Gurkha Cigars – A Brief History
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As a cigar lover, Gurkha cigars are one brand you should know all about. In the world of cigars, there are several brands of cigars it can be hard to remember all of them. However, there are some types or brands that stand out, and Gurkha cigar is one of those. Picture the automobile industry and the various car brands that exist.
Even amid all the car brands, some brands are just household names, and you don’t have to be a car expert to know about them and some models in their portfolio. That is the same status Gurkha cigars have in the world of cigars.
Still building on that car reference, Gurkha cigars are nicknamed the Rolls Royce of cigars worldwide. This is due to not just their quality but the cost of owning one. In this article, you will discover all you need to know about Gurkha cigars and what makes them special.
Gurkha Cigars – A Brief History
History/Origins
The Gurkha cigar brand is the pinnacle of luxury in the world of cigars. They have a rich history that has its very root deep in luxury. It is why they are often referred to as the Rolls Royce of the industry. Like most tobacco brand stories, theirs also began with a passionate man and his love for cigars. Only, this time, this man didn’t even start out knowing anything about cigars.
His interest in cigars can be described as accidental, at best. Kaizad Hanostia is the founder of Gurkha cigars.
As mentioned earlier, Gurkha was not the least bit interested in cigars growing up; maybe he ran into a couple of men who loved it or tried it at some point, no one knows, but his story indicates that the cigar line was never something he was ever going to tow – or so it seemed.
The line of business he was destined to tow from a very young age, however, is his family business of watch-making. He was born into a wealthy family of Indian descent, and the family’s main source of income was the watches they sold.
Kaizad learned the family trade and got involved as soon as he was old enough, selling watches to clients from all walks of life. Kaizad’s romance with cigars did not start until 1988 while on vacation in India. During his vacation, he met a Portuguese trader selling cigars.
The cigars were mysteriously called ‘Gurkha.’ After speaking with the trader for a bit, Kaizad fell in love with everything about cigar making. He bought the entire collection of cigars the trader had and the rights to the company. Kaizad’s plan there and then was to give each customer who bought a watch a cigar as a gift.
It was this gesture of gifting each customer a cigar that launched the Gurkha cigar brand. His customers loved the cigar they were gifted, and they wanted more of it.
Kaizad saw an opportunity to do a business out of this, and he became obsessed with the cigar industry. He quickly found out that the industry was highly competitive, so he decided to stand out from the rest, and that is how the luxury cigar brand was born.
Today, Gurkha cigars, named after ancient Nepalese fighters that cut their foes with swords, have their prices up to $25,000 for a box of cigars, a clear reason as to why they are regarded as a luxury brand.
Where Are They Made Now?
Hanostia wanted super high-end cigars, and he found that no one made them. He also discovered that the expensive cigar brands that existed were too generic in how they packaged cigars for sale. In 1990, the first Gurkha cigars were made duty-free out of Dominican Republic.
Most Popular Cigar
There isn’t a singular popular Gurkha cigar, but one that does come off as the best because of how highly rated it is by experienced smokers is the Gurkha Evil. It is a very premium stick that comes in different sizes. It has a special taste of roasted nuts and a floral finish.
Bottom Line
Luxury is the word that comes to mind when the topic of Gurkha cigars is brought up. However, the brand did decide to provide the average blue-collar worker a taste of their cigars.
The move was not met with applause from all parties because some worried that Gurkha would sacrifice quality for the price. When the first batches were released, and people tried it out, the reviews were favorable. It still tasted like a high-end cigar, albeit with only a small change compared to the expensive ones.
As great as Gurkha cigars are, some smokers have regarded them as vanity products and another way for rich people to show how much they have. Whether that is true is left to the taste buds of each smoker.
Dan Stevenson
I have been smoking cigars for 30 years and counting, I started at 18 years old with mild Cubans and worked my way up to medium and now bold. I own 4 humidors, that I try to keep stocked at all times.
