... And the Beast: Gurkha Beast

A couple of months ago I was sitting around a fire pit in a buddy's backyard, a situation which begs for fine tobacco.  We found ourselves high and dry without stogies, as yours truly had forgotten to stop by the humidor on the way out of the house.  His father, however, was kind enough to let us raid his humidor and told us to grab whatever sticks we wanted.  My friend walked outside with a Montecristo #3, and I found myself holding a Gurkha Titan.  It was one of the finest smokes I've ever had, and I filed the Gurkha name away as a maker of excellent cigars.  Fast forward a couple months, and after a bit of a shopping spree, I find myself ogling my humidor, packed with twenty premium Gurkha smokes.  Gurkha only makes a thousand boxes of this blend each year, and the suggested retail price for a five pack is $102.  Definitely pricey, but is the price worth it?

When deciding which one of these sticks to review first, my eye was immediately drawn to the imposing figure that is the Beast.  An impressive cigar, measuring in at 6.5x58, this mammoth boasts a smooth, dark wrapper and feels quite heavy in the hand.  The band is characteristic of many of Gurkha's offerings, and features what appears to be a fierce (undead?) warrior brandishing a knife.  Below this is a second band with only a single word: BEAST.  These are well constructed sticks, and I found only one vein along about two thirds the length of the cigar.  The pre-light aromas are somewhat earthy, and this impressive stick seems to promise full-bodied goodness just sitting on the table.

After carefully toasting the foot, the cigar lit nicely and with a pleasant light flavor.  It was at this point that I began to wonder: is the Beast really just a gentle giant?  The first third carried on much the same way, with rich tobacco flavors and notes of toast and a woodiness I would characterize as oak.  Definitely a pleasant start, but not at all what I expected from such a large, dark cigar.  Many of these flavors continued into the second third, and were joined by subtle notes of leather and pepper.  The body seemed to be slowly filling out as the stick progressed, but at the midway point I would still characterize this as a medium bodied smoke.  That all changed though as the Beast entered the final third.  It was as if someone hit the throttle, and in about a half an inch the cigar blossomed into full flavored goodness, which continued to strengthen as the head approached my fingers.  The finish was long, and it seemed the longer I went between puffs the more distinct the individual flavors became.

Cutting the Beast was an interesting undertaking, as my double guillotine is only designed to cut 54 ring gauge cigars, although a slight taper at the end allowed for a nice clean straight cut.  Ideally I would have punched this cigar, as the draw with the straight cut was a bit on the light end of the spectrum and I tend to prefer a heavier draw.  The ash was a nice light gray color, and held on for about two inches, in spite of the breezy conditions I found myself in.  The burn was definitely affected by the wind, and did require one correction just after the ash fell off.

While I did not pair this cigar with anything, as it was my first of this blend, I took some time to consider what I will pair with the other four maturing in my humidor.  The first thing that came to mind was a cognac.  I sampled some the other day with another cigar and think it would pair lovely with this one as well.  While normally I'm not a huge fan of pairing cigars with beer, I felt part way through that this stick would be excellent with a malty beer like a Sam Adams Oktoberfest.  And last but not least, and no surprise coming from a caffeine addict, this cigar would pair nicely with a cup of medium bodied coffee, to help balance out the full bodied cigar. 

All in all, this was an interesting smoke, full of complexity and surprises, but one question still remains: is it worth the hefty almost twenty dollar price tag.  The answer isn't quite a simple yes or no, but if you're someone who enjoys a truly full bodied cigar then I'm sure you would find it's worth every penny.  Those of you who are newer to cigars would likely be happier with some of Gurkha's other offerings, which are a little lighter on the pallet, and on the wallet.  Stay tuned for reviews of some of those stogies in the coming days and, as always, enjoy your smokes!