Gurkha Class Regent Box-Pressed Robusto

There's no doubt that Gurkha is one of the premier boutique brands on the market today. Their limited-edition cigars are vastly outnumbered by the millions put out by the big national brands, but that's where they capitalize: they use their small, boutique-brand maneuverability to produce numerous cigar blends that epitomize the craft that is cigar making. True craftsmanship goes in to all elements of these cigars, from growing, harvesting and fermenting the tobacco, to creating intricate leaf blends, to rolling each cigar by hand and, of course, packaging (they're instantly recognizable with their old Cuban-style packaging and intricate label designs). The Gurkha Class Regent Box-Pressed left the cigar scene for a time but its back and we are so happy that it is! Hailing from Honduras, the Class Regent was not only given a well-deserved 90-rating from Cigar Aficionado, it was also included in their annual list of Top 50 Cigars. Starting from the inside out, this smoke is filled with perfectly aged long-fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, then is hugged by an Indonesian binder, before being topped with a silky and dark Honduran Habano 2000 wrapper. Medium in body, this smoke lends notes of leather, toast, and cedar with hints of chocolate. Try pairing it with a bold cabernet after dinner; one panelist recommended Quilt Cabernet Sauvignon.

Honduras has been a tobacco growing and cigar manufacturing area for hundreds of years, but it was the Communist revolution in Cuba that really put Honduras on the map. In the 1960s, many Cuban cigar makers fled their homeland and arrived in Honduras to re-establish their way of life. The immigrants took advantage of the climate, soil, and geography, which were well-suited to tobacco growing, and began producing high quality cigars. The center of the Honduran cigar industry is the city of Danli and the nearby Jamastran Valley. The majority of the world’s pure Corojo tobacco is grown here, now that Cuba has stopped production of this iconic, spicy, and rich variety in favor of Corojo hybrids. Other important areas of Honduran cigar production include the Talanga Valley, Copan, and Trojes.