This Week’s Cigars – Gurkha, Cuenca y Blanco and Inka

I’m trying to get back to a normal routine after my recent move and all of the videos from the trades show. I figured I’d smoke some cigars that I just wanted to smoke. Sunday was a beautiful day and after doing some moving stuff I sat down with a cigar that came from Gurkha a few months ago. This was a large torpedo with an uncut foot said to be from Mr. Hansotia’s private stock. While at the IPCPR show I named a point to visit Gurkha’s booth and introduce myself to Oliver Hyam, the marketing director, and thank him for his kindness and support over the last year. He gave me a rundown of some of their new releases, but didn’t let me drive the Rolls Royce they had parked in the booth! The new Ghost release looks really good and I’m looking forward to smoking one in the near future. Anyway, the cigar I smoked Sunday wasn’t bad, it had a little tunneling which was only a problem for about an inch in the middle. Overall, it was a nice smoke, but perhaps I had built it up in my mind more than I should have. I look forward to smoking another of these after some additional age.

Monday I figured it was about time to smoke the new Cuenca y Blanco Toro Supremo. For the two of you out there that don’t know, this cigar is a collaborative effort between Dr. Alejandro Martinez Cuenca, the owner of Joya de Nicaragua, and his new Senior VP, the inimitable José Blanco. I have a personal connection to the Joya de Nicaragua factory, having visited it and being a huge fan of most of their cigars, and I have met Dr. Cuenca and José several times, so I was confident that this would be a spectacular smoke. The first half of this solidly medium bodied cigar had flavors that were reminiscent of many La Aurora cigars I’ve smoked. There’s a flavor in those cigars that I always taste, so I’m guessing the Dominican leaf in the blend may be similar to the leaf that La Aurora uses. I admit that this flavor is not one I generally gravitate toward, but the cigar was burning and drawing well, so I kept on enjoying the smoke. About halfway through that flavor that is familiar to me went away and it was just an exceptional, well balanced smoke that I enjoyed a great deal. I will try some of these in a smaller vitola when I get a chance, just to see if there’s much of a difference. Another stellar smoke from the Joya de Nicaragua factory.

Me with my amigos Blanco y Coop

Tuesday evening I got off to a late start, so I grabbed a smaller cigar. When we were in Orlando for the show we spent a fair amount of time with our good friend Mitchell Orchant, of C.Gars Ltd. While there, Mitch handed me a couple cigars to try with no information other than a band that says “Inka” and “Secret Blend”. There was a really small torpedo shaped cigar, perhaps 4” x 52, and a Mareva size, about 5” x 42, of which I selected the later. I was in a petit corona kind of mood. My only expectation was that it would be an excellent cigar along the lines of Mitch’s favorites, which are predominantly Cuban, given his business is selling Havana cigars. I was not disappointed, it had a nice bit of spice and power, and was exceptionally constructed. I spent about an hour with this little guy and hated to finally put it down. These are made in Peru and are really quite good! I can’t say I’ve had a Peruvian puro, if that’s in fact what these are, it’s too bad the blend is “secret”, I’d love to know what’s in there. Nice job blending these, Mitch, and I look forward to smoking that little torpedo!  I understand these are currently sold out.  If you ever get a chance to try these, give them a shot, you won’t be disappointed.

Editorial

Many times during my ritual of listening to podcasts or reading other blogs I often find myself thinking that I could start a new site criticizing others work and it would probably be a big hit. The trouble is, everyone would then hate me and I don’t want that. I won’t start it up anonymously, so if someone runs with my idea, just know that it’s not me. I reserve the right to toss out little things here and there, like if you’re doing a review of a Dion Giolito cigar, don’t call it a Tatuaje. There are other things, but I’ll leave them for another rant. I really need to start making lists…

That’s it for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig