Cigar Info
Gurkha unveiled a new line regular production cigars for the 2021 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Gurkha Revenant. The line consists of two blends, Gurkha Revenant Corojo and Gurkha Revenant Maduro. The Revenant line rolled at Tabacalera El Artista in the Dominican Republic. Both blends are different except the use of a Cameroon binder. Tabacalera El Artista's Ram Rodriguez's original plan was to use Cameroon for the, but, during the blending process, Jim Colucci, CEO of Gurkha Cigars, was worried about the Cameroon wrapper being too fragile for a wrapper. The decision was then made to use it for the binder, and the blend took shape.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
While both blends utilize the Cameroon binder; the Revenant Corojo features a Honduran corojo wrapper, with Dominican corojo 98, Nicaraguan and a broadleaf fillers of undisclosed origin. The Revenant Maduro blend uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, and a hybrid tobacco called T-13 grown in the Dominican Republic by Rodriguez, and Nicaraguan tobacco and a broadleaf of undisclosed origin for filler.
The two version come in the same two vitolas: 5 x 50 robusto MSRP $7.50, and 6 x 54 toro MSRP $8.50. Both both come in 20-count boxes.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Honduras Corojo
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera El Artista
Blender: Ram Rodriguez
Number of reviewers: 5 – Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi) Kevin J. (maninblack77) Chad M. (Chad Tchad) Lauren S. (Lauren S.) Bill C.(Bill)
Price: $8.50
Age: 16 Months
Release Date: August 2021
Contributed by: Gurkha Cigars
Initial ImpressionsGurkha Revenant Corojo Toro
Appearance: 88
“A smooth-looking cigar with a light brown color to the wrapper. The wrapper does have some defects and color discolorations to it.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
Aroma: 91
“Smells like dirt, but pretty nondescript beyond that. None of the sweetness associated with barnyard.” –Bill C. (Bill)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Very spicy taste to this cigar, with my tongue tasting but also feeling effects of the spice. Light earthy flavor to it. Retrohale with a very off ammonia aroma.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“The first third offered an abundance of salted cashews, dry cocoa, graham crackers, and some slight barnyard flavors. While mild to medium in strength and body, the flavors are definitely on point so far. A strong start.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Second Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“A little bit of cream comes into the profile to save the day, cut back the grit, and add a little much-needed sweetness to the profile. Earth is still the dominant flavor and the sweetness isn't enough to balance it out, but it's thankfully better than the first third.” –Bill C. (Bill)
“This draw issue has become a bigger problem as the cigar has a pretty good squish and I'm having to squeeze it to get a good puff off of it. The flavor has begun to transition away from baking spice to more of a solid black pepper taste. Dark chocolate has also come more toward the forefront but remains a bit on the creamier side.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Final Third
Flavor: 85
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The cinnamon has pushed its way to the front as I start this final third. The dry cedar note has returned in the background. My palate doesn't know what to focus on at this moment. The retrohale has gained a roasted note like the macadamia nuts spent some time in the oven. The finish has a cayenne pepper note on both the palate and sinuses. This wakes me up from my slumber. The profile on the palate has been mediocre at best while the retrohale has been the cigar's saving grace. The mouthfeel is a little better but still rather dry. The finish keeps getting longer with the addition of the cayenne pepper.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“The strength amps up and the sweetness sadly retreats leaving a very dark earthy gritty profile.” –Bill C. (Bill)
Overall Impressions – Gurkha Revenant Corojo Toro
Draw: 87
“Draw was great. A little looser than my preference, but no complaints.” –Bill C. (Bill)
Burn: 90
” Very impressive especially for a box press cigar.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Construction: 87
“Even for a pressed cigar, it felt under filled and performed accordingly. The burn line was thick and you could see the wrapper color change by the heat. The ash had a great deal of flowering and I had to roll it into the ashtray every half inch or so.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 86
“This was smoked like it was very young. From the wrapper having the thick burn line to the overall smoking experience that was sharp and acidic it had all of the tall tales of young tobacco that has been rushed. Maybe some time will do it well but I'm still not sure that it is a blend that would hit my palate in any impactful way.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“An overall excellent cigar that performed flawlessly. Tons of enjoyable flavors that I think any cigar Smoker would enjoy. Not too strong not too light, right in the middle of the spectrum. I really loved the salted nuts, cocoa, and graham cracker notes. I'd recommend this to any cigar lover.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
“This cigar just seemed to have something not right with it. The flavor seemed very young like the tobacco needed to be aged more. Then with the construction of cigar with a super loose draw, the cigar felt under filled. I hope this was just a cigar that was missed by QA.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“I think this may actually be a great cigar right in my profile if it wasn't for the construction issue I ran into making the final third harsh. The opening of sweet cedar and baking spice warmed up the blend wonderfully. The transition into a heavier dark chocolate and more black pepper was very enjoyable. Sadly the final third turning into a more harsh pepper and burnt coffee wasn't too good. I'd absolutely try this blend again though cause I feel like the final third would be wonderful if it just wasn't for the harshness due to the relights and draw problems.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
“This profile is just so far out of my wheelhouse that I can't adequately assess it. I outright didn't enjoy the flavor profile, but all the technical details were very good. So rating it so low is a lot about my bias, and less about the objective construction of the cigar ” –Bill C. (Bill)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 79
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Estevan Z. | 90 | 90 | 88 | 87 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 87 | 87 |
| Kevin J. | 92 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 95 |
| Chad M. | 85 | 88 | 85 | 85 | 83 | 83 | 85 | 83 | 83 |
| Lauren S. | 87 | 95 | 95 | 90 | 83 | 83 | 92 | 83 | 87 |
| Bill C. | 87 | 88 | 85 | 87 | 85 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 85 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.