If you stare down a Ghurka, will he slice, dice and make Julian fries out of you?  Moreover, is vintage really vintage?

Initial Thoughts

I think its time for yet another soapbox... cigarbox... I dunno.  So what the hell is the deal with "Vintage"?  Is this cigar nearly old enough to be carbon dated?  Are there groovy Cadillac wings associated with this smoke?  Is this similar to some majorly aged port, or single barrel scotch thats been aged for 15 years?  Is there honest to God, circa 1961 Cuban tobacco in this bad boy?

I'm thinkin' "NO"... ok... enough of the cigar box.  I'll be quite blunt, and tell ya that I'm gonna be reviewing this stick with a bit of a jaundiced eye, simply by virtue of the fact that they're tryin' to sell more sticks by claiming that is some whiz-bang super rare item to behold.  I mean hey... if this thing is so Vintage, why the hell doesn't even warrant a mention on the official Ghurka website?

Having said all of that, an inspection of this cigar reveals no visual or physical blemishes.  I'll admit, this is one gorgeous looking cigar.  A sniff test confirms it... the thing smells nice, with some sort of flowery undertones to it.

The Smoke

I clip the cigar with my handy dandy cutter, no issues with cap breakage or cracking.  I toast the foot, and light it up.  The first puff reveals a decidedly mild flavor.  The cigar has good complexity and flavor to it.  This is the first cigar I've smoked after my losing battle with the oral surgeon (he knocked me out, I paid a lot of money, and lost 4 wisdom teeth in the process... sounds like maybe I've got some deep seated masochistic tendencies, or maybe I just went into the wrong friggin' profession), so thankfully, the draw is quite easy.  The burn on the cigar is flawless, and it produces a nice grey ash.

Continuing to puff on this cigar (with less than my usual voracity, since my mouth still hurts), reveals some additional flavors.  I can detect a distinctily sweet flavor now at the 1/3 point.  The flavor grows a little bit in intensity, but is definitely mild as far as I'm concerned.  At the 2/3 point, this cigar continues to be quite tasty and flavorful, and I'm noticing a little bit of a peppery spiciness to it.  I'm still liking this cigar.

I'm continuing to puff away on the stick, and I have to say.... I like it!

And with that... I'm done.  I finished the cigar all the way down to the nub.  While I wouldn't call it vintage, I would definitely call it a damned nice smoke.

The Rating