People who know me and are familiar with my tastes in cigars know that I lean toward full-bodied sticks, but that’s not always the case. I can enjoy a broad spectrum of flavor profiles, but the one area that usually falls flat for me are the dead medium-bodied smokes. I don’t know why that is, but they often lack character, in my opinion, so they’re not very memorable. So when I saw that the East India Trading Company’s Hudson Bay was a medium, I didn’t set my sights too high.
The appearance of the box and band, however, gave me hope. The white box features a nautical theme with a subtle background that looks like an old ship’s ledger. The same theme carries over to the extra-long bands with the name and logo printed vertically. What really caught my eye, though, was the nice dark wrapper. I’ve always enjoyed San Andres Marron wrappers, so that gave me another reason to be hopeful. I cut my 6 x52 torpedo (not my favorite vitola) and toasted it. The aroma was very pleasant, so I lit up.
The first few puffs were surprising in that there wasn’t much in the way of spice. Instead, there was a rich cocoa and coffee flavor with a bit of earthiness and sweetness. I thought about other cigars that had this kind of character, and one in particular came to mind – The original series Padron maduros. The flavor isn’t exactly the same, but there are enough similarities that I knew this would be a very nice cigar. It burned very evenly, and the flavor built nicely as it progressed. I checked our site to see the price and was shocked to see that the two most expensive shapes – the torpedo I was smoking and the 7 x50 Churchill – were only $3.50 apiece when you buy a box of 20. This definitely classifies as a bargain.
It continued to get richer past the halfway point, but it never got sharp or harsh. A little more spice began to show up at this point to make it more interesting. The construction was great all the way to the end – one of the most even burns I’ve encountered recently. Even though this is lighter than my usual fare, there’s enough going on that I really enjoyed this. When I’m on the golf course, I usually avoid my normal ligero-laden cigars as I tend to smoke too fast and I can wind up with a queasy feeling. I think I’ve found my new golf cigar. I’ll be putting five in my Herf-a-Dor and I’ll just sit by the window waiting for the snow to melt so I can puff one while walking down the fairway.
About Russ
I am, like yourself, a full bodied smoker. However, as the summer is approaching, my cocktail choices tend to get lighter (Gin and Tonic, Tom Collins, summer seasonal beers, ect.) and I was curious if this would fit the bill for a flavorful, yet lighter, cigar to pair with those kinds of drinks?
Fritz, Hudson Bay will work great with those drinks. The lighter body will match well with the lighter character of those beverages, and the fact that Hudson Bay is not overly sweet with a more mellow spice profile will contract nicely with the sweeter drinks. Enjoy the summer!
Russ
I have seen these sold as Gurkha’s and now mentioned as East India Trading Company. Whats the deal?
East India Trading Company is a brand owned by K. Hansotia and Co., which is also the company that owns Gurkha. Technically, it’s a different brand than Gurkha, but they’re all the same family.
Russ