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The third line in Gurkha’s East India Trading portfolio following the Wicked Indie and Red Witch, Rogue is comprised of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, an unspecified rare Ecuadorian binder leaf, and 3-year aged ligero fillers from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Having enjoyed the previous East India Trading releases I was looking forward to today’s review of the Rogue Tyrant (5×52.)
The packaging and bands on the Rogue are a bit “over-the-top”, but I have to say, Gurkha does “over-the-top” quite well. I really liked this design in a weird sort of way. The cigar itself sported nice box press construction with a closed foot and was wrapped in a veiny and mottled light brown Habano leaf. Pre-light draws gave off a taste of cedar and spice, but nothing too telling.
The smoke opened up with an earthy taste and plenty of red pepper spice. Tons of smoke was pouring out of this stick with every draw right from the get-go. I began to pick up some light cocoa and malty sweetness on the finish. An inch in, the pepper morphed from red to black and a firm grey ash was now hovering over a jagged black burn line that mirrored the rough edges of the bands on the cigar.
Entering the 2nd third a strong cream note appeared and the peppery spice had vanished, though I could still taste it vividly on my palate. Compared to the first couple of inches this portion of the cigar was silky smooth with very clean flavors of heavy earth, cream, and cedar.
The final third remained earthy with some grass notes and a dark, sweet finish. Smoke continued to leak from the cigar uncontrollably, even between puffs. With about an inch remaining the ol’ “last third funk” showed up, abruptly ending my session with the Tyrant.
All of Gurkha’s cigars released under the East India Trading imprint have been pretty solid, including this one. The Rogue was very smooth, not too complex but definitely tasty, and smoked like a friggin’ chimney from start to finish. As much as I enjoyed it, I have a feeling that this particular stick was still a bit “new” and would have showed me a few more flavor nuances with a little bit of resting time. Based on today’s smoke I give the Rogue Tyrant an honorable B grade. This was good now and I suspect it will be great later.
