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K.o.t.C.: Part III (Gurkha Royal Brigade)

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King of the Cameroon, parte tres is here for your smoking pleasure! Up to bat tonight was the Gurkha Royal Brigade (thanks to cba191 for the stick!)



And for the record, no I'm not stoned I'm just tired :smokingbo

Construction: Well I must preface this by saying that I had three royal brigades to choose from and when I cut the first the wrapper and binder split right at the top (bummer!) Well since we have generous brothers on the board I simply went back and got the stick that was sent to me last week which clipped perfectly. This stick has a bit of a rougher look to it, very little sheen, very leathery. This is not an oily cigar to say the least. It's also very firm to the touch which I belive is the reason I had a really tough time with the draw. As I learned (the hard way) with this cigar where you cut the perfecto can make a very large difference on the draw. With about a third left on the RB I clipped it a bit more and it made a world of difference. I had not been getting much smoke at all but once I made another clip I had oodles dancing on my tastebuds. Either way the burn on this Gurkha was quite uneven, especially towards the middle where it got jagged. This smoke also required several touch-ups and a little maintenance every now and then.

Flavor: Well where would a cigar be without flavor? With the Royal Brigade you're immediately met with sweet cedar and earth. As you move towards the halfway point the chocolate notes start and only get stronger down until the nub where the flavor becomes quite robust and a little peppery. With all of the hype that I've heard on other websites about how this is a must try for cameroon fans I admit that I felt as if such praise was not fully deserved. Don't get me wrong, this is a good smoke for 'anytime' since I found it to be mild-medium in body, but since I only smoke twice a week I was hoping for something more. Although the flavors were pleasant this stick did not really impress me in any way. There was no point at which I said 'wow that's unique'. This is not a bad smoke per say, but it is not one that I would water at the mouth over.

Overall: Let's remember that this cigar retails for $15. I am very glad that the sticks I did pay for I got for just over $3 each. I would never pay more than $5 for this cigar and to imagine that there are people out there paying full retail I just hope they know they're getting ripped off. Originally, my plan was to smoke the Royal Brigade tonight and the Gurkha Grand Age tomorrow but because of how un-impressed I was by this cigar, I think I'm going to hold off a while so I'm not as biased...When taking MSRP, construction, and flavor into consideration I'm going to give this smoke a 6/10 Thanks for reading guys and I'm always up for any constructive criticism or any thoughts. Happy smoking!
 
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The current ranking:
1)La Aurora Preferido Robusto Ltd. Edition 2006 (still holdin' it down!) [9.0]
2)Perdomo ESV 1991 Maestro [7.5]
3)Gurkha Royal Brigade [6.0]
 
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I can't pick out various flavors, but your description pretty much summed it up. When someone posted that they wanted some, I was more than happy to let them go. :)
 
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i love the look of perfectos, but those weren't my cup of tea. i have yet to have a perfecto that just blows me away. i think the johnny-o i have may restore my faith in the vitola though.

are there any tat perfectos that aren't huge?
 

njstone

BoM January 2010
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i love the look of perfectos, but those weren't my cup of tea. i have yet to have a perfecto that just blows me away. i think the johnny-o i have may restore my faith in the vitola though.

are there any tat perfectos that aren't huge?
If you want a perfecto that will blow you away...it will depend entirely on what kind of cigars you like, lol. The CAO Gold Perfectos are good if you like milds. But the CAO L'Anniversary Maduro Perfecto is sublime, definately a must-try cigar if you can find one.

I know LFD makes some perfectos, but I've never had one. Of course, the AF Hemingway series are all perfectos as well (just not as fat of a ring).
 

njstone

BoM January 2010
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King of the Cameroon, parte tres is here for your smoking pleasure! Up to bat tonight was the Gurkha Royal Brigade (thanks to cba191 for the stick!)



