The Gurkha Beauty in Action

While with recent releases Gurkha has moved to simpler packaging, make no bones about it – packaging is still a big part of the Gurkha marketing plan.  One cigar that is been a part of this plan is the Gurkha Beauty.   This cigar is the milder fraternal-twin to the Gurkha Beast.   I’ve read a lot about the Beauty being a medium strength and medium bodied cigar, but I just don’t see it.   Simply put – it is a large mild cigar.   While I normally prefer a cigar more on the full side, this should not be held against the Beauty – namely this one one very good mild cigar.   The one drawback with the Beauty – the price tag.

I’ve seen the Gurkha Beauty retail in a range anywhere from $22.00 to $30.00.   The cigars are sold in a black lacquer box containing 25 cigars.   Each cigar is packaged in a frosted glass tube.   When you open the tube, about 60% of the cigar from the foot up is wrapped in a cedar wrapper.  It is packaging like this that will often typically drive up the price of a cigar.

The Glass Tube of the Gurkha Beauty

Lets take a closer look at the make-up of the construction of this cigar:

Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: 6.5 x 58

This tobacco combination is pretty intriguing to me. The Ecuadorian Wrapper is pretty thin, so I do think the cedar wrapping does help protect it.  You do need to be careful pulling it off as it is attached to part of the band and could easily tear the wrapper.  Now the ring gauge is a bit puzzling to me.   It is listed as a 58, but it does give me the perception of being much bigger than a 60.

When I smoke a Beauty, I typically use a straight cut (which is what I did for this case).  I gently toasted the foot of this cigar and began to enjoy it.  The initial cigar taste I get from this was one of cream.   It is not overpowering by any means – and in fact its pretty mild.   The cream will remain present for the duration of the smoke.   A few minutes into the smoke, I start to get hints of black cherry with a slight increase in strength.  This black-cherry flavor also remains for the duration of the smoke.   About 1/2 way through the smoke, I also start to get hints of wood and to a lesser extent toasted nut.   This pretty much makes of the complexity of this stick.

The draw and burn of this cigar are flawless.   It never had to be re-lit.   It never had to be touched up.  I’ve had several of these cigars and it is the same-time every time.   The finish is smooth – just like the whole cigar.  I usually get a small cool nub with this stick – and in this case, it is no surprise.

My Nub at the very end before putting it out

By all means this should be a very highly rated cigar.   Even with a milder stick, I usually do prefer a little more complexity than I got with this one.   The bottom line is that this cigar is a tough sell because of the price tag.   The price tag is too high for novice cigar enthusiasts who often will go for a mild stick.  The price tag is also too high for the seasoned cigar enthusiast who usually prefer either a more full or more complex cigar.   Still this is a cigar worth checking out once.

Assessment: Nice to Have