Gurkha Black Dragon
I know Gurkha catches a lot of flack from a lot of people. I am one of those people who are extra critical of their marketing and slogans. At the end of the day, I usually have good experiences with their cigars. I can’t deny it. That’s why I reached for the Black Dragon tonight. After a hearty meal, I poured a few sips of The Glenlivet 12 year scotch, filled up a glass of water, and sat down for this review.
Wrapper: Connecticut Maduro
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican
Size: Robusto 4.25 x 52
Price: 6 to $7.00
Pre-light & Construction:
As always, the presentation of the cigar was a bit fancy. A small cedar band covered the foot, while a large band almost covered the rest of the cigar. Once removed, I found a nice dark maduro wrapper that looked rugged, oily, and just plain good. I squeezed the cigar and found it was very tight, which usually worries me. Despite the tightness, the draw was free with a perfect amount of resistance. Sniffing the wrapper revealed smells of cedar and earth. The foot had a similar smell, with a slight pepper added. The pre-light draw had a simple taste of tobacco, slight sweetness, and earth. I had to correct the burn quite a few times, and the ash was flakey, holding for a about an inch.
Flavor:
The first third had started off with simple earthy flavors. When I took a small sip of scotch and drew from the cigar, the flavor was warm and satisfying. When the scotch aftertaste wore off and I drew from the cigar, the flavor profile wasn’t nearly as satisfying. It was still decent though.
The second third picked up the pace a little. Coffee flavors appeared and grew to about the same strength as the earthy notes. I picked up a nutty flavor as well, but it was barely noticeable.
When I got to the last third, the coffee notes continued along with the earthy flavors. For sticking it out this long, I was rewarded with unidentified sweet flavors. I noticed a sweet earthy spice when passing through the sinus as well.
Conclusion:
This was a decent medium to full bodied cigar. This isn’t the best Gurkha I’ve had. I’d take a Genghis Khan over this any day. I found myself getting bored with the flavor profile. I suppose this cigar doesn’t suit what I like in a flavor profile. If the flavors I described sound like something you’d like, by all means give the Black Dragon a try. It was by no means bad.
