Gurkha Vintage Shaggy XO 6"/60

[Christofori]

Gurkha Vintage Shaggy XO 6"/60

Strength: Medium
Shapes: Churchill, Gordo, Toro, Torpedo
Wrapper: Dominican Maduro
Origin: Dominican Republic
Flavored: No
Pressed: No
Machine Made: No
Has Tip: No
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Sweet: No

I bought the Gurkha XO sampler with Warlord's, Beauty's and the Vintage Shaggy's, this was the first Shaggy I smoked and I wasn't paying attention when I plucked it from the humidor this morning.

The appearance was nice and smooth, with a number of fine veins, the construction felt even from the foot to the cup.


Unlit

I cut it with my double guillotine and the unlit draw was good, with cedar, leather, and a spice that I couldn't pin down.

Not that it was a bad thing but because I hadn't paid attention to the foot, I thought the foot had exploded on me as I toasted the edge and began to smoke it.

It lit well and other than the exploding foot, (see picture), the first inch was full of flavors, the cedar was the first dominant one, with a touch of pepper, leather, coffee, cocoa, and cinnamon.


Exploding foot. DUH!

The burn on the first 1/3rd was even, and there was plenty of smoke produced.

Once into the wrapper the draw tightened up a little and the woody spice and cocoa increased as the coffee and leather declined.

The ash was dark grey on the foot, and whitened once into the wrapper, the ash did everything it could to hold on, the fillers are well packed and the draw was constantly good.


Ash

Second 1/3rd, the burn became uneven, and the wrapper didn't burn on the glue line.


First touch up

Once I retouched it, it did the same thing again, it appears that this cigar may have had a touch too much glue, but other than the uneven burn it was not a detriment to the enjoyment of the smoke.


Uneven burn again

The band wouldn't peel, until the burn line was right above it, the glue softened and I removed it cleanly.


Band

The flavors of the second 1/3rd were smooth and creamy, the cedar and spice were still there, along with the coffee, cocoa and cinnamon.

The middle 1/3rd lost the pepperiness in the back of my throat, the draw continued to be even, and the smoke smooth and creamy.


Middle 1/3 end

Just after I removed the band, there was a touch of bitterness creeping in, I purged it a coupe of times, and it went back to being a pleasant, smooth, creamy smoke. The cinnamon came though strongly at the end, the whole smoke was a sweet experience, not just the smoke but the mouth feel as well, I smoked it to a nub!


Nub

Appearance / construction: 4
Burn: 3
Draw: 4
Aroma:5
Flavor: 7.5
Taste / aftertaste: 8

Total = 31.5 so a CW 3 1/2 stars, an above average smoke!