Gurkha

The name is older than the present brand: as far back as the nineteenth century, British colonial soldiers are said to have called their cigars “Gurkha” — a tribute to the Nepalese elite fighters with their curved Khukuri knives; several cigar brands of this name came and went. The modern story begins in 1989 with an anecdote the house itself enjoys telling: entrepreneur Kaizad Hansotia, then travelling on his family’s watch business, acquired the rights to the dormant marca during a trip to Goa — for a symbolic sum, originally to use the cigars as corporate gifts.

From 1995 Hansotia sold in the USA, at first through personal networks, later with production partners in Honduras and other manufactories in Central America and the Caribbean. Gurkha does not have a home factory in the classical sense — the brand works with various producers and sees itself primarily as a curator of its blends.

Stylistically, Gurkha favours opulence: elaborate boxes, staggered maturation levels, limited editions. Well-known series include the Cellar Reserve range with tobaccos aged for varying periods, the Ghost series and the Royal Challenge. The portfolio is among the broadest in the industry — from accessible everyday formats to prestige editions that make headlines chiefly as collector’s pieces. Any assessment therefore requires line-by-line judgement: under the name Gurkha there exist very different cigars.