wait and see for a good deal on Cbid. Good luck.

Andrew

I agree with everybody, and would add the G3 and the x fuerte as good solid smokes that can be had reasonably on cbid and other specials at times. As far as the best cigar in the world.......I'm with hefty.......still searching and lovin' every minute of it.

Don't think I've ever bought a Gurkha somewhere other than cbid. Personally I like the X-Fuerte.

spiffy

But by God, the packaging is beautiful. It's enough to make you want to smoke Gurkhas just so that you get the pretty box.

Well I've never been impressed with Ghurkas. I haven't seen the box so I guess it would have to be a beauty for me to smoke that many just to get it. And Ghurkas cost too much for me to just toss them in the humidor and save them as buddy cigars.

Just wanted to mention that the biggest tree I ever pulled out of cigar came from a Ghurka. I was smoking an Ancient Warrior, which I was kinda forcing my way through since I didn't really like it. One reason was the draw was terrible. About halfway through, I notice a stem sticking out the head of the cigar that is bothering me when I puff.

So I decide to remove it. Good lord, I kept pulling and a friggen tree came out. Not kidding, an actual branch with huge pieces of tobacco on it. Too big to be the vein of leaf. Nonetheless, it smoked much better after that.

Speaking of Gurkha's on Cbid, any guesses on how high this auction is going to go?

http://www.cigarbid.com/auction/lot.cfm?lotID=513772

Never had a Gurkha I liked, never had many of them either, so take it for what it is worth.