Gurkha’s Park Avenue Series 44
Smoke: Gurkha’s Park Avenue Series 44 Presidente
Drink: Session Black
Listening to: A thunderstorm in the distance
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut seed
Binder: Nicaraguan?
Filler: Nicaraguan
Draw: Medium, smooth
Burn: Good
Misc: If the burn got funky, it would even it's self out quickly. The ash it's self wouldn't hold over an inch.
Pre-light: Smooth looking wrapper, It gave me the feeling that it would be a soft, smooth smoke. The nose of course gave me notes of caramel and cedar.
Cut: My wife took the car, so I didn't have a cutter. I just used my fingernail to remove part of the cap. It worked quite well, and didn't effect the smoke.
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/5347/0522111823.jpg
Light: Even, smooth, medium draw.
1st 3rd: I would say the smoke its self was quite weak. It was quite nice though. I got notes of honey and cinnamon.
Ash: Light grey to dark grey in layers, slight yellowing at the end. Held on a max of 1 inch.
http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/3313/0522111815.jpg
2nd 3rd: The smoke finally came into its own, thick and billowy. The cinnamon turned into more of a black pepper. The draw sped up a bit causing it to heat up a touch. It cooled rather quickly though.
3rd 3rd: Here it changed completely. I started to get more of a tannic feel from it (leather, bark, etc.) and the spice changed into an earthy flavor.
Overall impression: I loved it, especially toward the middle and end. Because of the end, I would pair this one with a rich steak. Tannin and fat counteract each other so your taste buds would stay fresh throughout.
