Cigar Review: Gurkha Cellar Reserve

Perfecto, 4" x 58 ring gauge / approx. $8
Ah, Gurkha, always striving for the enigmatic and inscrutable on your website. Example 1: this Cellar Reserve clearly measured 5" in length and the only vitola of that length is the Doble Robusto; but is also clearly a Perfecto, and the only vitola identified as a Perfecto is 4" in length. To be as clear as possible, the are five sizes available in the Cellar Reserve...and this is one of them. This was introduced at the 2011 IPCPR show and has started showing up in stores in the last month or two. Oliver Hyams from Gurkha asked me if I'd like to review these (and a couple other new blends) so I said yes...I smoked three of this size for this review. The website says the Cellar Reserve "uses the finest quality 15 year old aged tobacco, comprised of an oily Criollo 1998 wrapper, that combines an aged Dominican, Olor binder with a 15 year old Dominican filler." I'm guessing the filler is the only thing 15 years old since Criollo 1998 didn't exist 15 years ago.

The size and specific shape of the cigar I previewed back in August was almost identical to the Tatauje Anarchy, but this Perfecto is shorter with a more pronounced tapering at the foot...with the Cinna-Bon pigtail still hanging around, it's almost like an Anarchy head end fused with a Fuente Hemingway foot end. At least it is something not seen before. The band is another exercise in enigmatism: "Blend Strength: 97.6%" What does that mean? Who measured it and what are they measuring it against? The Engrish type at the bottom of the band bears repeating: " Truly balanced to please the aficionado who is searching for a draw of perfection, aged oak aroma will sooth the environment and gain praise. Fifteen years of aged tobacco and dedication, has given us another masterpiece. To which only the Elite Blend Masters of K. Hansotia & Co. can create." The odd diction, the bizarre punctuation and sentence structure...getting verbiage translated by Chinese companies may save money, but it's not a bargain. Getting past the band and its somewhat mind lowing verbiage, the wrapper was oily to the eye and the touch. There was a fairly mushy spot that ran from about the midway point almost to the head along one side only. This was not just one this sample, either; I did notice the same defect in one of the others I smoked. The aroma of the wrapper was earthy with a touch of wood...both cedar and oak. As expected in a Perfecto, there was virtually no aroma on the tiny nippled foot. My Xikar Xi put a great, clean cut under the cinnamon roll and the cold draw was pretty good, featuring flavors of earth, autumn spice, and wood, along with a touch of chocolatey sweetness. So far the experience was good...but I knew what would happen on light up...at least what had happened with the first two of these I smoked.

But wouldn't you know...as I steeled myself against the fact that the first two or three minutes would feature an almost impossible draw...this one draws beautifully right from the start. It was no more even than the other two through the first few minutes, though, requiring major touchups before it had burned halfway through the narrowing part of the perfecto foot. Flavors of earth, coffee and cocoa powder prevailed on the palate, while the retrohale had notes of oak and roasted nuts, along with the barest hint of pepper spice. The burn line evened out nicely by the time I got to the mostly straight sides of the cigar, but the flavor was not holding up as well for me. I noted a strong charred oak note mixed with earth, while the notes of coffee and cocoa pretty much disappeared.

The large band has a copious amount of glue holding it together, which could cause problems with Parejo shaped cigars in this blend, but was no problem with the Perfecto, as it just slipped off over the head. On this size cigar you will need to move the band almost as soon as the second third begins to burn. The second third of the Cellar Reserve showed this to be a medium to full bodied cigar, something unusual in the Gurkha catalog. The flavors continued to be deeply earthy with lots of oak and cedar. Although I had not been totally on-board when this flavor profile took over in the first third, it did grow on me. Tapping off ash at the end of the second third revealed the sizable void that caused the mushy feel on one side of the stick.

The Cellar Reserve turned out to not be a very complex cigar. The final third was almost identical in flavor to the first and second, the only addition being the building of a nice black pepper burn on the tongue. Overall, this was a good cigar and the price is decent, something that Gurkha has not been known for in the past. By keeping the price point below $10 they have created a cigar that does bear repeated smoking, although I think I would probably like to try the Doble Robusto to see how the blend performs in a parejo shape. While it was fuller of body than a typical Gurkha, it did not have a great deal of nicotine kick, making it more accessible for newer smokers. Aside from the over-the-top marketing on the band, this was definitely a more-than-decent smoke.

Body: 7/10
Strength: 5/10
Complexity: 4/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8/10

Wait! I'm not done yet! What time is it? That's right...it's time for another cigar giveaway! Gurkha was very generous with their cigars late in 2011 so I have some to give away to the readers of the Tiki Bar. I have 2 4-packs of Cellar Reserve Churchills and 2 5-packs of Seduction Robustos. That's 4 different packs of cigars I am going to be giving away.


To enter: just leave a comment on this post. That's entry #1. Make sure there is something identifiable about you...in previous contests, folks have posted under "Anonymous" and neglected to put their name or nickname in the post. Those entries get thrown out.

For a second entry, post a link to this post and mention the contest on Twitter. Also, make sure to include my Twitter name (@dmjones1009) so I see the Tweet. Something like this should work...

Enter the Gurkha Giveaway on the Tiki Bar Online: http://tinyurl.com/89ayfub @dmjones1009

For more entries, post on any and all new blog posts between today and next Thursday, January 26, when the final review in this Gurkha series will post. At midnight Eastern Time on that day, I'm cutting off the entries and I will announce the winners on Friday, January 27.

Good luck!