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!

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!