Cuban Cigars Are So One Dimensional

[Blazer]

Or so says marketing genius Kaizad Hansotia. I'm not sure what's what here. It sounds like they just entered Asia, on the other hand it sounds like they already dominate that market.

Gurkha's ultra-premium cigars dominate Asia

09-Jun-16

152

Popular

 

FORT LAUDERDALE: When it comes to super premium luxury brands and prestigious companies, names like Louis Vuitton, Moet Hennessey, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Rolls Royce get bandied about, but when the conversation in Asia turns to cigars, there's only one name spoken. Gurkha! Demand for the world's finest and consistently great cigars in a market that appreciates and recognizes opulence and quality has created demand for Gurkha's highly prized premium cigars. There is a saying in Asia, "If you are a millionaire, you smoke Davidoff, but if you are a billionaire, you smoke Gurkha" and Gurkha Cigars have now entered the Asian market with immediate success.

"We have considered entering the Asian markets for some time now and finally took the plunge. Many wealthy Asians know a good smoke so naturally they gravitate towards our cigars and we have seen a tremendous surge in sales," said Kaizad Hansotia, Founder and CEO of Gurkha Cigars. "Additionally, since the Asian culture is all about honoring others by bestowing expensive luxury gifts on those they hold in high esteem, Gurkha Cigars have become a favorite super-premium gift given by high-powered Asian businessmen."

Over the last 10 years, non-Cuban cigars have been gaining in popularity in Asia due to the quality of the tobacco and construction of the cigars. Real cigar aficionados know the Cuban cigars are no longer the standard or the rule to a great cigar.

"Top cigar companies such as Gurkha, Davidoff, and, Flor Dominicana all produce premium cigars that can stand up and compete with a Cuban cigar any day of the week," said Hansotia. "Cuban cigars are one dimensional in their flavor base. They don't have the complexity that blended cigars have. The tobacco isn't grown in different soils from other well-known tobacco nations such as the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua or Honduras for example. Quality control outside of Cuba is 10 times better than it is inside Cuba. Hand rolling cigars is an art and the demand for skilled rollers will increase."

Also impacting the quality of Cuban cigars is the willingness of other countries to pay more allowing them to lure quality workers away from Cuban factories. The Communist regime has left its mark on half a century of workers. Isolation and neglect of the Island Nation has potentially destroyed what was once a truly unique crop. Wages are still low. Morale is low. Labor conditions are still poor and the labor force remains unmotivated. Cuba has also been plagued by rumors that the land has become bad for farming. All these factors contribute to Gurkha's success in Asia. 

 

[PigFish]

... frankly, anyone who is going to put their cigar in the same category as luxury watch or car, is an absolute moron!

Cigars are consumables, like hotdogs! The ones you like are the ones that suit your tastes. This whole concept of tobacco as a luxury is ruining the business model, and along with government, it is killing off smoking! (MHO).

-Piggy

[Akela3rd]

Buying the overpriced label without knowing or caring about the product. It's bling that an ignorant market buys. (Chinese billionaires are buying up London property just to say they have a W1 house, not to use it -Same thing.) Gurkha has spotted the potential of fleecing this market and has gone balls deep into it.

Sent from my HTC One M8s using Tapatalk

[Frinkiac7]

The man is a master of undeserved self-hype. It's clearly carried the cigars at least this far.

Objectively, some Gurkhas I have smoked have been the worst absolute turds I've ever tried. Genuinely bad, revolting flavor.

You'll find similar lines about the lack of Cuban quality, the deleterious effects of communism on the industry, etc. repeated by all NC cigar companies...it's the party line.

[Fugu]

Editorial advertising.

[Fugu]

1 hour ago, Blazer said:

There is a saying in Asia, "If you are a millionaire, you smoke Davidoff, but if you are a billionaire, you smoke Gurkha" and Gurkha Cigars have now entered the Asian market with immediate success.

"We have considered entering the Asian markets for some time now and finally took the plunge. Many wealthy Asians know a good smoke so naturally they gravitate towards our cigars and we have seen a tremendous surge in sales," said Kaizad Hansotia, Founder and CEO of Gurkha Cigars. "Additionally, since the Asian culture is all about honoring others by bestowing expensive luxury gifts on those they hold in high esteem, Gurkha Cigars have become a favorite super-premium gift given by high-powered Asian businessmen."

...the emperor's new clothes

[Colt45]

2 hours ago, PigFish said:

... frankly, anyone who is going to put their cigar in the same category as luxury watch or car, is an absolute moron!

This whole concept of tobacco as a luxury is ruining the business model.....

Back in the early to mid 2000s i recall the honchos at HSA stating exactly that they wanted / considered Cuban cigars to be luxury items - you might be on to something

But what does that say about those of us who drop coin on these top 'o the line luxury goods

[PapaDisco]

I agree.  Very one dimensional . . . as in YUMMY one dimensional!  

