Blind Cigar Review: Mbombay | Gaaja

Cigar Info

MBombay/ Bombay Tobak’s latest release, Mbombay | Gaaja (Pronounced : Gaa-ya), was shipped earlier this month. In Sanskrit language “Gaja” (Pronounced: guj ), means elephant. Mel Shah had been working on the blend of Gaaja for more than 4 years.

The process involved in logistics and long fermentation of tobacco from countries like Peru and Paraguay, really tested their patience. They had to wait for 3 vintages of the Hybrid Connecticut wrapper leaf for the perfection they wanted. As the elders say, “patience pays off”; hence Gaaja.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Costa Rica
Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut desflorado, Variety Hybrid Mejorado 2004
Binder: Ecuador HVA Seca Mejorada
Filler: Perú Hybrid Habano Viso: Ecuador criollo 98, Paraguay Hybrid Habano 2000, Dominican criollo 98. Ligero: Dominican HVA Mejorado
Factory: Tabacos de Costa Rica
Blender: Mel Shah
Number of reviewers: 5 – Eric (smalls29) Ryan (Youngryan216) Alan (Eulogy) Jeff (ExpendableYouth) Derek (StogieNinja)
Price: $15.50
Age: 1 Month
Release Date: June 2016
Contributed by: Mbombay Cigars

Initial Impressions

Appearance: 89

“This is a nice looking boxed pressed cigar, with a straw-brown wrapper, and a very large double cap. There are several chips in the wrapper, but I don’t think that it will affect the performance of the cigar.” –Alan (Eulogy)

Aroma: 89

“The pre-light aroma has a nice sweet smell. Almost like a BBQ with a could amount of meat cooking. I also detect a faint wet grass smell. It reminds me of fresh cut alfalfa.” -Eric (smalls29)

First Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The cigar starts very mellow with flavors of nougat and cream. There is no spice and the blend is very smooth so far. An early retrohale gives notes of chai tea and finishes very creamy.” -Ryan (Youngryan216)

“Begins with a small amount of white pepper on the lips and what I can only describe as a BBQ-potato-chips flavor. There’s some nuttiness, particularly on the retrohale, all cashews and nutmeg. Some honeyed sweetness as well, a bit syrupy on the palate.” -Derek (StogieNinja)

Second Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium

“After the first third’s mildness, the second third picks up just a bit in spice and becomes more complex in body. Notes of cashew, caramel, cream and chai tea are all here in the overall best portion of the cigar. Everything is very harmonious and light. There is nothing offensive here.” -Ryan (Youngryan216)

“By the midpoint, the pepper has all but disappeared. The main flavors remain unchanged, BBQ potato chips, nits, baking spices, and a honeyed sweetness. Towards the end of the middle third, there’s a candied caramel note that’s a nice addition.” -Derek (StogieNinja)

Final Third

Flavor: 86
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“The pepper has died down a bit, or my pallet is fried, and has allowed the sore flavors of cedar, hay, and mineral to shine through a but more. The construction, burn and draw are still spot on and have been really good throughout the smoking experience. The retro-hale has become a lot cleaner in this third and I can really pick up a clean wood and coffee note in it now.” -Jeff (ExpendableYouth)

“The final third is the best, as the cigar warms so do the flavors. Not a lot of change, some hickory smoke, a bit of saltiness, baking spices, nuts, and honey.” -Derek (StogieNinja)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 92

“A nice draw. Not totally easy nut I didn’t realy have to work at it.” -Eric (smalls29)

Burn: 94

“The burn was spot on throughout the smoke.” -Jeff (ExpendableYouth)

Construction: 91

“I liked the boxed pressed shape, there was a well applied double cap, and there were no soft spots. Other than the few chips in the wrapper, that didn’t affect the smoking experience, It was a well constructed cigar.” –Alan (Eulogy)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall : 84

“The cigar started off as a medium cigar and quickly moved to a bold one. The flavors were nice in the beginning but grew very sting way too soon. The nice woodsy flavors gave way to a strong burnt flavor with a bitter after taste. I hope I am not tasting it later tonight. Overall not bad. It could pair nicely with a stout ale or strong espresso. I couldn’t take it all the way to the end as it grew too bitter for me.” -Eric (smalls29)

“The first few thirds of of this cigar were light and what I would call harmonious. This cigar feels like it was blended for those with lighter tastes. While I liked some things about this stick, I disliked the wrapper’s frailty and the muddy, final third of the experience. This would be a good stick with coffee in the morning.” -Ryan (Youngryan216)

“The burning paper flavor never left the cigar and caused my palate to become bitter. I wouldn’t smoke another one of these even if it was free.” –Alan (Eulogy)

“The burning cardboard flavor that was consistently present until the second-third really killed the experience for me. This was also a really peppery cigar and was so powerful that it actually masked most of the other core flavors. These issues really killed the overall experience for me and I would give it a simple pass if you were thinking about lighting one of these up.” -Jeff (ExpendableYouth)

“This was a decent cigar. The flavors were a bit unusual, and never seemed to meld particularly well, but there was nothing particularly unpleasant about it either. I don’t think it’s an experience I would chase down again, other than out of curiosity to see how downtime might affect the whole.” -Derek (StogieNinja)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 99

Reviewer	Appearance	Aroma	1/3	2/3	3/3	Draw	Burn	Constr.	Overall Experience
Eric	smalls29)	88	90	88	85	85	90	90	90	87
Ryan	Youngryan216)	97	90	90	90	87	97	95	92	92
Alan	Eulogy)	88	85	83	83	75	92	97	90	80
Jeff	ExpendableYouth)	92	90	88	90	85	95	95	95	83
Derek	StogieNinja)	88	88	88	88	87	90	85	90	87

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.