Cigar Watch

Cigar Brand? Park Avenue by Gurkha

Size Name? Torpedo

Length/Ring Gauge? 6.2” x 52 ring

Purchase Date? 6/15/2008

Box or Individual? Sampler

Smoking Date? 6/28/2008

Packaging? Cello w/ single band

Price (Per Cigar or Box)? $2.50

Where Purchased? Gift

Country Where Made: Nicaragua

Meal/Beverage: Salad, iced tea

Overall Appearance and Presentation of Cigar (Max. 20 Points) (13 of 20)

Wrapper Color? (2 of 4) The wrapper had green areas

Consistent Color Within Box? (1 of 2) Of two, one was a more consistent color

Oily/Dry? (1 of 2) Slightly oily

Veiny/Smooth? (3 of 5) Med. veins

Cap Construction? (1 of 1) OK

Packaging? (2 of 2) Nice presentation

Ease of Cutting? (2 of 2) Easy cut

Construction (Soft, Hard)? (1 of 2) Med

Lighting and Burning Properties (Max. 15 Points) (12 of 15)

Even Initial Light? (1 of 1) Easy initial light

Even Burn? (9 of 11) Initial OK 50% Slight canoeing 75% OK

Resting Smoke (light & even, smoldering)?

(0 of 1) None to speak of

Burn Rate (fast, perfect, slow)? (1 of 1) Medium burn rate

Ash (Solid, Black, White and Crumbly)?

Light gray ash

Require Re-Lighting? (1 of 1) No

Construction (Max. 30 Points) (24 of 30)

Initial Draw Good 50% Easy 75% loose (23 of 27)

Wrapper Stays Intact? (1 of 3) No - thin wrapper that unraveled on one

Taste (Max. 35 Points) (25 of 35)

Light, Medium, Full-Bodied? Mild to medium-mild

Bitter, Harsh, Smooth? Generally smooth

Sweet/Salty? Neither

Bland, Vegetal, Spicy, Peppery? Mostly bland, slight vegetal

Describe Any Changes in Body or Flavor: This smoke was mostly just a mild and fairly non-descript experience. The taste was uncomplicated as way the aroma.

Aroma (Rich and Smooth and Acrid)? Mostly bland

Finish? Not much of anything

Comments: I smoked two of these cigars to get a good sense of them. The unevenness of the wrapper on one of them was a put off from the beginning. Wafting the smoke yielded a faint ammonia smell that indicated poor aging. The taste was nothing special - a decent cigar but not memorable. The wrapper was so thin that removing the band actually lifted one of the wrappers - the other one was fine.

Total Score / Grade: 74