Gurkha Crest 7 x 52 Churchill ~ Revisited

 “If money is no object, then these cigars are for you. Nothing in life comes cheap. Aged for 8 years, very limited in supply, Extra strength, triple ligero.” – Excerpt from Gurkhacigars.com

Sometime late last year, I reviewed the Gurkha Crest Churchill and was hugely disappointed. I originally bought two and was rearranging my humidor and came across the remaining one.

Rather than tossing it out of spite, I decided to fire it up and perhaps give it a chance to redeem itself, so here we go.

The Gurkha Crest Churchill is 7 x 52, with Nicaraguan Ligero binder and fillers and a Connecticut Maduro wrapper.

It says it has a Connecticut Maduro wrapper, but it’s mottled and looks more like an Indonesian or Sumatran wrapper. It looks more like a Rolando Reyes cigar than a Gurkha. The cigar seems solidly rolled with no soft spots. The pre-light smell is like freshly baked bread with just a hint of pepper.

It fires right up and the initial notes are woody with a slight peppery bite on the front of the palate. The burn is straightforward and the draw is very loose.

About a ½ inch in and the hints of pepper disappear.

 About a ½ inch later and the all hell breaks loose, and not in a good way. Some sour notes appear along with a metallic aftertaste. Sort of like when you bite a piece of aluminum foil.

But wait, it gets worse.

Back in 2005-06, Baghdad was even worse than it is now. The Sunnis hated the Shiites and vice-versa. Plus they both hated Americans. Anyway, there’d be bombings, shootings and general mayhem. We’d be on patrol and turn a corner and see dozens of bodies lined up, executed with their hands tied behind their backs.

One of the most offensive and distinctive odors in the world is a dead human. Once you’ve smelled it, it lingers with you forever.

Another smell that stands out in a bad way is South Korea. As soon as you step off the plane, your senses are assaulted. They use human waste to fertilize their rice paddies. Really.

The South Koreans have Porta-johns all over the place. Once they’re full, a truck comes by and sucks it up, then goes straight out to a rice paddy and unloads it into the water.

Yes, the entire country smells like a sun-baked outhouse.

Now that you have those two images in your mind, combine them and you know what the Gurkha Crest smells and tastes like: Dead Iraqis and South Korean rice paddies.

Seriously, 1 inch into a 7 inch cigar, and I was forced to toss it into the desert.

When a cigar is listed as having a Nicaraguan filler and binder, I expect a bit of oomph and flavor.  This one is oomph-less.

I have no idea where they got the idea that these can be touted as “extra strength, triple ligero”.  The only thing “extra strength” about the Gurkha Crest is its offensive odor and foul taste.

Listerine barely helped. I think I may rinse my mouth out with gasoline. 

Don’t get me wrong, I still have a place in my heart for quite a few Gurkhas…just not this one.

The worst part? Singles can be had for $25+ and boxes of 30 sell for over $500.

Hindsight's 20/20 and in hindsight, I should have just tossed it before even lighting it up.