Gurkha's Castle Hall was the first hand-made cigar I ever had. It was given to me by a good friend nearly two years ago, and it opened my eyes to the world of premium cigars and made me realize what I'd been missing.
But the more I read on the internet the more I realize that Gurkha doesn't get a lot of love among cigar aficionados. Reviewers complain about bland taste, inconsistent body, burn issues, construction issues, etc... I began to think that maybe I didn't really enjoy that first one as much as I thought I had. Maybe I just didn't know any better way back then. So, having acquired a couple of these in an awesome sampler from CI, I decided last night to call up my first girl and rekindle an old flame.
(Cue Foreigner's Feels Like the First Time...)
Straight out of the wrapper, the Gurkha Castle Hall (Toro: 6" x 54) certainly was as pretty as I remembered. The Habano-seed wrapper was richly colored and slightly oily and only lightly veined. And, although it doesn't matter really, I love the colors and artwork on the band. It's firm, well-packed and it feels a little heavy in the hand. Smells woodsy. It cut cleanly, and the pre-light draw was just right.
Toast the foot and light it up: yeah... it's as good as I remember. It's mild-medium in body, and filled with earthy, woodsy tastes. There's leather in there, and nuts and mushroom and a little oak. Under it all is a very subtle and sweet spiciness.
Construction issues? What construction issues? A cool, even, perfect burn. I wound up taking a dozen pictures of the ash, expecting it to fall off at any moment. No flaking, either. This is the last one I took before it finally fell - and it made a solid thunk when it hit the deck... The draw stayed perfect - not too tight and not too loose. Lots of smoke, too.
Past the halfway point, the cigar intensified slowly. What started off mild-medium was medium-full when I snapped the above pic. The same great flavors as before, but they were stronger, too. Still very, very smooth. I caught myself "hmmmmm"-ing in delight after nearly every puff. Notice that it's getting dark - my total smoke time was about an hour and twenty minutes, and then I only stopped because it was burning my fingers.
A wonderful, wonderful smoke - every bit as good as I remembered. A great value at around $3 a stick, too. All you Gurkha bashers out there: do yourself a favor and try one of these.
Appearance and Construction: 14/15
Flavor: 22/25
Smoking Characteristics: 23/25
Overall Impression: 32/35
Total: 91/100
But the more I read on the internet the more I realize that Gurkha doesn't get a lot of love among cigar aficionados. Reviewers complain about bland taste, inconsistent body, burn issues, construction issues, etc... I began to think that maybe I didn't really enjoy that first one as much as I thought I had. Maybe I just didn't know any better way back then. So, having acquired a couple of these in an awesome sampler from CI, I decided last night to call up my first girl and rekindle an old flame.
(Cue Foreigner's Feels Like the First Time...)
Straight out of the wrapper, the Gurkha Castle Hall (Toro: 6" x 54) certainly was as pretty as I remembered. The Habano-seed wrapper was richly colored and slightly oily and only lightly veined. And, although it doesn't matter really, I love the colors and artwork on the band. It's firm, well-packed and it feels a little heavy in the hand. Smells woodsy. It cut cleanly, and the pre-light draw was just right.
Toast the foot and light it up: yeah... it's as good as I remember. It's mild-medium in body, and filled with earthy, woodsy tastes. There's leather in there, and nuts and mushroom and a little oak. Under it all is a very subtle and sweet spiciness.
Construction issues? What construction issues? A cool, even, perfect burn. I wound up taking a dozen pictures of the ash, expecting it to fall off at any moment. No flaking, either. This is the last one I took before it finally fell - and it made a solid thunk when it hit the deck... The draw stayed perfect - not too tight and not too loose. Lots of smoke, too.
Past the halfway point, the cigar intensified slowly. What started off mild-medium was medium-full when I snapped the above pic. The same great flavors as before, but they were stronger, too. Still very, very smooth. I caught myself "hmmmmm"-ing in delight after nearly every puff. Notice that it's getting dark - my total smoke time was about an hour and twenty minutes, and then I only stopped because it was burning my fingers.
A wonderful, wonderful smoke - every bit as good as I remembered. A great value at around $3 a stick, too. All you Gurkha bashers out there: do yourself a favor and try one of these.
Appearance and Construction: 14/15
Flavor: 22/25
Smoking Characteristics: 23/25
Overall Impression: 32/35
Total: 91/100
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