Gurkha Warpig Toro

[Mikenice81]

Gurkha War Pig Toro
18 days at 68f and 68%rh
Soft flame light

It definitely didn't enjoy the transition from the tupperdor to the outdoors. The wrapper cracked nearly an inch long. At this point not much was going on. There was some earth. A touch of leather came and went. Citrus notes played in and out with a bit of undefined sweetness. There was a bitterness that came and went. It may have been a result of smoking too fast. I found that this stick prefered to be smoked at 50 - 80 second intervals. It excelled at 60 - 70 seconds.

Well, that was unique. I swear for two or three puffs there was a flavor like blood orange. A light wood and stringent white pepper were carrying the day. At some points the flavor of leather and earth played a distant back ground note. There was a musky note that came and went.

Okay, we kept sliding through hints of chocolate and premium coffee. At this point hickory came in with a citrusy and floral note. Dark tobacco also played a key part. The bitterness was completely gone by now. I had been maintaining a well timed pace with the help of the display on my cd player.

Well, I'll be damned. There is a bright grassy note that reminds me of a Virginia tobacco. It mixes well with a light roasted coffee flavor that switches to chocolate. The Virginia note transitions to a citrus and floral note again. Musky earth and leather take over the profile for a little while. Dark tobacco steps into the profile.

Complexity steps in for a couple of puffs and then disappears in a puff of leather. Star Bucks Blonde with cream rolls through with a hint of chocolate. Dark tobacco is more present. The flavors dance in and out creating a nearly schizophrenic flavor experience. Stringent white pepper hits and the transitions into a black pepper blast. Then the pepper disappears again.

Hickory and Virginia again with a citrus note. It transitions into a musky earth with leather. We go back to dark tobacco and undefined sweetness. A bit of smokey flavor comes in and reminds me of tobacco in the curing barn. Stringent white pepper blasts the sinuses. Dark chocolate and coffee hits for a second.

I smoked for about another twelve minutes and experienced a couple of puffs of complexity. Star Bucks light roast and chocolate replace it before leather comes through. It transitions back to dark tobacco and musky earth. The end started heating up a little bit and I figure 110 minutes was long enough.

The whole stick was smooth and flavorful once I stopped rushing things. The tobacco won't be confused with the super premium stuff and subtlety isn't really in the cards. This won't replace your Davidoffs or Tats. However, you can get a five pack for $12 shipped at Cbid. For that price they are definitely worth trying out. If you're on a tighter budget they might make for a good tupperdor filler to hold you over between big ticket sticks. I'll be considering a five pack of Robustos in the future.

EDIT ON 3/26/2015
Read through post sixteen. This stick is no longer a recommended stick.

 

[ZippoGeek]

Nicely done, Mike! I generally dislike the Big G, but at that price, who cares? I also wish like heck that I could smoke in my car. Stupid lease!

 

[CVAC085]

Real nice review. I'm a fan of Gurkha's as well. Haven't had a war pig yet. I'll get to smoking one of them eventually. Thanks for sharing!

 

[c.ortiz108]

Good review, thanks. Gurkhas are so often judged by their outrageous msrp, rather than on what you can actually get them for. I think if everyone considered them budget sticks at least some of them would have a great reputation!

 

[Mikenice81]

Nicely done, Mike! I generally dislike the Big G, but at that price, who cares? I also wish like heck that I could smoke in my car. Stupid lease!

Thank you for the kind words. Gurkha is often unfairly slammed. A big part of that comes from their willingness to pump out so many bleh house blends. Add it the outrageous marketing and it is nearly a perfect storm. I have had really good experience with Wicked Indies, War Pigs, and Tridents that have very little rest. I wouldn't put them in the same ball park as a La Jugada or Ashton. However, compared to the Oliva Serie G, La Gloria Cubana(nc), and CAOs of similar price, those blends I mentioned are just as good if not better.

Give one a try. Just understand that these things aren't about subtlety. They come after your palate with sledgehammers. The flavors are bold and in your face. There isn't any sitting around and trying to decipher things.

Good review, thanks. Gurkhas are so often judged by their outrageous msrp, rather than on what you can actually get them for. I think if everyone considered them budget sticks at least some of them would have a great reputation!

I completely agree. At $2.50 a stick I can't imagine a better smoke. I haven't found one in my experiences.

 

[c.ortiz108]

I haven't had a Warpig but have enjoyed the Beast, Regent, and Symphony. The thing with Gurkhas is that they're made by different companies, including AJF, for example, so writing off the whole brand because of marketing idiocy doesn't make sense.

 

[Mikenice81]

I haven't had a Warpig but have enjoyed the Beast, Regent, and Symphony. The thing with Gurkhas is that they're made by different companies, including AJF, for example, so writing off the whole brand because of marketing idiocy doesn't make sense.

