The Truth About Gurkha Cigars: Addressing the Critics 

The issue with Gurkah is that they list their blends for 30 dollars, but have the same build quality and blend of a 2 dollar cigar. If they priced their cigars appropriately they would be better off. They have a small handful of elegantly crafted cigars, but the last 20+ blends all felt like an afterthought to the marketing. Sadly, the actually good blends are the ones that are priced so high that there are better options in that price range.

A Gurkha is a Nepalese Elite soldier, they served the British Empire for years and created their signature combat knife that they are so well known for. They were concidered fearless in battle and completely trustworthy. A Gurkha has absolutely nothing to do with the Turkish Empire. Love your channel and have learned much from you all. Greetings from Germany and keep up the good work.

I'm one of those people who sample multiple cigars to find the perfect life changing one. Saying that I have tried the Gurkha brand and found it pretty good. I have also sampled lots of garbage with high end names. I do like watching your vids to try to wrap my brain around the whole selection process. Keep up the good work!

I counted you saying Gurkha 52 times…..great information and unbiased perspective on a brand that has struggled with reputation.

Never had any issue with Gurkhas. In fact one of the most flavourful smokes I've ever had was the royal challenge. Being in the British military, I like their branding too, although I feel like the guys running it don't know much about that history nowadays.

Long-time viewer, first-time commenter. Love your content. Nearly all of my cigars are purchased online (a majority are rated 90+) at discounted prices. The only cigars I have ever returned were Ghurkas: Beauty and the Beast. Construction, presentation and flavor could be described in a word: cheap.

I definitely enjoyed this video. It was really interesting to hear the history / background of this brand and it's comeback. I've had a few different Gurkhas over the past few years and have enjoyed them. I think it would be a cool series if you did more background / history style videos of different brands.

Gurkha is the nickelback of cigars, most people hate them, some people just like to hate on them and then there is a few that actually like them but are too afraid to admit it.

The Cellar Reserve 15 year is a favorite. I've sampled other Cellars but the 15's flavor suits my palette. I haven't had many other Gurkhas, but am trying some of the Ghosts lately, the first one wasn't noteworthy but I tried another and found it pretty good, rich, toothy without the oil and grit, and a very nice ash. I'm optimistic that I'll enjoy the rest of the Ghosts, will let them rest a few months in my humidor first. Nice video.

The Gurkha Colorado is one of my favorites, I have yet to try more, looking forward to the cellar reserve lines. Good topic and always enjoy the videos.

About a year ago, I "rebooted" by cigar journey after a multi-multi-year hiatus. I tried the Gurkha Shine and Royal Challenge. They weren't bad by no means... I would say they fit what I was looking for at that time and were a springboard for experimenting with different brands, blends, etc. I just haven't revisited them in a while. I wouldn't be against trying Cellar Reserve.

Thanks for sharing. I love Gurkhas, but only have been smoking them for 4 years and never heard any criticism other than who didnt like them or who did. The Gurkhas today are beautifully constructed and some transition better than other.

The Heritage was one of my all time favorites for awhile. The only reason I've began to shy away from them is just because of frequent issues with the draw towards the middle of my smokes. The I'm a huge fan of pepper flavors with my cigars and I always get that, on the finish, of each gurkha I've smoked.

I started my cigar journey with Gurkha Cellar Reserve 21y Solara Double Robusto, It was an amazing nutty, naturally sweet flavor going all the way to chocolate and becoming more apparent towards the end of the smoke. The issue that I have found since then with Gurkhas is their quality control and that the same cigar will taste and be wrapped much differently, so it is sometimes true hit or miss. The next time I had 21y it was just underfilled and soft... the flavor was noticeable but not that strong (came from the same box and humidor) Last time I had Gurkha 15-year limitada which quite frankly I was disappointed with, was underfilled and the wrapper at the foot was not holding properly so half of the smoke was going everywhere... but not coming through. So to sum it up... I found that the greatest issue is with their QC, and consistency and nobody wants this hit-or-miss type of cigar in the box when you want to relax. ( Price of these cigars in EU are about 18-20€, so for that price I would rather go La Aroma del Caribe Pasion Encanto which had same nuttines, sweetness and is cheaper at least in my experience in EU and much more consistant)

My 1st cigar was a Gurkha but it was too strong for a newb. Combine this with the fact that I let it dry out and had no idea what I was doing and thus a bad experience. With that said, I have not tried them again so I am interested to hear what others experience has been.

