Cigar Review Gurkha Assassin Toro

I don't know how Mother Nature is treating you but here in the river city we had a record warm day with the temperature coming topping out at a very UnJanuary 30th like 67 degrees. So I was fortunate enough to be able to go out and have an afternoon smoke in the great outdoors. My Smoke of choice was a Gurkha Assassin Toro with a maduro wrapper. The first Gurkha assassin I had I bought in a Wyoming tobacco shop across the street from our hotel however I can not remember if the town was Evanston or Rawlins. Anyway I smoked the cigar in Omaha and was quite impressed with it's flavor. So for Christmas I wrote on my Christmas list and received a box of Gurkha Assassin Toro's with a maduro wrapper. OK I'll come clean I bought the cigars for myself.

Now first thing when it comes to Cigars size CAN matter. Two cigars same brand, same line can taste vastly different if they are two different sizes. As a personal preference I am not as big fan of Churchill sized cigars as I am medium sized cigars. It's not that I dislike Churchill's so much as I find them to often be just too big for my preference. The Toro which comes in at 6X50 is a about a perfect size of Cigar for me. The first thing that grabs you about the assassins or any Gurkha line cigar for that matter is the box. This thing weighs a good 10 pounds and is to use a lame phrase super cool. Even if the cigars were duds the Box would be something anyone would be proud to own. Still people don't spend $140 or more for a bitchin' cigar box.

The Assassin is a full bodied cigar. Draw is excellent. This thing puts out the smoke output of your average 1977 Harlem arson fire. And the fact that I prefer a Maduro which is a darker wrapper that makes the cigar even fuller than say a lighter Connecticut wrapper. However it is also a very smooth smoke. Don't confuse strength of flavors with the strength of Cigar. A cigar with mild flavors can knock you on your ass and make you sick if it's a strong cigar and you aren't ready. And a full bodied cigar can by nice and smooth. The Assassin is case in point. As I said earlier LOTS of smoke. If you want to get your wife out of the house and she doesn't like cigars...just light this thing in front of her and she's gone. (NO I don't do that! I have a designated cigar room in the house where I smoke and the animals are not allowed in.)

The Assassin is a quick burner, which I prefer I don't like having to smoke for 2 hours to get halfway though a cigar, burns evenly and stays lit. Some Cigars I fight all the way to either keep it lit or have the thing burn evenly that is not a problem at all with the Assassin.

The ash holds up well on the Assassin. It's not a cigar that will catch you off guard with falling ash every other minute. The Ash will become quite long before falling if left unattended and most smokers prefer that. Construction is good. I had one cigar where the wrapper fell apart. That is a real pet peeve of mine. A Cigar that costs $10+ SHOULD have a solid construction and not fall apart. Yes with a handmade cigar sometimes it's bound to happen but it shouldn't happen as often as it does with many lines of Cigars.

So if you've read this far as you can probably tell I am very much a fan of the Gurkha Assassin Toro Maduro. It's joined Hoyo De Monterrey Excalibur #II and La Gloria Cubana Corona Gorda as my favorite smokes.