4.5" x 52 ring gauge, approx. $9Gurkha is possibly the most inscrutable and annoying cigar company in existence. For proof, I present the Dragonfire, as the company's website calls it, or the Black Dragon Dragon Fire, as is denoted on the label affixed to the cellophane. According to the website, this stick features Cameroon filler and binder (a rarity) and a Nicaraguan wrapper. The wrapper is described as maduro on some websites and it is definitely dark enough to be so, but the company does not declare it to be. Furthermore, the company website does declare that this is a box-pressed cigar, although the picture next to those words shows very clearly a box of round cigars and the cigar I held in my hand while writing these words was definitely round. To make matters even worse, the band on the cigar is mostly red with an orange and red dragon and only the word "Dragon" inscribed on it. Since Gurkha also markets a "Red Dragon" cigar, I'm sure you can see how this gets more confusing by the minute. The only thing I can find that everyone is in total agreement on is that this cigar has a shaggy foot. Inscrutable. Annoying. Possibly irresponsible with their information. It's this kind of nonsense that drives people like Doc Stogie to post online petitions so people can lobby the cigar industry for a better standardization of marketing information. I just wish Gurkha could siphon off just a few dollars of their obviously large marketing budget to get the basic facts straight on their website.
After pulling off the cell, I carefully removed the black satin ribbon at the foot and the cedar that concealed the bottom half of the stick (something else not shown correctly in the company website photo). The wrapper was a dark chocolate brown with a few medium-sized veins. It seemed a bit sloppy around the shaggy foot, but that may just go with the territory--hard to say, as I can't even remember the last time I had a "shaggy" stick. The aroma from the body was hay and leather; from the foot I got chocolate and pepper spice. It did not feel terribly tightly packed with tobacco and was generally just a little spongy along the length. Prelight draw was quite loose and had flavors of sweet hay and just a little cocoa.
Are you supposed to smoke the shaggy end where there is no wrapper? I did. It began like a very nice mild cigar--sweet cream, caramel, and hay--very interesting flavor. Almost instantly when the flavor changed when the wrapper started to burn, though--a rounder, fuller flavor with some chocolate and coffee notes. These blended very well with the creamy notes of the filler and binder. After just a few minutes of smoking, I was very impressed by the complexity of this blend. Halfway through the first third, some pepper joined the party and coffee became a much stronger component while the chocolate sweetness became more of a subdued supporting player.
While in the second third, it occurred to me that this was a very entertaining smoke--the coffee dipped a bit, allowing more sweet cocoa and hay to come through, then the pepper ramped up a bit. I honestly could not remember a Gurkha I have enjoyed more; the interplay between the Cameroon filler and Nicaraguan maduro wrapper is unique and something quite special.
I still found it interesting in the final third--there was more pepper again and an increase in the cocoa flavor as the body ramped up a bit. This stick turned out to be a big surprise for me: it was, by far, the best Gurkha I can remember--complex, medium-to-full in body, long finish and a great flavor profile. The use of Cameroon tobacco in the filler/binder blend is somewhat unusual and I honestly don't know why: the Dragonfire shows just how good it can be. The burn remained even throughout and if the draw was too loose, I did not even notice--I was too pleased with the flavors for it to really matter. For a Gurkha, this stick has a pretty decent price, too.
Body: 7/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 9/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
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