Archive for the ‘Khansotia’ Category

Gurkha Park Avenue – First Impression

Monday, October 19th, 2009

First I must thank Cigars Direct for sending me this cigar in their care package. As the name implies, this is the first Park Avenue I have smoked, hence “First impression.” The band doesn’t have the word Gurkha anywhere on it. Instead it has the company owners name, “Khansotia & Co.” Intrigued by this cheap Gurkha, I paired with water and got to smoking.

 

Wrapper: Connecticut seed grown in Ecuador

Binder/Filler: Nicaragua & Dominican

Size: Torpedo 6.2 X 52

Price: Around $3.00 each

 

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The light tan wrapper looked great, with a few small to medium veins here and there. When I pinched the length of the cigar, I found it to be a little spongy, but nothing I would call bad. This probably accounted for the free pre-light draw, which had a basic woody natural tobacco taste. When I sniffed the wrapper, it was similar to the pre-light taste. The foot had a similar odor, with a very slight spice (I mean VERY slight).

The ash held for about an inch, and I did no burn corrections. Despite the loose draw, I got an hour and a half of smoke time.

1GurkhaParkAvenue

Flavor:

In the light bodied range, the first third opened with smooth notes of earthiness and wood. After about a half of an inch, a nice peppery spice was noticed when exhaling through the nose. The smoke feel was crisp and toasty. As this third came to a close, the body crept into the upper mild to lower medium range. Overall very nice.

2GurkhaParkAvenue

The second third continued in the mild to medium body range. The smoke became very thick and creamy, while retaining a crisp feel (if that makes sense). The earthy notes pretty much went away, but I did notice them from time to time. Slight nutty nuances lingered in the finish. A sweet spice remained when exhaling though the nose.

3GurkhaParkAvenue

The last third didn’t show a lot of change in the flavor profile. Woodiness remained dominant. Behind that nuts lingered, along those subtle earthy notes. The thick creamy smoke still kept it’s crisp finish (aftertaste).

4GurkhaParkAvenue

Conclusion:

This was a good mild to medium bodied cigar. I think it met it’s goal – A simple, easy smoke that managed to keep me interested. I could easily smoke this in the morning with coffee, or at lunch. The Park Avenue easily puts an expensive cigar like a Macanudo Vintage to shame. I will try this cigar again. If the Park Avenue line is consistent, I’d say we have a winner here. If your experience or opinion is different, or the same, let me know.

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