The cigar: Gurkha Black Puro torpedo

Nutritional information:
Vitola: Torpedo 6.5 x 53
Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican

The marketing (from CI):
Dark and devishly delicious. Luscious, jet-black maduro wrappers grace the Gurkha Black Puro, which is adorned with a stunning silver and black Gurkha band. The cigar is positively loaded with toasty, coffee bean flavors and a rich burst of mocha to start. Thick clouds of velvety smoke swath the palate leaving behind a touch of spice through the nose. Crafted from aged Cuban-seed long-fillers from the Dominican Republic’s Cibao Valley and cloaked by a chewy, 5-year-old wrapper leaf, you can expect nothing less than a super-premium of the highest caliber. A solid, slow burning, medium to full-bodied cigar layered with bold but subdued flavors.


Humidor time: This cigar was part of a noob welcome bomb from Vin (massphatness) in another time and place. It's been in my custody for more than 6 months. Bottom line, this was well-aged.

Prelight: This large torpedo looks scrumptious in its dark oily maduro wrapper. Well filled with a firm touch and a nice heft, the black and silver bands add to the presentation. The dark sweet tobacco aroma is appealing, and I get more sweetness on the cold draw, which is just slightly on the tight side.

Burn: After toasting the foot, this cigar lit nicely and produced a tight gray-white ash that looked pretty against the dark wrapper. The ash held firmly, dropping only when I made it. The burn wobbled and scalloped some in the first third but straightened out on its own and stayed quite even to the nub. The draw remained slightly tight, but not so tight as to cause any problems. Burn time about 90 mins.

Flavor: Dark and slightly sweet from the start, one of my favorite flavor profiles. There was coffee, chocolate, and sweet cedar, with some warm pepper spice (chipotle, not black pepper) showing up by around the midpoint. The flavors stay just a bit muted, never quite bursting into a full flavor bomb. Smooth. I'd call it medium in flavor and body, . The last third brings some earth and a touch of leather, with the pepper intensifying but never becoming overpowering.

All in all, a very pleasant cigar.
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