PCA 2023: Gurkha

Since I just finished editing Charlie Minato’s coverage of the Rocky Patel Premium Cigars booth, it seems fitting to mention that Gurkha had the second-largest booth on the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show floor this year, measuring 80′ x 50′, an impressive 4,000-square-feet of space. And as I have mentioned in other posts, I really like booths that have some familiarity from year-to-year, make some changes to accommodate the desire to feature new products and embrace new design aesthetics and technologies, which is exactly what Gurkha did this year.

At first glance, the booth looks largely the same as I remember it from 2022, though I did notice some new graphics at the corners of the booth, which you see in the featured image of this post, while it seemed like the company had added some graphic banners in the middle of the booth, much like the kind of backdrops that are often put behind pro athletes during interviews. And it was there that I learned that the character featured in the Gurkha logo has a name, and it’s Larry.

For the commenters who will inevitably ask, no, I did not see Kaizad Hansotia. What I did see was a trio of new cigars, two of which celebrate anniversaries within the company, while the third might well be the first to be released in celebration of the upcoming Zodiac new year.

Gurkha 35th Anniversary

This new release celebrates the 35th anniversary of Hansotia purchasing the Gurkha brand in 1989 and will debut with a humidor release, with each 150-count humidor coming with 25 of each of the three vitolas being released.

Later this year, or possibly in early 2024, the cigars will be released in 10-count boxes similar to the ones on display in the booth.

• Wrapper: Equador (Habano)
• Binder: Indonesia
• Filler: Nicaragua

• Gurkha 35th Anniversary Figurado (6 3/4 x 52)  — $11.95 (Box of 10, $119.50)
• Gurkha 35th Anniversary Toro (6 x 54) — $10.95 (Box of 10, $100.95)
• Gurkha 35th Anniversary Torpedo (6 1/8 x 52) — $11.49 (Box of 10, $114.90)

MSRP: $850 (Humidor of 75 Cigars)

Production: Undisclosed

Release Date: July 2023

Gurkha Beauty 25th Anniversary

Gurkha is also celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Beauty line with a new blend that uses an Ecuadorian corojo wrapper instead of the Connecticut wrapper on the original blend. The cigars get quite dressed up, coming in frosted tubes and packed in 25-count boxes with a split-top lid.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Corojo)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua & Ecuador

• Gurkha Beauty 25th Anniversary (6 1/2 x 60)  — $30 (Box of 25, $750)

Production: Regular Production*

Release Date: September 2023

*The first run will be 1,000 boxes, the company has not announced plans for subsequent production.

Gurkha Year of the Dragon 2024

While the Lunar New Year is still several months off, Gurkha had its celebratory cigar on display this year, something it decided to do given that the 2024 PCA Convention & Trade Show is scheduled for March and the Lunar New Year is Feb. 10. This is the first time that Gurkha has released a cigar in celebration of the Lunar New Year,

• Wrapper: Undisclosed
• Binder: Undisclosed
• Filler: Undisclosed

• Gurkha Year of the Dragon 2024 (6 3/4 x 52)  — $25 (Box of 15, $375)

Production: 1,000 Boxes of 15 Cigars (15,000 Total Cigars)

Release Date: September 2023