I road the wave of Gurkha. Had some that were great and fell in love with the brand years ago, then for a while I could not get a cigar from them that didn't have construction issues (cracking, coming apart after a clean cut, etc). I haven't bought any for a while, but I keep my eye out for some of their newer blends

This is extra interesting for me currently, my new neighbor just gave me a Gurkha Titan, plan on enjoying it soon, so this adds a whole new reason to try it. Open minded and looking forward to it. Cheers!

So far no good experience smoking them. Barnyard murky yucky unlucky Cigars. What a Beast!😂 I watched Rocky Patel new quality control in his factory tour and was impressed by his precise description of the complex process of making cigars. Kudos for a fantastic lecture. A must see !

This is why I love you Tim, other cigar videos who talk about Ghurka, trashed it, hence why I dont have an opinion on it. Ive never had a Ghurka.

I've just got into cigars and have been trying to smoke many different kinds to find what I like, but so far the Ghurka Ghost Asuras have been my favorite. I love them. I am still learning to pick up flavors in cigars but I do get chocolate notes from them.

I’m new to cigars and have purchased a couple sample packs from my local smoke shop. I found that I like Gurkha, I didn’t know there was this issue with them till now. WITH THAT SAID I wouldn’t pay full retail per cigar, only worth it for me in a multi pack that comes to about 6 or 7 per cigar

Haven’t had one yet. Willing to try it. I appreciate your info. Nothing but love for you and your crew.

Had a Gurkha for the first time yesterday. 12 year reserve, restricted release. Notes of oak and champagne IMO. It was not a bad experience by any means. Not my favorite but one that I will likely try again. I'm newish to cigars. I started on the infused cigars as one does, then moved to pipes over the past year and a half, and now I'm smoking non infused cigars regularly because I work at a shop. I'm making my way through all the major brands. I smoke usually three to four cigars a day and I can tell you I've had some significantly worse smokes. The only issue I had was the burn but I am not currently able to rule out user error. Overall, I would say to give it a try.

I totally noticed everything Tim is talking about in this video about Gurkha. I used to love their cellar reserve line and ghost line but then I tried the beast and beauty line and the construction on them were terrible and long with no flavor. I do like some of their new blends. I can see why so many people talk so much smack about this company and their cigars used to be so over priced.

I smoked my first Gurkha this weekend and really enjoyed it, I also bought a Gurkha Ghost for the future. I’m relatively new to learning about different Brands though…does anyone have any suggestions?

I am in the latter group that is new to cigars, with my first Gurkha being the 18-year Cellar Reserve. While my cigar palette is still developing, it is quite honed from being in the tea industry. In other words, I'm no cigar expert, but I am not coming into the leaf or tasting world completely blank. I found the 18-year Cellar Reserve to have a sophisticated and sweet profile that evolves nicely over the course of the stick. The only criticism I have thus far is that when put side to side, the sticks' profiles vary quite a bit in construction, and with some having the tightest draw I've encountered yet, requiring quite a bit of draw-poker surgery. But a company's shady past is definitely something that can flavor its products, understandably. I appreciated the background you provided so that I could contextualize the situation; I wasn't getting straight answers from various cigar shops that seemed to deliberately omit the brand, and my curiosity was left unfulfilled to your video. Thank you!

It's funny this video just came out. I work in a cigar lounge earlier this week I was talking with an older co-worker about Gurkha's and that I wasn't a fan but it had been a long time since I had one. As I remember the flavor wasn't good and had terrible problems with the burn. He was saying that they have a lot of good blends and I should give one a try. I also tell guys they should always give a brand a second chance so I'll follow my own advise and try one this upcoming week and see how it goes.

