Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54 is light brown with a hint of green around the raised and knotty veins. The seams are a bit raised and the caps are decently applied. The band is black, gold and red and denotes the brand. The aroma from the wrapper is cedar and light hay, while the foot brings a nice dose of cedar. The pre-light draw brings cedar, dusty earth and some floral notes.
Seth: The Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54 is not an impressive cigar in appearance. The band looks outdated, and the wrapper is rough in appearance and texture. It has coarse veins throughout which are medium in size. It is not firm in hand, and it has aromas of burnt wood, tobacco, spices and earth. Some cocoa and coffee notes with the earth, but faint. Natural to Colorado in coloring, it has some reddish clay earth qualities.
John: The Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54 comes in cellophane and has a UPC sticker with the cigar information and an integrated tear space to remain intact when opened. The cigar weighed 17.7 grams and the humidity was measured at 65.5% with the HumidiMeter Pro. For aromas from the wrapper, I was getting tobacco, faint wood and sweet hay. Out of the foot, I was picking up light earth, tobacco and hay.

Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with a mellow mix of toasted cedar and light earth. At a half inch in, a light, creamy chalkiness joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted cedar and light earth. As the third comes to a close, the profile is toasted cedar up front, with earth a fair distance behind and then some creamy chalkiness in the background. The strength was mild.
Seth: The first third begins with a cedar and hay profile that has some lemongrass notes present as well. Bits of tobacco and wood are present with a pepper and mineral finish. Medium in strength and body. Dry finish.
John: The first third gets going with creamy tobacco, dry wood and mild spices combining in the center, and dry wood to finish. Chocolate joins the middle of the retrohale out of the gate. A musty tobacco joins the finish about 30 minutes in, and hay not long after. The profile remains stable for the remainder of the third.

Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, a light vegetal note joins the profile. At three quarters of an inch in, the earth picks up a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, light earth and a bit of the creamy chalkiness. At an inch in, the creamy chalkiness gains a light sweetness. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, earth in the middle, with creamy and slightly sweet chalkiness a bit behind and light vegetal note in the background. The strength remained mild.
Seth: The second third continues with those cedar, hay, lemongrass and tobacco flavors. Minerals present on the end. Harsh finish. Medium in strength and body.
John: Musty tobacco leads off the second third, with medium strength spices in the middle and spicy wood to finish. Some mild tannins join the wood finish as the second third settles in. Astringency is detectable on the finish as it approaches the halfway point. In the bottom half, the profile is wood forward with a wood finish.

Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the vegetal note picks up a bit. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, light earth and a bit of the creamy chalkiness. At an inch in, the toast level increases a bit. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar is up front, with earth and the vegetal note in the middle and some creamy, sweet chalkiness a bit behind. The strength bumped up to mild-medium.
Seth: The final third delivers a harsh flavor profile of lemongrass, cedar, hay and tobacco. Mineral and spice notes are present on the finish as well. Still medium in strength and body.
John: Musty wood greets me in the last third, with tobacco following and a sharp wood on the finish. Light plus strength earth joins the post draw as the last third settles in. The wood takes on some bitterness as the cigar progresses towards the halfway point. I find a lot of dryness on the post draw by the time the cigar has hit the mid point, lingering between each puff. Some light plus strength spices join the finish through the bottom half. That wood bitterness moves up to medium strength as the cigar continues, providing a significant distraction.

Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times and the cigar went out once in the second third, requiring a re-light.
Seth: The construction was off throughout. Wavy burn from start to finish.
John: The burn was straight through the first third with an ash that held on over the one inch mark. I found the burn straight through the second third as well. Once the burn reached the last third, it became wavy and eventually required a touch-up to correct.

Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54

Draw

Aaron: The draw was fairly snug throughout, and may have led to the re-light.
Seth: The draw was quite loose from beginning to end.
John: The draw was at most one notch towards the resistant spectrum which puts the cigar in the ideal range between open and resistant for an amazing draw score.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with a mellow mix of toasted cedar and light earth. Some creamy chalkiness joined a bit later. The second third saw a light vegetal note join in. The creamy chalkiness gained a sweetness a bit later. The final third saw the vegetal note increase and the toast level increase as well. The Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54 had an average flavor profile throughout with a very light strength level. I could see this style being by design for people that come to this cigar that aren’t regular smokers. The draw was snug throughout which was a bit of a detriment to my experience and I wonder what a well drawing cigar would provide. All in all, not a cigar I’d come back to, and adding on the price point, definitely a pass.
Seth: The Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54 is quite underwhelming. I hope Mike Tyson is making money off of these and he never reads this, because these are a waste of time. These aren’t underwhelming. They are just bad. The cigars delivered this painful profile that was consistent from beginning to end. The construction was wavy throughout, and I could not wait for this blend to finish. I have yet to smoke Maduro, but I am not looking forward to that release.
John: The Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54, in a word, was disappointing. The first and second thirds were pleasant enough, but I was expecting a more dynamic profile out of a $19.00 cigar with Tyson branding. The last third started out flat and became unbalanced as the wood bitterness increased in strength. The draw was perfect and the burn was almost perfect, with a touch-up required in the last third. We don’t rate cigars on price point, that comes into play for the value calculation. For me, if I had paid $19.00 for this experience in a cigar shop, I’d likely be put off the entire Tyson line. There’s nothing in the flavor delivery that would interest me in returning. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 7 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.25

Cost/Point

$3.62

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

3.68

Cost/Point

$5.16

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.30

Cost/Point

$3.58

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Gurkha Tyson 2.0 Undisputed Habano 6×54