Archive for the ‘dragon’ Category

Gurkha Red Dragon

Monday, October 26th, 2009

For those of you who have been asking where Ed is, your search is over. We are back for our monthly review at The Stogie Review. This time we take a look at the new Gurkha Red Dragon.

This cigar was enjoyable, with subtle and simple flavors. This is why the review is a little short at around 20 minutes. Enjoy…

MP3 Audio

Gurkha Black Dragon

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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