Your analysis is 100% spot on. They were ok in the beginning back in the 90s, got crappy for a few years when they concentrated more on packaging than product. Over the past 10 years they've improved

If i counted correctly, you said Gurkha 50 times.

Agree with the quality of the smokes. It's not that the cigar is terrible but just the overall construction experience. I've had some good Gurkha and some bad but I would never bash them publicly the way some individuals do online. It seems like its a trend that people just want to be a part of. My opinion, if you really hate them just don't buy or smoke them and keep it moving. I actually have a few Ghosts in my humidor, never had a bad experience with that stick. Good video!

So now the Gurkha has taking the time to rebuild their brand is there anything in particular there's you would recommend to try?

My first cigar 7 years ago was a Gurkha Class Regent, and to this day I still really enjoy that cigar. As an auto detailer on the side, Gurkha is like the Chemical Guys of the auto detailing industry. If there’s one tire dressing, there’s 10,000. The heavy marketing is annoying and a put off for me.

Like them. Bought a bunch of different ones very recently, seems value for money since they weren't that expensive. You've summed it up very well!

I love your stuff Tim. You're the best at what you do. As far as this brand, I'm just not a fan, but I will try a couple of their newest cigars based on fairness. BTW, I'm currently enjoying my Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduro which is my favorite Maduro on the market today. That should tell you something about my taste. Been enjoying cigars for over 40 years.

I'm new to Gurkha and love the Cellar Reserve. My favorite is the 12 year Platinum.

When I first started smoking cigars about 4 years ago, I bought a Gurkha sampler pack and enjoyed most of the sticks in the pack. So, I reordered 5 packs of the blends I liked; however, I found the 5 packs were terribly inconsistent with regard to burn and flavor. One might taste great and the next would just taste like garbage. Moral of the story, I think Gurkha still has major consistency issues. I’ve never had the same issue with fuente, padron, Oliva or AJ Fernandez sticks.

How's that king chii humidor working out for you?I bought one also.

Great video. Gurkha are a good cigar that people just love to hate on. Their like the kirk cousins of the cigar world, overlooked, under appreciated and not as bad as people make them out to be(a saints fan trying to be unbiased). Either that being said I only buy Gurkha when they're on wicked sale because I know at $2-6 a stick I'm getting a phenomenal deal! I usually get the CI special where 5 stick are like $20 . I don't go to a store and spend Plasencia money on them... a great intermediate cigar for new people and enjoyable year round. Great bands on the cigars too.. again just my opinion a part time cigar smoker of 7 years.

I had picked up a 15 yr cellar reserve on a whim then I started researching it and was on the fence on trying it now. Might gift it to a friend for his finances pregnancy announcement. Got a few liga no. 9 that I know I like.

I have a cognac infused Gurkha in my humidor that I definitely overpaid for on a cruise ship, figured I’d smoke it for my 40th a week after the trip ended but had some unexpected family stuff pop up and now I’m saving it for a real celebration. Hoping it holds up!

I have smoked the Gurkha 12 and 15. They were good cigars. They are not in my top 10 but I enjoy them. I actually have a few in my humidor. I like a bit of variety.

I tried 2 Gurkha cigars early in my cigar oddessey. The Ghost and the cellar 15 year. At the time I was “learning” cigars and developing my palette.Neither gripped me but I do remember the Ghost was a total smoke bomb. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, that was the one thing I that really stood out to me. I have deceived to revisit the brand and picked up a Royal Challenge in the rubusto ( my preferred size). As my pallet has matured, I will hopefully be able to discern the nuances and flavors to determine whether or not Gurkha is trash or a good cigar manufacturer.

I’ve had about four Gurkha cigars in the last few weeks. Just learned about them while I was cigar endow shopping a few weeks ago. Great cigars!

