Gurkha has become quite a staple for me. Many experienced cigar smokers look down on this proud line-up of tobacco sticks, but for their price, I find them hard to beat. Tonight’s smoke  was the delicious Gurkha Doble Maduro. I stand by the reasoning that you should never judge a cigar by its wrapper, and this bad boy exemplifies that perfectly. Reminiscent of the excellent Cohiba Black, the doble maduro is deceptively flavorful and light, quite at odds with its oily, dark wrapper. I’d like to break up the major points of the cigar and go into each more in depth.

Vitola:

This monster sports a 58 gauge and is 6.5″ long. Not for the faint of heart. Not only is it a long cigar, but the thicker gauge means you’re looking at an hour and a half smoke, minimum. If you’re a new smoker, I’d look at something a bit smaller to get your feet wet.

Dry Draw:

I used my Colibri double guillotine to cut my stogie. Pre-light draw was very smooth and easy. Ease of draw is a major factor for me. Any tension in the draw will, over the course of your smoke, fatigue your jaw. Nothing serious, but cigar smoking is intended to be an enjoyable pastime after all, so avoiding this is important to me. A quick draw leaves a little sweetness on the lips, with just a hint  of woodiness. Possibly cedar, but hard to tell without lighting up.

Smoke:

Smoke throughout the entire cigar was thick and white. I don’t usually worry too much about my cigar producing copious amounts of smoke, but it’s always nice to see those thick, white plumes. Smoke aroma is very enticing. The room note is sweet, with a fruity tartness that makes me think of raisins.

Ash:

I don’t usually make a point to discuss the ash of my cigars, but the doble maduro really surprised me. Ash was a lovely speckled grey, and it clung to the cigar in 2.5″ segments before falling off. The only problem I encountered was a slight “pointing” of the cigar (the opposite of tunneling). I attribute this,however, to the fact that I may have smoked a little quickly at first, thus not allowing enough time for this wider gauge cigar to burn towards its middle. A slight pause in smoking and the burn corrected itself.

Flavor:

Now we get to the heart of the matter. The cigar started with a warm, clean tobacco taste. Many people emphasize flavor, but sometimes it’s nice to just enjoy the taste of tobacco leaf. After a few puffs the tobacco taste gave way to a sweet, cocoa flavor. This would dominate the cigar until the final third. Typically I like to see flavor progression in thirds of the cigar, but when you come across  something as nice as cocoa in a cigar, I don’t mind it lingering. The final third was very evident as the cocoa gave way instantly to a woodiness, definitely cedar. Cedar is usually accompanied by a creamy sweetness, and the doble maduro definitely did not disappoint.          Faint traces of the raisin notes I detected in the aroma earlier arrived in the back of my mouth, very light but quite nice.

Drink accompaniment:

I usually like to drink something with my cigars, and tonight’s choice was a couple fingers of Zaya rum. This is an excellent 12 year aged rum that starts with a smooth vanilla flavor and finishes with a satisfying oakiness. This is probably the best rum I’ve had yet, and is a great choice for a sweeter cigar. I wouldn’t consider other rums with cigars however, as the Zaya’s aged nature gives it a fuller body and less of a sweet bite. A  drink that is too sugary or sweet will overpower your cigar.

Overall I would say I am very pleased with the Gurkha Doble Maduro. A hefty cigar with very enjoyable flavors made all the better by its reasonable price point ($4-6 online).