Gurkha is a brand of hand-rolled cigars, known for the manufacture of premium products using unique and artistically-oriented packaging. The company is known as the maker of the His Majesty's Reserve cigar, a limited-production cigar infused with rare cognac, whose price of $15,000 per box makes it the most expensive cigar in the world.
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The Gurkha Cigar Company was founded by Kaizad Hansotia, a man born in India and raised in Hong Kong and London.[1] His family was well established in the field of custom watch design, specializing in the production of luxury timepieces.[1] Late in the 1980s, Hansotia dropped out of Miami Dade College to enter the family business.[1]
While on vacation in Goa, India in 1989, Hansotia met a Portuguese man making and selling cigars. Hansotia decided to buy the man's entire stock and brand name — Gurkha — on the spot so as to have a unique gift to hand out to his customers of the watch company.[1] The price of the entire purchase of the Gurkha name and inventory was just $149.[1]
One box of these early Gurkha cigars was sent to a friend who owned a duty-free shop who was so impressed that he decided that he wanted to obtain more.[1] Hansotia spotted a new business opportunity and was introduced to cigarmaker Charlie Toraño by a mutual friend.[1]
Hansotia later recalled:
"I was looking for a good company to roll my product, a family that not only knew how to grow tobacco but also had an extensive knowledge in the art of manufacturing cigars. The Toraños were the best, and I still consider them the best."[1]
As a newcomer to cigarmaking, Hansotia sought to challenge the staid norms of product packaging which had dominated the cigar industry for generations. "All the manufacturers packaged their product the same way their grandfathers did," Hansotia remembered:
"I wanted my packaging to practically jump off the shelves! You have to hit all the senses; every detail is noticed. I wanted to create a piece of furniture with cigars in it."[1]
Hansotia consciously attempted to create a luxury product, a so-called "boutique brand":
"You have your Ford, Toyota, and GM, who make very good cars that are mass-marketed and sold to the public. You're not going to fight with them — they are too powerful and too big. And then you have a company like ours, which is like Ferrari or Bentley. They only make a small amount to assure the utmost in quality and construction. The person who smokes our cigars wants a luxurious cigar they can smoke on a Friday or Saturday night, or during a very special occasion."[1]
In this vein, Hansotia introduced the Grand Reserve, a cigar infused with vintage cognac, a product which sold for $12 each, a virtually unheard of price at the time.[1] This infusion process was taken to the next level in 1996, when Hansotia paired 18-year-old tobacco with an entire bottle of Louis XIII de Rémy Martin for each box of 20 cigars, naming the new creation His Majesty's Reserve.[1] This extremely limited product retails for $15,000 per box, making it the most expensive cigar ever made.[1]
Gurkha's cigars:[2]
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