I happen to love Gurkha cigars,it's probably the one I smoke the most. I just finished their Havana Blend, Governors Private Blend and the 125th, I ordered 10 each and enjoyed every one with no problems. Call me cheap but in this economy you have to save money when you can. Thanks Tim

Just puffing on my Gurkha Ghost Gold Shadow as I watch. Love your videos! Always informative.

I have probably ten different Gurkha blends. A small minority were bad but the majority are very good. You have a great show.. ..

I bought a sample pack of gurka from cigars daily in 2018 I was a fairly new cigar smoker. I had a lot of quality control issues very very uneven, burning, super loose, packed cigars. I will admit that I have not tried another Gurka since then, and just assumed that it was trash, I am willing to give them another try and see if things have improved

my local tobacconist is doing a Gurkha event this month so its buy 3 get 1 free all month. I have been trying a lot of their Connecticut blends and i have found a few really nice cigars. The Grand Age 2, the 21 years cellar reserve, the Beauty, and the freebees were Aldinos...also very nice

Gurkha was my favorite brand when I first got into cigars around 2007 and almost the only one I smoked (beauty, centurian, and status being my favorite). Then I feel their quality went down and they oversold their newer cigars which where not great. When this happened I started looking elsewhere.

I've always been a Gurkha fan, I wish my local shop carried more of their blends

I have tried quite a few of Gurkha's cigars and never had any real problems with them. Some were good, some were ok but personally I have to say that my favorite was the 15 years old... had the 12, the18, the 21 and others but for me, it was the 15 that surprised me the most. I have not had the chance to try the Ghost, but I will try to get a few of them.

I smoked some Gurkha's from a sampler a couple years ago when I first started smoking. I don't remember them well enough to have much of an opinion on them. However, a friend recently gave me a sampler pack that I tossed in my humidor and I will be trying them soon. Hopefully they aren't too disappointing, but all the chatter I see online about them doesn't leave me too confident lol.

I like Gurkha just started smoking them...didn't know about that bit of history so I appreciate you speaking on it

I tried to get my buddy into cigars. He came up from West VA to hang out, so we went out and picked out some cigars. He picked out a 12 year aged Platinum gurkha. He said it was amazing. Him and our other friend who's more of a pipe smoker. He had a taste of my oliva Connecticut and he said it was horrible but loved the gurkha. I gave it a taste and thought it was really good. Just one hit though. I'm just happy he found one he liked and wasn't discouraged from the oliva.

Had that same smoke time my only gurkha cigar iv had and I liked it and will try another one of their blends no problem just not got around to it yet maybe my next order of smokes.

Tim should buy and review the million dollar Gurkha! I avoid them purely based on reputation. Maybe I should try a few? 🤷🏼‍♂️⚔️

Remember Gurkha VS Rocky Patel!! You either liked one hated the other. I think Rocky fell into this situation too. Built a big name, made way too many different cigars for too many distributors and suffered quality issues. I like Rocky over Gurkha but today I hesitate to buy both!

I loved their "Warpig".I would like to see them return!

Well it's on my list but haven't pulled the trigger on em yet but let's see how this review goes!!

Tim I followed you from tht original channel you you where on... I don't watch him anymore... I watch you... For a reason,.. keep up the good work nro

My first Gurkha was a G3, they ended up becoming my favorite, I still fill my humidor with others as well. And as a big fan I will also say they have dropped the ball on some ghost being an example of one I did not care for and glad I only picked up one. I still stand as a fan though after all the bad. I don’t try and tell people they are the greatest out there, especially at the price point but I still go buy a small sampler for friends when they decide to start smoking.

Love the Gurkha Ghost - Phantom. It’s a great cigar and I enjoy smoking it regularly. Their catalog cigars are pretty bad though (which ironically is what most people have tried lol).