[luv2fly]

Second that Papa.  if they is one dimensional, give me more!!!

[RijkdeGooier]

Apart from the total rubbish marketing he does have a few valid points:

1. Quality control can he hit or miss. Padron, Fuente and Davidoff are miles ahead here. 

2. Production consistency can be hot or miss. Again companies like Padron, Fuente and Davidoff are ahead here. 

3. Erosion of quality personnel. Also correct. Hamlet a case in point. 

Pure taste-wise a good Cuban is my preference but one can only wonder what might have been when these points were up to scratch.

Many vendors help us as consumers to mitigate points 1-3 by inspecting their stock for us, but heaven help those buying blind from the net.

As consumers we should not become blind to the faults inherent to the production of our preffered product.

The NC world sees no need for boxcode chasing?.

 

[Fugu]

1 hour ago, RijkdeGooier said:

The NC world sees no need for boxcode chasing?.

 

Agreed - would be rather pointless in a Gurkha  

[Orion21]

Ghurka is hands down the worst line of cigars I have ever smoked.  And this was when I was new to cigars and only smoked NC's.  No one I know in my sphere that smokes NC cigars smokes Ghurka to this day.  I'm not surprised Ghurka sales have increased if they have entered Asia...because when you are at rock bottom up is the only direction possible!

[El Presidente]

Everywhere I go in Asia....all I see is Ghurka.

I am tired of Asian Billionaires e-mailing me for special release Ghurka. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Colt45]

30 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

I am tired of Asian Billionaires e-mailing me for special release Ghurka.

Dear Mr. Pirate,

bands, boxes, bundles of cigars.

You're welcome 

[ayepatz]

Viva la destrucción.

[TomF]

They make nice fancy boxes, but they are not good cigars. Cuba may be inconsistent on some levels, but the flavors! Gurkhas taste like vacant lot.

[JohnInCleveland]

If Cubans are one dimensional, it's the only dimension I care to be in.

[Fugu]

Do we really have to jump through every hoop?

This self-appointed BS really isn't worth any serious discussion.

[Knvb78]

Yes yes Cuban cigars  are one dimensional, terrible !Do not buy them under any circumstance. Please spam that piece all over the US so once the market opens I'm not priced out of Cubans and forced into Gurkahs muahaha.   

[stogieluver]

Good.  Hope this word gets out all over.  More for us. 

[earthson]

If you are a millionaire, you overpay for Davidoff's Dominican copy of Punch.

If you are a billionaire, you are wowed by the same old tobacco dipped in Louis Cognac for several hundred dollars a pop.

If you're a trillionaire, you smoke Havanas, typically.

Dear Asian Businessmen,

If you're after my heart or a contract, I'm still hoping to try 70s/80s-era Ramon Allones or Por Larranaga.

Love,

Me

[Fuzz]

11 hours ago, Blazer said:

There is a saying in Asia, "If you are a millionaire, you smoke Davidoff, but if you are a billionaire, you smoke Gurkha" and Gurkha Cigars have now entered the Asian market with immediate success.

Let's here the truth, eh? This saying is popular in only the Asian branch of the Ghurka Marketing Office, right?

[El Presidente]

When  I am doing Dim Sum in Shanghai with Foxy and Seldis in a fortnight, we will be asking for Ghurkas 

[wabashcr]

16 hours ago, RijkdeGooier said:

Apart from the total rubbish marketing he does have a few valid points:

1. Quality control can he hit or miss. Padron, Fuente and Davidoff are miles ahead here. 

2. Production consistency can be hot or miss. Again companies like Padron, Fuente and Davidoff are ahead here. 

3. Erosion of quality personnel. Also correct. Hamlet a case in point. 

Pure taste-wise a good Cuban is my preference but one can only wonder what might have been when these points were up to scratch.

Many vendors help us as consumers to mitigate points 1-3 by inspecting their stock for us, but heaven help those buying blind from the net.

As consumers we should not become blind to the faults inherent to the production of our preffered product.

The NC world sees no need for boxcode chasing?.

 

I would also add that he's technically correct about NC tobacco producing a wider array of flavors.  Compared to NC tobacco grown in several different parts of the world, yes, Cuban tobacco can appear a bit homogeneous.  Obviously this is a pretty shallow point for those of us who consider Cuban tobacco to be the best.  There's plenty of nuance and complexity in Cuban tobacco, which makes the point a nonstarter.

[garbandz]

smoked a few different Gurkhas over the years.

never had one make me puke.

never found one I would pay $$ for.

when you can get these at a certain online retailer for $3.00 each,you can figure their value pretty quick.