Gurkha central for reviews over here. I'm liking this. But you really gotta stop. I don't have any money to spend or any space to store.

Wheelie, much better than the cx or mx 2. I enjoyed it more anyway. Rob, yeah, I have done a lot of gurkkha's, but hey, going to add some more... lol Coming up is an evil and and assassin.

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PM sent Squirrely...

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replied.....

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Gurkha Archive (conni wrapper, Nicaraguan filler, and Cameroon binder)

This cigar is a box pressed cigar (Gurkha's 20th Anniversary) that comes in a huge box, 92 cigars in total. One thing that gurkha does at times is bring out cigar in huge boxes, which I really do not understand. Who wants 92 cigars? I mean I love certain cigars but 92 of them? yeah okay I could see maybe getting that many for a select few but gurkha is known for such numbers though pushing a hundred is a bit much. At around 700 bucks for this box and with the 9.75 a stick, a box sounds cheap but really????.....
Pre-Light had a good aroma, sort of woody. After few puffs I got a lot of wood and spice, peppery almost. While holding the smoke in my mouth I picked up a lot of wood and subtle spice, but I picked up a lot of pepper through the nose. This cigar started out strong, then mellowed a bit near the end, though stayed with a pepper, wood, maybe ceder taste. There wasn't a lot of complexity to the smoke, not a lot of flavors I would jump up for. The price for what I paid for this cigar was WAY to much. Maybe at 2 bucks or something, if that but I wasn't impressed. If this is a cigar brought out for the 20th anniversary if I wouldn't have had many gurkha's under my belt I would probably say this manufacturer sucks.... lol. If you like woody cigars, strong cigars look somewhere else, believe me. Yeah I'm sure people could like this cigar but for the price there a LOT of others out there that are better. Anyway, this will be under the do not like list from Gurkha.

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Ha! I saw "Gurkha Archive" and I thought you were renaming your review thread to a more accurate title. lol :)

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"Beliefs are neat. Cherish them, but don't share them like they're the truth" Bill Hicks

Ha, yeah kind of gurkha streak....

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Olivia V maduro was the hot item last year and with all of us wondering if it would come back, we finally got word and some places have got some shipments. First of all it's a bit shorter than last years, and has some changes in the blend.

First of all I want to say I really enjoyed the 08 blend and have come to enjoy the regular line. The pre light smell of the cigar is a lot like the 08, at least from what I remember. The construction is great with no imperfections found. After cutting and toasting the first few puffs are creamy, smooth and a bit chocolaty. The draw is a bit tight, and after some adjusting it got looser which helped the burn fix itself. It's been a while since I had an 08 so I really can't tell the differences between the years but let me just say that if you missed out on the 08's or have a few, the 09's are just as good if not better (though like I said can't really tell if it is better). Puff after puff the flavors gave off some nut, chocolate, spice, pepper, wood, cream, and some other light flavors. The pepper took a front seat near the mid point but sat back quickly. The smoothness of this cigar is fantastic, never harsh or really hot. I was able to almost nub it without being burned, so those of you who like cooler cigars will be happy. The flavors stayed consistent all the way through, and so did the smoothness. I wouldn't call this cigar too complex, though that's just me. The strength of the cigar seemed to grow more past the mid point, but it wasn't knock your socks off strong, just a subtle build of it. I really enjoyed the flavors and was impressed at how smooth it stayed till the end. Bottom line, pick a few up.

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Wow. Sounds awesome. I picked up two at my local shop yesterday, and I have 3 of the '08s left. Can't wait to smoke them. :)

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It's BORKs not BOTLs

There is no blender but Litto Gomez, and I wish I was his merchant.

Let me know which one you like better. Both are top notch in my book.

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Ashton in my opinion has some of the best cigars, and here is their so-called flagship an hardest to find/get cigar (spendy too).
This would be my third ESG I've had and the last I have in stock. I have to say, I love the look of the cigar, very well done with a flawless wrapper and construction. The Label is one of the best if not my favorite from any line out there. These cigars are really expensive, like 17-30 dollars depending on where you find them. I think I got this guy for like 17.25 or something.... I decided to smoke this as I found these and the 21 and 22's in boxes and wanted to know if they were worth buying as a box, as I recalled them to be an "okay" cigar. I picked all three up last year around october or something so this one has been sitting for over a year or one could say a solid year at the bottom of my big humi.
Pre-Light this stick had some ceder, and tobacco smells coming from it. After toasting and then puffing a few times I picked up some wood, ceder, spice, and some coffee like flavors. Nothing that was telling me, hey, this is worth the money. Moving onto the 1/2 way mark I picked up some changes, the pepper/woody tastes moved back a bit and more sweetness/coffee flavors moved in but the wrapper started to crack!