I'm fairly new to cigars, only started about a month ago. I tried an 18 yr old cellar reserve and absolutely loved it. Since I'm new, I was and am still trying a bunch of sticks in the market and just this past weekend I had gotten a Gurkha variety pack and I tried the 15 yr old cellar reserve and boy I don't know if my pallet has changed, if it was tainted that day, or it was just a bad stick but i really did not enjoy it. Could've been my own personal taste but it tasted nothing like the 18 yr old and kinda left me hesitant to try the rest of the pack. Think I'll let them sit my humidor for a few months or something before trying again. I was a bit bummed out because I had high hopes off the 18 yr old. I'm definitely not counting them out and calling them trash (I haven't even had enough to make any call on them) but it does make me a bit more hesitant to buy them at their price point.

Every cigar I’ve ever smoked had issues. I’ve smoked 5-6 of their blends a couple times as I try not to judge off one cigar. Construction is subpar quite a few wouldn’t draw. If they did draw the flavor was practically non existent. Can’t get with you on this one Tim, but you smoke what makes you happy man. I’m sure I’ll keep giving them a shot every once in a while.

Gurkha fan here. They haven't all been amazing, but most of them have been quite enjoyable. The continue to be a go-to brand of mine.

I've just gotten into cigars and Ive smoke a lot of Gurkhas and they have all been well constructed and tasted good

I'm a newer smoker and I own 1 Gurkha that I got from a subscription box that I've been sitting on for a while now. Am definitely excited to try it eventually, but when I researched online I only saw shitty things about the brand. Not surprising that they still have a bad stigma about them with newer smokers since there's nothing good to say other than that they had problems in the past and are better/different now

I have smoked the Gurkha Ghost and their glass tube cognac cigar and enjoyed them both.

The Gurkha Centurian double perfecto has been/is in my top 5 of cigars. I also like the Gurkha Ghost Toro cigars. I've smoked many different Gurkha cigars over the years; some really good and some pretty bad. I agree with you on the consistency; they haven't always delivered. Thanks for the honest discussion Tim.

I've smoked 4 of them so far, none have had ANY flavor, i don't know what it is. Do they bleach their leaves? The only one that I liked was the Evil. I'll admit it had a very small amount of flavor actually.

I very much enjoy a few gurkhas and I always have some on hand. Particularly I like the black dragon, the 15 and 18 year cellar reserve, and also the Grand reserve cognac

i really enjoy the Black Ops Berserker. The quality control appears to be better on the smaller ring guage.

Had a great experience with gurkha 2 6 packs all 12 sticks tightly rolled solid construct with very easy draw and even burn with that said that's half the battle all 12 had a traditional cigar aroma reminding me of being a 12 year old seeing and smelling the grandfather's smoke. So I highly recommend gurkha if you are on a budget or not the blue, yellow and red six packs if you enjoy time smoking a good cigar you can't lose.

I have tried the Legend and the Beauty and found the flavor okay (medium and kind of flat profile wise). I like the Colorado and the price is right. Olivas are my favorite as far as quality for the price.

I’ve had some very good Gurkas. However, the worst cigar I’ve ever had was one of theirs. I pulled literally FIVE 2-3” stems out of the end of it! It was total junk

I've only ever had their Cafe' Tabak and it was a fantastic cigar. So good, I actually have looked into buying a box of those said cigars.

I seem to remember Juan Lopez talking about bad licensing deals that lead to some of these online retailers slapping the logo on cigars that weren't necessarily "Gurkhas" in order to move product. My rule of thumb is if i cant find it on Gurkhas website or an authorized B&M shop i stay away from it. With that being said, I do enjoy the cellar reserve, the ghost, and even the infusion blends on occasion like the Abuelo.

I enjoy a good Gurkha, I have had many of the different ones, and I can’t remember getting a bad one.

I’ve tried Gurkha’s cigar sampler when I got into to smoking cigars and I don’t mind them. Not my top choice but they are worth a smoke every now and then. And definitely a decent enough cigar to lend to a friend who’s interested in getting into smoking cigars.

I have tried the Gurkha Ghost and Evil. Honestly, I like them. That's just me. I agree with Tim, not every cigar is for everyone.

