Gurkha Royal Challenge Maduro (Photo Credit Gurkha Cigar Newsletter)

Gurkha Cigar Group will be launching the Gurkha Royal Challenge Maduro.  This marks the second blend to be released under the Royal Challenge line.  Back in the 2/1/14 Cigar Industry Report, we noted an appearance by Bianca Melone and Juan Lopez on the Stogie 411 program where they  revealed that this project was underway.  The Royal Challenge Maduro will be launched at the 2014 IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas later this month.

The original Gurkha Royal Challenge was launched at the 2011 IPCPR Trade Show.  It was one of three lines where Gurkha released that year where Gurkha made a commitment to the brick and mortars to not allow these cigars to be sold on-line.  The Royal Challenge was an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper cigar that became a major success for Gurkha.   Royal Challenge became a major success for Gurkha.  Earlier this year, the cigar was backordered because of delays in box construction.

Consistent with the rest of the Royal Challenge line, it will only be made available to brick and mortar shops.

At a glance, here is a look at the Royal Challenge Maduro

Blend Profile

The binder and filler will have a similar profile to the original Royal Challenge.

Wrapper: Broadleaf Maduro
Binder: Habano / Honduran
Filler: Nicaraguan  / Dominican

Vitolas Available


The Royal Challenge Maduro is being launched in four sizes.  Pricing will be $8.38 to $11.06 per cigar.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 50
Torpedo: 6 1/2 x 53
Churchill: 7 x 52

Update 7/9/13: Added sizes