Today, we review the Gurkha Year of the Dragon by AJ Fernandez. Back at the 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, Gurkha Cigars got ahead in what turned out to be a very busy season for Year of the Dragon releases. Collaborating with Tabacalara El Artista, Gurkha would release its Gurkha Year of the Dragon cigar. It turns out this would be the beginning of something larger. A few months later, at the start of 2024, Gurkha announced it was releasing four additional Year of the Dragon cigars. Each would come with a different blend, different size, and different colored packaging.

While Gurkha had worked with El Artista before they collaborated on the first Year of the Dragon, the other four manufacturing partners would be working with Gurkha for the first time. The following is a complete list of Gurkha’s Year of the Dragon release, along with sizes and box counts.

• El Arista (6 3/4 x 52 Figurado, Red Commemorative Box, 15 Count) – Released
• AJ Fernandez (6 5/8 x 52 Box Pressed, Green Commemorative Box, 10 Count)
• Ernesto Perez-Carrillo (6 5/8 x 54 Toro, Black Commemorative Box, 10 Count)
• Oliva Cigar Company (6 1/2 x 60, Orange Commemorative Box, 10 Count)
• Oscar Valladares (6 x 52, Yellow Commemorative Box, 10 Count)

Let’s turn our attention back to the Gurkha Year of the Dragon.

Gurkha Year of the Dragon by AJ Fernandez – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Year of the Dragon by AJ Fernandez consists of an Ecuadorian-grown Habano wrapper over all Nicaraguan fillers. AJ Fernandez produces the cigar, but the specific factory has not been disclosed.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of origin: Nicaragua
Factory: AJ Fernandez (Specific Factory Not Closed)

Vitolas Mentioned

As mentioned above, the Year of the Dragon by AJ Fernandez is a box-pressed 6 5/8 x 52. It is available in ten-count boxes. As with all of the Gurkha Year of the Dragon cigars, it is a limited edition release. Gurkha has not disclosed the production numbers.

Appearance (*)

The Year of the Dragon had a light roasted coffee bean color. Upon closer examination, a slight amount of mottling could be seen on some spots on the wrapper. The cigar had some thin visible veins and a few visible wrapper seams. There is a short, gentle taper at the footer, which is also open. There also was a short taper at the head of the cigar, but this one was steeper and converged to a tip.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

Before Lighting the Year of the Dragon, a straight cut was used to remove a portion of the tapered head. About 3/4 of the tip was removed to allow the tapering effect while having enough surface area to puff. After cutting the tip off, it was on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered earth, cedar, and floral notes.  I know some people like floral notes, but I don’t enjoy them. In the end, this pre-light draw fell a little short in terms of the flavor delivered. Since the pre-light draw is not factored into the score or value rating, there was no loss of points here. At this point, it was time to toast up the Year of the Dragon and see what the smoking phase would deliver.

Tasting Notes

The Year of the Dragon opened with floral, mixed fruit, earth, wood, and cedar notes. Early on, the wood notes became primary. Meanwhile, the mixed fruit, earth, wood, and cedar notes settled in the background. The retro-hale delivered a layer of white pepper. The white pepper notes soon emerged on the tongue. The white pepper and cedar contributed to a relatively spicy foundation.

The second third of the Year of the Dragon saw the wood notes remain primary. During this third, the fruit notes slowly diminished in intensity. Meanwhile, the cedar and pepper notes increased slowly in intensity. Floral notes remained present in the secondary and played a role in the overall flavor profile. In the more distant background were earth notes.

The final third saw the wood notes still grounded in the forefront. Wood, cedar, and floral were quite prominent as far as secondary flavors go. In the more distant background were the earth and fruit notes. This is how the Year of the Dragon came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Construction-wise, this Year of the Dragon comes through. This cigar maintained a straight burn line and required minimal touch-ups. The resulting ash was silver-gray in color, skewed toward the firmer side. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Draw

The Year of the Dragon’s draw had a touch of resistance, which I like. At the same time, it was a low-maintenance cigar from which to derive flavor.

Strength and Body

Overall, the Year of the Dragon delivered medium-bodied flavors and medium strength from start to finish. The intensity slightly increased along the way, but the cigar remained medium in strength and body in the end. When looking at strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other nicely, with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

Gurkha is known for its packaging. After a few years of simplifying packaging on its releases,  the packaging seems to be getting ornate again. In the case of the Year of the Dragon, Gurkha does a great job with the presentation. The Year of the Dragon is associated with red and gold, and the El Artista had that color scheme. For the four additional collaborations, Gurkha has opted for different colors. In the case of the AJ Fernandez Year of the Dragon, it uses green, and it works nicely.

I also like the collaborator’s inclusion in the secondary band of the collaborations that followed the El Artista release.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

I’ve always stated that reviews are subjective and must be subjective and honest. The idea is for the reviewer to share an opinion on a cigar. Sometimes, it’s not fun to be a reviewer – and this is one of them. Flavor-wise, the Year of the Dragon from AJ Fernandez misses the mark. Usually, I’m not a big wood/cedar fan of cigars, and when you mix floral notes in there, it really doesn’t work.  Ultimately, I have to give my opinion; I just didn’t think the flavors meshed. On a side note, the cigar had excellent construction and decent complexity. This cigar costs $25.00; flavor-wise, there are better Gurkhas at a more reasonable price. I don’t see myself coming back to this cigar, but am still excited to smoke the other installments of the series.

Summary

Key Flavors: Wood, Floral, Cedar, Earth, Fruit, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Good

Rating

Value: Not Recommended
Score: 86

REFERENCES

News: Gurkha Year of the Dragon Expands to Collaboration Series
Price: $25.00
Source: Purchased
Brand Reference: Gurkha

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop

(*) Indicates this is not factored into the score or value rating