This was certainly a first for me of any of the Ashton's I've had and even more so, I can't recall it ever happening to me especially when I've had a cigar in my humi for a long period of time. I mean sometimes something like this happens near the foot or something but never in the middle of a cigar. Moving on, the flavors stayed sweet with some spice/pepper to them. Wood and coffee stayed present. The wrapper continued to split and didn't get better so I let it burn out. Bottom line, I will not buy a box, I will not pay these prices for these cigars again, and I really would like to say don't waste YOUR money on these cigars. Yeah they look nice, have a great label, and the rarity of the cigar is always nice but for the price you can get many, many other cigars that have more complexity and offer more flavor. I'll stick to the VSG.

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Hailed as the best liberty to date I finally decided to burn one of them. I really enjoyed the 2008 and it's certainly a cigar that is nothing less than eye candy AND it's one hell of a flavorful smoke. Let's get started....

Camacho Liberty 2005



This cigar has a very sweet cedar smell upon pre light. Already I am having flashbacks of the 08! After punching the cap and then toasting the foot, I pick up some odd flavor, almost dirt or something but then some hay follows. Immediately that leaves and I am hit with cedar/wood along with some subtle tobacco. The cigar seems to have a nice loose draw and lots of smoke. After the first third more of a sweetness comes out but not more powerful than the cedary taste. Throughout the cigar thus far it has some sweet undertones but not as much as the 08. Already I am getting a lot of the same flavors as with the 08 though it isn't as flavorful.
Moving on to the half way mark, I am beginning to have some burn problems. The cigar that was once a loose draw is becoming tight and while I can push on the wrapper to move the filling around it never does quite stay loose. After a few puffs it gets tight again. The flavor stayed almost the same, though some harshness/burnout taste moves in on me as I am having some real problems keeping this thing going. After about another inch I let it go out. So I made it a bit past the 1/2 way mark and I have to say I don't know what all the love is about this cigar. It tastes a lot like the 08, though in my opinion isn't as good nor does it look as good (the double wrapper is always a nice sight). I didn't have any problems with the 08, and though this 05 is 1 cigar, I have to say I am just not impressed. I have another 2 of them so we'll see if I just got a bad cigar. But for a flagship of types I expect more. I've had 3 08's thus far and everyone has been good. Anyway if you have had any of the 05's please feel free to share your experience.

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Hey Pheebs really enjoyed your re-views . They are easy to read and understand and now you have made me add to my want list . Dang you Squirrel !!! Oh and don't think I've forgotten that massive bombing you did to me a while back, a retalitory strike is being put together , its a little ways off yet and still in the planning stage but IT IS COMING ...tick ...tick ...tick ...

Haha, thanks buddy.

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Let me start off by saying that I want to say a big thank you to Rob for hooking me up with most of my power rangers! After having a very nice and hearty pork chop dinner I decided to light up a fresh XXX. Enjoy!






I've only had a few opus's but so far my favorite would be this little stick. This will be my 2nd one and this has been received off the shelf from a B&M so it hasn't had any time in my humi. I have to hand it to Fuente for these sticks, all the opus's I have and have seen are just flawless in their construction and they are just a beauty for the eyes. Upon my first pre light draw I picked up some hints of tobacco, spice, pepper, wood, anise, and some cedar. After toasting and my first few puffs I was blown away by the smoothness this stick presented. The strength wasn't as strong as I remember from my last XXX, but the pepper and wood was still rather potent. Through the nose though, it was really pleasant and mellow. This stick also produces a lot of smoke so take note, you've been warned!! lol.

After the first third of the stick more complex flavors came through, ones that I really can't describe, but it has become very full bodied by now and just a very well rounded flavor bomb. I am picking up a bit more pepper through the nose as well as some coffee. The cigar is burning very well with an almost razor sharp burn.

After the 1/2 way mark, the ash is still holding strong and the flavor of the smoke is staying much the same but with more wood and coffee peaking out. I would also like to note that the tobacco and pepper have taken a small step back. Still a lot of smoke and lots of flavor.

Moving on to the last 1/3 my ash fell but I think it's because I didn't have much room for my fingers to hold it and I put it in my ash tray a bit funky. The stick is still really flavorful and now the spice/pepper is almost gone, and more of a woody/tobacco with cedar and cocoa/coffe are present. I smoked it till my fingers were starting to burn and I let it go out.

Well I have to say that this cigar is a very well made and very complex smoke. I couldn't really describe a lot of the changes taking place or the exact flavors but let me tell you, it is really a great treat. If you want a sweeter smoke then you're going to have to go elsewhere for it, and if you have ever smoked an opus then you wouldn't expect it. This cigar is a full bodied, complex little smoke. I will continue to stock up on these and recommend them. This cigar took a bit over an hour and a half.

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