Cigar: Gurka Master's Select Perfecto #1
Length: 6”
Gauge: 54
Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper: Habano
Origin: Dominican
Construction: Cigar is beautifully rolled with a tasty looking habano wrapper has smooth flowing seams with one or two very small veins. It is slightly box-pressed.
Prelight Draw: I'm getting tobacco and a faint notes of cedar and sweet hay. Being a box-press the cigar has some slight variation in firmness flat vs. corner. Cigar has a nice draw.
First Draw: I got nutty undertones along with notes of cedar that was there in the prelight draw. Smoke is pretty smooth and of a mild density.
First Third: The nuttiness emerges as hazelnut during a brief inhale through the nose. There's also a hint of caramel playing hide and seek as well as some coffee on the retrohale. It seems with every draw the sweetness of this incredibly smooth smoke is getting stronger. I close my eyes and go back to warm spring days plucking honeysuckle on the walk home from school. Also, at this point the stick has begun to run at about a little over ¼th of the way in. I'm thinking it has something to do with the light box press, but this could also be do to my own neglect.
Second Third: At the start of the second third the ceder is still ever-so-green. The young hazelnut that reared it's head in the first third move out, but black walnut has decided to move in and take his place. There's also another flavor teasing my palate, but I can't quite catch that ol' bandit just yet. That sugar is beginning to bear more of a resemblance to its sticky, gooey, chewy offspring caramel at this point.
Halfway: The sugar is pleasantly burning off and leaving behind roasted nuts and cherry. A vivid image of a slice of semi-sweet pecan log roll comes to mind. However, I quickly find that vision fading as it's replaced with a memory of grinding espresso beans before opening the coffee shop on my old job. There is also a nice development of earth and spice
Final Third: Yes, the cigar is picking up in strength and quickly at that. My cedary friend still announces his presence with every draw, telling me he's in it for the long haul. The cigar finishes up lengthily with an engaging blend of coffee, roasted nuts, cedar, and white pepper.
Total Smoke Time: 1hr 36min
Conclusion: This is a nice cigar that starts off medium bodied that evolves into one more full and wide. The flavors shift in the different stages of the cigar, but each stage is pretty well balanced. I'm not sure if these smoke the same fresh out of the box. This is the first I have tried and these have been aging 6 months. I would definitely recommend that you pick yourself up one or two if you haven't already and try it out if you like medium-full bodied smokes. Thanks for reading. ~ The Maduro Kid
Length: 6”
Gauge: 54
Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper: Habano
Origin: Dominican
Construction: Cigar is beautifully rolled with a tasty looking habano wrapper has smooth flowing seams with one or two very small veins. It is slightly box-pressed.
Prelight Draw: I'm getting tobacco and a faint notes of cedar and sweet hay. Being a box-press the cigar has some slight variation in firmness flat vs. corner. Cigar has a nice draw.
First Draw: I got nutty undertones along with notes of cedar that was there in the prelight draw. Smoke is pretty smooth and of a mild density.
First Third: The nuttiness emerges as hazelnut during a brief inhale through the nose. There's also a hint of caramel playing hide and seek as well as some coffee on the retrohale. It seems with every draw the sweetness of this incredibly smooth smoke is getting stronger. I close my eyes and go back to warm spring days plucking honeysuckle on the walk home from school. Also, at this point the stick has begun to run at about a little over ¼th of the way in. I'm thinking it has something to do with the light box press, but this could also be do to my own neglect.
Second Third: At the start of the second third the ceder is still ever-so-green. The young hazelnut that reared it's head in the first third move out, but black walnut has decided to move in and take his place. There's also another flavor teasing my palate, but I can't quite catch that ol' bandit just yet. That sugar is beginning to bear more of a resemblance to its sticky, gooey, chewy offspring caramel at this point.
Halfway: The sugar is pleasantly burning off and leaving behind roasted nuts and cherry. A vivid image of a slice of semi-sweet pecan log roll comes to mind. However, I quickly find that vision fading as it's replaced with a memory of grinding espresso beans before opening the coffee shop on my old job. There is also a nice development of earth and spice
Final Third: Yes, the cigar is picking up in strength and quickly at that. My cedary friend still announces his presence with every draw, telling me he's in it for the long haul. The cigar finishes up lengthily with an engaging blend of coffee, roasted nuts, cedar, and white pepper.
Total Smoke Time: 1hr 36min
Conclusion: This is a nice cigar that starts off medium bodied that evolves into one more full and wide. The flavors shift in the different stages of the cigar, but each stage is pretty well balanced. I'm not sure if these smoke the same fresh out of the box. This is the first I have tried and these have been aging 6 months. I would definitely recommend that you pick yourself up one or two if you haven't already and try it out if you like medium-full bodied smokes. Thanks for reading. ~ The Maduro Kid
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