2 Cigars A Month: A Cigar Review Blog

Sorry I have not posted in a while. I quickly met my quota, and then some, while in Hawaii. But getting back, a couple friends came over and we had a bit of a cigar aficionado reunion. I was even able to trade a stick that I had just recently for this months review. I had the Cuban Cabinet, made by Sol Cubano. It was a great time.


The Cuban Cabinet variety of Sol Cubano hails from the Tabacalera Fernandez factory of Esteli, Nicaragua. Home of Rocky Patel Fusion (which I don't really care for) and the RP Double Maduro. The smoke is beautiful in appearance, boasting a dark Habano Ecuador wrapper that’s thick, leathery, and oily to the touch. Inside, a Cuban-seed mixture of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos unites, resulting in an eventful medium to full-bodied smoke. Layers of spices, strong pepper and earthy undertones greet the palate with each puff, leaving behind dry notes of leather and wood. The finish is strong and robust, completing a fantastic cigar worthy of the finest occasion.

I must admit that at first light I was very tempted to put it away. That peppery taste was very over powering. But time did wonders, and further down the cigar it became more balanced. I hastily made the decision that I would not buy this cigar, but now I must recant that statement.

The Gurkha Titan is a great smoke. The draw is always perfect, and the construction top notch. It burned a bit uneven at the start, but tapped nice and even. One of the biggest selling point of this cigar, and a couple others are the packaging when you buy a box. This particular comes in a cool airplane aluminum metal. I cannot afford more than one at a time so my review will be limited to just the cigar itself. Which is what it should be anyways. The Titan uses aged tobaccos including a Costa Rican wrapper from 1996, a five-year old Nicaraguan binder, and a filler of five-year old Honduran, Dominican, and Colombian tobaccos. The Titan uses more ligero tobacco in the filler (tobacco comes from the top of the plant and is darker and more flavorful). It was a good smoke, but not the best I have had from Gurkha, and especially at $27.00 retail for each stick!!!

The Big Kuhuna was a Big Disappointment. Sir Wilfred had a great story of coming to the islands and starting up a business with cigars since the competition was absent. He had little success and added coffee to his business and that supported him. Unfortunately this Honduran filled and Connecticut wrapper bound cigar burned uneven, there was no pleasing taste, and the smoke was not even pleasant to look at.

Gurkha Shaggy. This cigar is just as good as I remembered it. The frist time that I smoked this was in San Diego. It was smooth, very flavorful, and a breeze to light. I can't get over how eventhough you have strong (flavorful) cigar, you can smoke it till your fingers get burned. I enjoyed this cigar on a bench in Marin, overlooking the Golden Gate. It was a great night, the cigar, the scencery, not being at work, hotel is all paid for...the only thing that could make this better is...another cigar.

La Flor Dominicana. This is my all time standby. I love the draw. Since it is a chisel the tappered end fits just right in the mouth. One would think that it would hinder the draw, but it does the opposite. One thing to note though is if you have a firm grip, it could get a bit sunken in where you are holding it. I usually rotate a cigar so that I am not holding the same place too long, but with a chisel you one get to turn it over. But that is a small price to pay for a cigar that cost $6.00 but smokes like a $15 cigar. The smoke is always great with this one. The flavor is just right for my pallet, but I guess too strong for some. Being "double ligero" means that you not only have one spine of the leaf in the cigar, but you have two. Coincidentally, Gurkha sells one with a triple! I dare not try that one. Enjoy, and if you smoke one of these beautys let me know and give a review.