I ordered a 5 pack a couple times , they were just okay. I doubt if I'd order them again , when I smoke a daily or afternoon cigar I prefer Roughrider's. Better flavor and wrap IMO!

Love the taste of the new brands , need to thicken up the wraps though

Haven’t had a bad one yet. Bought a couple of boxes of their Sherpa Orange sticks back in the day. Cheap sticks and smoked great.

Had Gurkha at the beginning of my Cigar experience so , no opinion because I haven't had one since ☺️

My pen ran out of ink trying to count the Gurkha's... 😉 Not really been a fan of their cigars but I have smoked them. The Gurkha's that I have are sitting in a sealed bag with coffee beans and a humidifier packet. They have been there for a few years and honestly I am not feeling the urge to smoke them because I have so many others that I prefer. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I've had some really good ghurkas over the years. I've not had any more dud sticks (burn/draw issues) than I have from any other companies. Lot of people are afraid to appear inexperienced, they heard someone they respected say ghurka was trash so it must be so... the journey is about finding YOUR favorite or best cigar, you'll never find it going off of someone else's opinion.

I am a diehard Gurkha fan In fact, I’m smoking the Gurkha revenant Maduro right now. they are my favorite brand of non-Cuban cigars and they are beautifully crafted nowadays. In fact, the Gurkha assassin was the second cigar I smoked. There have been some people on here claiming that they are overpriced but I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than $15 for a Gurkha cigar and I absolutely enjoyed it.

When my wife and I went to Savannah a couple of years ago, I stopped by a cigar shop on River Street. I bought my first Gurkha, and I thought it was a very good smoke.

Never tried one, I have two in the humidor, now I have to try one & see what I think.

I definitely love the cellar reserves that i tried. Some of the other ones I've enjoyed some of the other ones not so much. There are some I've tried I would definitely describe as cheap but some that I found very enjoyable to me just like any other brand.

I like Gurkha sticks especially the royal challenge in Maduro Robusto the second third is amazing

That 15 year reserve and the ghost. One smooth and one for the pepper. Amazing sticks

The 18 years cellar are great, unique flavours and sublime, and excellent value, you pay way more for aged other brands. The Ghosts is very average. The 30th Anniversary is superb!

I started smoking Cigars around 2010 so a lot of this I had no clue about. But I am one of the people that never understood the hate for Gurkha. I actually started smoking some Gurkhas when I first started smoking Cigars. So for me I actually have a better view of them earlier on. They are not my favorite brand but I'll have at least 1 every now and then still. Sometimes I feel like the hate people give, just think it's the "cool" thing to do. I'll always be the one person to stick up for them in the comments.

I liked the black dragon and I also still occasionally buy centurions people like to sound like they know what they are talking about and forget not to just smoke and drink what they like

I purchased some Hudson Bay as a lawn mowing cigar. Burn has been great, taste is consistent, and if I need to set it down I'm not out 10 bucks

Before I even watch. I like Gurkha Cigars they have a cool label which was what brought me in and I think they are tasty. I also don't spend ANY time in the online community, outside of your channel and a couple others. I used to be a reader of cigar Aficionado back in the day. I don't own a private jet so I am not really their market. I smoke what tastes good and is not too expensive and when it is expensive it better have a reason that I already know like Arturo Fuente. ok now I watch the video and see if I am super upset and never smoking them again...ya right. :) added after. great video. I have been smoking cigars off and off since right before or right at the boom. I just liked smoking but I didn't want to smoke cigarettes.

I recently bought some Gurkha Havanas and they're actually super flavorful. They have that spicy kick to them that I remember Gurkhas having from 2014. I got some Evil's too but I feel like they have mellowed a lot since I had them 10 years ago. Regardless, I always thought they were good cigars and had no idea about any of the hate the receive. If it's a good smoke, then it's a good smoke.

I’ve tried many because I hear everyone trash talk them but out of the around 8 different cigars I’ve had from them, I’ve like every one!

The black dragon Maduro tubo is what first started me on this journey