Finally! An everyday smoke from Kaizad Hansotia (maker of Gurkha cigars) without the Ferrari price tag! Seriously, I don’t mind ponying up the big bucks every now and again for a cigar as unique, complex and well-constructed as a Gurkha Master Select or Gurkha Regent but for me, it certainly is not a cigar that I can afford to enjoy daily! Don’t get me wrong now as I do believe that Gurkhas are one of the few brands out there that are truly worthy of commanding such a price but dammit, I want something just as good that I can enjoy every day.

A while back we got our hands on a very nice, no-frills cigar from Gurkha called the Park Avenue Serie 44. Nothing too fancy, simply 25 cigars packaged neatly in a bundle with an elegant gold on copper band. When I saw the price I became very intrigued having always thought of Gurkha as a “high-end” maker of super-premium cigars. So, I pulled out my credit card and bought my first bundle of 25. I say “first” because if you were to look at my order history here at CI you would quickly realize that it is literally peppered with purchases of these cigars. As I have mentioned in past reviews – what typically impresses me with a cigar is a characteristic that makes it stand out from the crowd. It could be anything from an unusual level of complexity to a unique flavor or spice that I have never experienced before. That’s just what we have here…

Light this cigar up and you will likely think to yourself, “pretty smooth with just a bit of spice on the back of the tongue”. What is exciting to me is the gradual and consistent change in both strength and flavor as the Park Avenue continues to burn. It is deceptive how this cigar quietly evolves into a full-bodied and more spicier version of its former self. Certainly the spice is attributable to the Nicaraguan long-fillers that make up the filler in its entirety. Yet the unmistakable smoothness encountered at the start is no doubt due to the aged Connecticut Shade wrapper that is used to finish of the Park Avenue Serie 44.

Bottom Line: A tremendous value cigar that delivers cigar after cigar, bundle after bundle. At less than $2.80 per stick it certainly qualifies yet the construction and quality is everything you would expect form cigars costing 3 times as much!