Gurkha Master Select OVB "unloved and unwashed" WCR

[earthson]

WCR: The Gods Must Be Crazy Edition

Gurkha Master Select Original Vintage Blend (OVB) Toro (6 x 50) ($10 MSRP)

There was a time when I loved the Gurkha Master Select. Like any Gurkha, it comes complete with a fantastical tale. Supposedly, the folks at Gurkha had a box of 1950s vintage Cuban Bolivars that they loved so much, they wanted to replicate it using non-Cuban tobacco. This is apparently accomplished with an Ecuadoran Habana2000 wrapper, a Honduran binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan long-fillers. Now, I never thought the Master Select tasted even remotely Cuban, but always thought they were the one Gurkha that was worth it with its smooth, complex creamy nature.

They had disappeared from the market years ago, but were recently re-released with a silly pricetag (considering Gurkha's history and marketing gimmicks). Whether it was nostalgia or morbid curiosity, I just had to see whether they were worth anything. If it's not Cuban, I enjoy Dominican tobacco from time to time, so this can't be a total loss, right? Right!?

 

Dry puff - cream pastry - very similar to a Fuente don Arturo. It tastes like it's flavored with artificial creme brulee flavoring.

1st puffs - Dominican pepper, earth and cardboard, again similar to a Fuente DA.

 

1st third - sweet and creamy leather, finish is slight cardboard and minerally earth with flourish of pepper. Later, espresso and some cedar join in. The profile is not stationary - this blend seems to command your attention and boredom is not an issue.

 

2nd - Sweetness turns to dried fruits and hard candy.  I'm guessing the majority of the filler is Dominican, simply due to the profile. Leather is becoming prominent and the smoke remains smooth and well-married. There is no sign of youth. There is a growing creaminess in flavor and an aroma matching the dry puff of artificially-flavored pastry. A masterful sour component shows up to add a counterpoint to the sweeter notes. The complexity and delivery of this third was very satisfactory.

 

3rd - Opens with a sweeter, softer leather that finishes with lush earth, mild pepper and no elbows in sight - obviously been factory-aged for a while. There are some edges of bubblegum/candy flavors I had in a Honduran puro lately.  Leather continues to grow, but there are enough changes in the background to stave off any redundancy. The cigar closes with an increase in nicotine and the appearance of some coconut, coca cola and the Dominican cardboard noticed on the front end.

 

Construction - opened with a punch cut since it felt a bit spongey. Good resistance on the draw, but not up to Cuban standards. The Habana 2000 wrapper is predictably thick, but generally burns evenly and well, so long as the cigar is consistently smoked.

 

What a refreshing surprise! This was one of the blends that drew me into the world of cigars and although it's been a long time, there is a lot of the sparkle and dazzle present that I remember from many moons ago. I never thought I would purchase another Gurkha (let alone for $8/cigar!) and... gasp!... enjoy it!  

 

Gurkha is a brand we all like to make fun of because, well, nearly all Gurkhas are online-only, all flash and no substance - offering gimmicky boxes (complete with knives and compasses!) and poor-quality tobacco. The Master Select OVB is a clear exception to that MO, but I am concerned about the pricetag. For a brand that is nearly-universally derided for the above-mentioned marketing smoke and mirrors, I don't see many people paying the optimistic pricetag attached to these cigars. Myself, I am debating a box purchase of the "legendary" Perfecto no 1 vitola - they were fantastic back then and this Toro gives me a lot of hope, at least for this original release. I want to see how these toros fare under humidor conditions (will they hold up to some age?) and may start with a 5-pack of those perfectos, if only because of the myriad bad experiences I and others have had with this goofy brand.

[zeedubbya]

Good, honest, well written review @earthson.  It does bother me quite a lot when people write something off just because other people have said it’s so.  Admittedly though, most of the Gurkhas I’ve smoked have been just awful.  I think I have one of these hiding in the humidor, might break it out this week see if I agree with your assessment—which I usually do!  

[earthson]

On August 12, 2018 at 7:50 PM, zeedubbya said:

Good, honest, well written review @earthson.  It does bother me quite a lot when people write something off just because other people have said it’s so.  Admittedly though, most of the Gurkhas I’ve smoked have been just awful.  I think I have one of these hiding in the humidor, might break it out this week see if I agree with your assessment—which I usually do!  

Now, they've been running some "Master Select" for an online vendor for years, but I tried a few several years ago, and they were garbage. These "Original Vintage Blend" were just (re) released last fall and are the ones mentioned above. Doubt they'll age too well as they're in a sweet spot as of right meow!