Ok last night I smoked a new Gurkha, the Crest. My apologies to whom ever I recieved it from, I failed to put a marker on this stick.

Gurkha Crest Churchill
Size: 7 x 52
Connecticut Maduro Wrapper
Nicaraguan Binder
Nicaraguan Filler
Extra strength - triple ligero, bold/full
8 yr aged leaves

I know some really "hate" the this line of smokes, but I will challange any of the haters to try this stick. First off, yes, it has Gurkhas typical high price. About $25 from what I can find. Still a better bargain to me than a $30 - $40 Opus xxxxxxxx, YMMV. I'm awaiting cbid to get them at a realistic price, I love the devil site.

Cut and Draw - It is a very dark and oily looking cigar. At 7 x 52, nice and easy to hold, no girly sticks for me :-) . I got a perfect cut with the Palio and the draw was spot on, not loose and no plug feel to it. I'm convinced that between 63% and 65% provides me the best smokes. I just do not get good experiences from the higher RH settings.

I lit up with a Colibri triple flame, fast and easy. Ok for the hard part... Another reviewers comments said he pulled out cinnamon and clove. I love both which may have helped with my approval of this cigar. I mostly came away with two characteristics with cigar.

1. Absolutly smooth and creamy. There wasn't even a hint of harshness with this cigar. Easily passes through the nose, made me think of chocolate pudding. I like smoke and this one did not fail, lots to play with, in fact it may not be welcome in place with limited ventilation. The draw never even got close to being plugged. The burn got out of line once and had to be touched up, I believe this was due to smoking out doors and not rotating the stick in the wind while resting in the ash tray.

2. Taste - I am not good at the subtle stuff. If the cinamon and clove were there, it would help me understand why the taste was good. I pulled alot of chocolate tones out of it, like I said chocolate pudding. This is definitly a great maduro smoke.

The description calls for bold/full, triple ligero.... I agree, this cigar is very up front with the flavors and taste. A fairly common characteristic of teh Gurkha line. I'm not much into the subtle, thin tasting cigars. On the nicotine side, some but not a lot. I really didn't start to feel anything in this area until the last fith or so of the cigar.

Easily my second favorite Gurkha to date. Maybe the smoothness is the 8 yr aged leaves? If your hating, you may want to try this one before automaticaly bombing it out. As I'm sure one day there might be a CAO I can put in my lips, this may be the Gurkha that passes your taste test. :-)
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Mike,

Thanks for the review. You have me almost wanting to try one.
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I'm not a Gurkha hater; like 'em, actually, if I can find them at about 25-33% of MSRP. This one sounds great. Thanks for the review.

BlackIrish
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Al, I am willing to bet at worst you will not hate it and at best you will find it smooth enough for you. It does not have some of the typical Gurkha taste and smells.
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Thanks for the review! I would like to try one of these if I can find them.
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Brutha in Gurkha arms! I'll have to see if I can fit this into the budget!
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Great Review!!!

I have one of these resting and now you have convinced me to give it a whirl!!!

Thank you!!!:-)
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Post a review if you don't mind... like to see if we are close.
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Saw these yesterday at a B&M up by Baltimore. It was the first time I have seen any Gurkhas at a B&M. They had Warlords, Ancient Warriors and some in glass tubes. I think they were around $10 and maybe I'll pick one up next week to try.
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Thanks for the review. I haven't found this particular Gurkha as of yet, your review has now prompted me to start looking. Let me say this I am not a Gurkha "hater or a lover", but I do like some of their sticks. Some are better than others, but this is overall a good brand, and I do look forward to smoking them from time to time.
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Posted my review here:
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2610
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