When we left off on Wednesday, I was working my way through a tin of Gurkha Toros. I had the Crest and the Beauty remaining, so I selected the Crest for my Thursday evening smoke. I first noticed a small slit near the foot, and hoped I didn’t have another situation like I did with the Beast, explosion city. Fortunately the cigar burned past the split without incident. I think this cigar may end up being my second favorite of the selection, behind the Shaggy, at least in terms of overall experience. The flavor was savory and a bit sweet owing to what I can only deduce is a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. The construction was fine, apart from the previously mentioned split, and the burn and draw were perfect. These are nice and seem to be available inexpensively via catalog retailer.
Friday came along and I couldn’t bring myself to smoke the Beauty. I needed a guaranteed great cigar to cap off the week, so, in keeping with the week’s theme, I selected a Gurkha Cellar Reserve Limitada from last year’s IPCPR show. Looking around, I see that this size, which was another 6″x 50ish toro, does not seem to be a regular production size. They are now available in 5″ and 6″x58 perfectos and a 6″ x 60 XO. I’ve had several in the 6″ x 50 size and have really enjoyed them. The curly-cue pigtail bun cap is very cool aesthetically and they’ve consistently had good construction. This has a Brazilian Arapiraca maduro wrapper that ads a nice sweetness to the purportedly 15 year old Dominican filler. I guess I need to try this in the current;y available sizes, as I don’t think I’ll see this in the toro again. This may be my favorite Gurkha cigar, edging out the Seduction, but not by much.
Saturday afternoon I sat down to relax outside with the Gurkha Beauty Toro. I’ve smoked the Beauty before, and figured it would be a good selection for an after lunch smoke, mild and flavorful. While this wasn’t the worst cigar I’ve smoked, it wasn’t terrific. the burn and draw were problematic in that it was a little bit tighter than I’d like, making me feel like it may have had a little too much humidity, and causing me to over draw it to get smoke. The burn was erratic but nothing a lighter couldn’t fix. I suppose it should have been a nice, creamy Connecticut shade cigar, but this example was not. That’s not to say that it prevented me from an hour or so of relaxation with a book (Rush FAQ by Max Mobley. I’ve been a fan since discovering them in the late 70s!), I just would have probably enjoyed the afternoon more with a better cigar choice. One must take the good with the bad, as with anything.
I’ve come to some possible conclusions and advice about cigars presented in this manner. I received this in the fall of 2012, and placed it in the bottom of one of the coolers where it stayed until this week. I wonder if I had removed the cigars from the metal box if they would have been better. While I know that the tin case isn’t air tight, it certainly lacks something over a wooden box in my mind. I have seen a couple other cigars sold in metal boxes, but I have no experience with any aging in those boxes, but hundreds of years of storing cigars in wooden boxes would lead one to the conclusion that wood is the way to go (assuming it’s not an aromatic or sappy wood!) My other conclusion is that while the presentation is pretty, these aren’t $10 cigar in my opinion. This is still available several places (I noticed Famous put it on sale this week, coincidence?). I have a nice decoration for when and if I have a man cave or office I can decorate in cigar-chic. Still, it was entertaining smoking through the selection contiguously, or almost, there were defiantly some tasty and satisfying cigars that I probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
News
Every year one of my reasonably local shops, The Wooden Indian, in Havertown, PA, has a Drew Estate Charity event around this time of year, and this year it’s next Friday, August 15, 2014. Unfortunately, I’ll be in Chicago, so I won’t be able to attend as I have in the past.
Drew Estate Charity Pig Roast
Friday August 15th, 2014 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Online Bidding Now Available
Special Guest Pedro Gomez, Factory Spokesperson
Tickets Now Available $20
Includes
Sandwich & Drink
1 Raffle Ticket For $700 TV
$5 In Drew Spending Money
Loads of in store specials and raffles
They will be auctioning off three very special items from the creative mind of Drew Estate’s Jessi Flores: Undercrown and Flying Pig paintings and a presentation case which includes all 19 of the Liga Privada cigars. In the past the auction has been held at the event, but this time they’ve set up an online auction so everyone can have a chance. All proceeds go to TECHO, the charity which builds houses for deserving families in Esteli, and one which Drew Estate Charities supports wholeheartedly.
In other news, as I mentioned before, I’ll be wandering around Chicago next weekend smoking cigars, but the following weekend I’ll be attending the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival in Broomfield, Colorado. I’ve heard great things about this event and am looking forward to seeing everyone there! Let me know if you’ll be there so we can enjoy a smoke together!
That’s all for now, until the next time,
CigarCraig
For about the 7th year I stopped by the Wooden Indian in Havertown, PA for their annual pig roast and fundraising event for Drew Estate Charities. This year the weather was spectacular, they had tents on the front lawn and along side of the building. Dave and his staff at the Wooden Indian, in addition to running the best cigar store and lounge in the area, put on a fantastic event. The cigar specials featuring Drew Estate products this year was ridiculous. They were offering a box of Dirty Rats with a two box purchase (plus 14 cigars, and all kinds of other goodies). I 
suppose if I had the room (in humidors and on credit cards) I would have jumped at that. They had the new Undercrown Sungrown and Florida Sun Grown on hand for sale as well as just about anything you might want from Drew Estate. Representing Drew Estate was Pedro 
Gomez, Chris Stone and Alex Mayer, and Broc Jackson of Kensington Jewelers (the guy who makes all the cool Drew Estate jewelry) was on hand as well. There were also other store owners and reps from other cigar companies there supporting the cause. The BOTL PA Chapter and Cigar Cartel Facebook Groups were represented as well as other local cigar groups. This event is a big deal.
The whole point of this event is to raise money for the Drew Estate Charities. There was a whole bunch of very special Drew Estate goodies the centerpiece being an original canvas by Jessi Flores of Subculture Studios. While I didn’t stay for the raffle drawing/auction, I do know that they raised $9000 for Drew Estate Charities! This 
amount of money can actually build 5 houses for families in Nicaragua! A job well done by everyone at the Wooden Indian and the generosity of the attendees. While I can rarely stay for the whole event, it’s always a great time when I’m there. I smoked one of the new Undercrown Sungrown in the belicoso size while I was there and it was spectacular. When I got home I took a walk with a KFC Swamp Thang robusto, which was also tasty.