And for the record, no I'm not stoned I'm just tired :smokingbo

Construction: Well I must preface this by saying that I had three royal brigades to choose from and when I cut the first the wrapper and binder split right at the top (bummer!) Well since we have generous brothers on the board I simply went back and got the stick that was sent to me last week which clipped perfectly. This stick has a bit of a rougher look to it, very little sheen, very leathery. This is not an oily cigar to say the least. It's also very firm to the touch which I belive is the reason I had a really tough time with the draw. As I learned (the hard way) with this cigar where you cut the perfecto can make a very large difference on the draw. With about a third left on the RB I clipped it a bit more and it made a world of difference. I had not been getting much smoke at all but once I made another clip I had oodles dancing on my tastebuds. Either way the burn on this Gurkha was quite uneven, especially towards the middle where it got jagged. This smoke also required several touch-ups and a little maintenance every now and then.

Flavor: Well where would a cigar be without flavor? With the Royal Brigade you're immediately met with sweet cedar and earth. As you move towards the halfway point the chocolate notes start and only get stronger down until the nub where the flavor becomes quite robust and a little peppery. With all of the hype that I've heard on other websites about how this is a must try for cameroon fans I admit that I felt as if such praise was not fully deserved. Don't get me wrong, this is a good smoke for 'anytime' since I found it to be mild-medium in body, but since I only smoke twice a week I was hoping for something more. Although the flavors were pleasant this stick did not really impress me in any way. There was no point at which I said 'wow that's unique'. This is not a bad smoke per say, but it is not one that I would water at the mouth over.

Overall: Let's remember that this cigar retails for $15. I am very glad that the sticks I did pay for I got for just over $3 each. I would never pay more than $5 for this cigar and to imagine that there are people out there paying full retail I just hope they know they're getting ripped off. Originally, my plan was to smoke the Royal Brigade tonight and the Gurkha Grand Age tomorrow but because of how un-impressed I was by this cigar, I think I'm going to hold off a while so I'm not as biased...When taking MSRP, construction, and flavor into consideration I'm going to give this smoke a 6/10 Thanks for reading guys and I'm always up for any constructive criticism or any thoughts. Happy smoking!

Thanks a lot for the review, a good one as always.

I've not had the RB yet--I have at least 5 of them but they are all "resting" in my humidor, since I heard from a number of people that these and other Gurkhas really need to sit for at least 6 months if not longer. Since you have 1 or 2 more, I'd suggest trying another in 6 months, and another in 12...I'm told that it makes quite a difference.

Since you liked the cigar, but did not love it, I think that's an ideal candidate to "experimentally age."

On the subject of aging...I smoked an H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon today that was in the early stages of plume (though it's only been in my humi for 7 months...interesting). The cigar was very enjoyable--I was suprised by how much I liked it, actually. It was far more complex then a Hemingway or an Oliva G, but I still like the overall flavor of the Hemingway better. But yea, the H. Upmann was a good cigar (at least aged it was good)...and it's pretty cheap too.
 
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njstone, my local shop carries the larger hemingways and the H.Upmans. I've had the Vintage cameroon before but i wasn't exactly concentrating on it at the time so I'm thinking I should go another round with that one.

Also, if anyone is making a trip out to Vegas anytime soon, please let me know. I would absolutely love to try a Casa Fuente and will gladly pay someone for one or two of those.
 

Moro

BoM Decembre '08
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Also, if anyone is making a trip out to Vegas anytime soon, please let me know. I would absolutely love to try a Casa Fuente and will gladly pay someone for one or two of those.
Contact Don (openendstraight). He makes a trip there incredibly often :smokingbo
 

cigarguy71

BIG JIM
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I have smoked a lot of Gurkha's. I think most are all hype and way over priced. But you can always find them online for cheap that's funny. Thanks for the review.
 

Moro

BoM Decembre '08
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Got you covered here Moro unless someone goes earlier I am in vegas in April. Jeff is there now.
Me? I told Bull Moose that if he wanted to contact someone in Vegas, Don was the option (I do not need more cigars right now, Chuck; please! :peace:)
 
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