I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

 

[dharbolt]

Second worst thing I ever tried to smoke


Edit: not knocking your writeup. Good job there. Just a terrible smoke imo

 

[Jmphotog]

I honestly steered away from ghurkas now but I remember liking this one when I smoked it a while ago.. great review bro keep it up!

 

[c.ortiz108]

Second worst thing I ever tried to smoke
Edit: not knocking your writeup. Good job there. Just a terrible smoke imo

What was the first?

I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, AJF makes the Park Avenue and the Sherpa. Abe Flores makes the 125th Anni. Torano makes some, too.

 

[dharbolt]

What was the first?



Yeah, AJF makes the Park Avenue and the Sherpa. Abe Flores makes the 125th Anni.

Haha I wondered how long before someone asked.

It was a mombacho

 

[Mikenice81]

Second worst thing I ever tried to smoke


Edit: not knocking your writeup. Good job there. Just a terrible smoke imo

I didn't take it as a knock. Taste is subjective. There are sticks out there that get raves and I find flat or disgusting. People rave about Oliva cigars. I've smoked the G, V, Master Blend 3, and O. None of them really did it for me. The G was horrible in my opinion, but others swear they are the best budget smoke. I also hate Nub cigars. Others think they are the bee knees. We all have our own profile.

 

[Mikenice81]

UPDATE

Twenty more days of rest changed the cigar up quite a bit. The thirds are definitely more distinguished.

The first is more about the bright flavors. There was citrus zest, peanut, white pepper, and something that seemed to transition between an astringent pine and juniper flavor. Earth, leather, and chocolate played a background note and helped to keep the high notes from becoming unbearable.

The second transitioned into the darker flavors without getting too heavy. It was more about the earth, chocolate, coffee, and leather with the nuts and zest rolling through in the back ground. A bitter coffee flavor built up towards the end of the second third and started to take over the profile.

The last third was more about the earth, coffee, chocolate, and spice. The other flavors come together and it seems to be trying for complexity without exactly reaching it. In the last inch it turned to leather, spice, bitter coffee, and earth. The bitterness from the coffee became too much and I dumped it with about .75" left.

I actually found this stick much more exciting when it was younger. I've got one more and I'll let it sit another month to see how the blend ages.

That was at the one hour mark.

 

[Tim H]

I've avoided Gurkhas due to their not so good reputation. Maybe I will pick up a couple of cheap singles on cbid to try out for yard gars. Thanks for the review.

 

[StogieNinja]

Gurkhas are so often judged by their outrageous msrp, rather than on what you can actually get them for. I think if everyone considered them budget sticks at least some of them would have a great reputation!

Gurkha is often unfairly slammed. A big part of that comes from their willingness to pump out so many bleh house blends. Add it the outrageous marketing and it is nearly a perfect storm.

Does Gurkha put out a few decent sticks? Yes. Any great ones? Never, to my knowledge, has an experienced cigar smoker called any of them great.
My issue with Gurkha is that so many are so awful. Abe Flores has a lot of super cheap cigars, as does EP Carillo. Both have lines that overall are smokable and enjoyable. I don't care much for AJ's molassassy maduros, but I know a lot of guys love his stuff as well. Gurkha's success rate, however, is far, far lower. Putting out the occasional "ok" product doesn't make up for an overall portfolio of crap, in any industry, nor should it. So I don't think Gurkha is unfairly slammed at all.

There's a difference between being honest about how a specific cigar tastes relative to it's price tag, and judging a company overall. Even in the budget category, Gurkha's overall portfolio sucks. It's just not worth looking for that needle in a haystack.


All that being said, it was a nice review!

 

[Mikenice81]

The last of that particular five pack. I must say, I won't miss it. What a difference six weeks can make.

The first third was nutty and sweet, but it was also quite sour. I found that a good ninety second pace kept the sour at bay. The sour eased into grass. So it was nuts, grass, a touch of earth and that was about it.

The second third was saw the nutty flavor back out some and it was basically earth, leather, grass, and nuts. At the half way point a little cocoa and coffee came into the picture. The nuts also became peanuts. So, the flavor was better. The problem was the large vein running down one side was refusing to burn. So, touch ups were required pretty often to stop it from canoeing. Add in that every time the seam crossed a vein it tried to pull up and tunneling would start in that spot. I think I killed half a lighter on this thing.

I made it down into the last third. When everything was working together it had a pleasant leather, earth, coffee, cocoa, cream, nut flavor profile. Too bad the constant touch ups ended up ruining the flavor. With about 1.6 inches left I ashed it. The thing was just not worth fighting for and the taste had pretty much turned into charred tobacco from all of the touch ups.

I don't see how a stick gets progressively worse with age.