The History of Gurkha Cigars: Founder Kaizad Hansotia and the Birth of the Brand

Some cigar brands are built methodically, generation after generation, around a single farm and a single recipe. Gurkha is not one of them. Its story begins with a chance encounter, moves through a risky business bet, and arrives, thirty years later, at the title of the most expensive cigar ever made. It may be the most unusual founding story in the entire premium cigar industry.

Where the Name “Gurkha” Comes From

Before it was a brand, “Gurkha” was the name of a people of warriors from Nepal, known for their legendary courage and for the khukuri, their distinctive curved blade. In the 19th century, during the British colonial era, Gurkha regiments earned an enormous reputation within the British army — so respected that British soldiers borrowed the name for the cigars they smoked alongside them or brought home as souvenirs. Ever since, the name has carried an association with rare quality and bravery — exactly the image a young entrepreneur would exploit, a century later, thousands of kilometers away.

The Box Found in Goa

The modern story of the brand begins in 1989, when Kaizad Hansotia, an American businessman of Indian descent, was on vacation in Goa. Hansotia worked at the time in the luxury watch trade and had no connection to the cigar industry. At a local market, he came across a box of old, nearly forgotten cigars carrying the name “Gurkha.” According to trade press accounts, the price asked for the rights to the dormant brand was somewhere between $143 and $149 — a modest sum for what would later become a business worth tens of millions.

Hansotia’s original intention was simple: he wanted to give these cigars as small gifts to his watch-business clients. He had no idea that impulsive purchase would completely change the course of his career.

A Small Office, Two Employees, and an Order That Changed Everything

The company started at a tiny scale. The first — and only — two employees were Kaizad Hansotia and his wife, Katya, working out of a modest office borrowed from the family business. Kaizad sent one of the first boxes to a friend who owned a duty-free shop. That shop’s customers reacted unexpectedly strongly: the cigars sold quickly, and demand kept growing.

Seeing this interest, Hansotia understood he had a real opportunity in front of him and began seeking out established manufacturers to help turn the recovered brand into a serious product. The first major name he approached was Charlie Torano, and the Torano company was the one that rolled the first Gurkha cigars brought to market under the new ownership.

The Birth of the “Ultra-Premium” Category

Once the business took shape, Hansotia spotted an untapped space in the market: not the ordinary premium segment, but an even more exclusive one, aimed at smokers willing to pay for rarity, exceptionally long-aged tobaccos, and elaborate, almost ceremonial packaging. He essentially built, by hand, the industry’s “ultra-premium” category — a segment where a single box’s price could far exceed anything previously seen on cigar shop shelves.

His marketing philosophy was as bold as the products themselves: opulent packaging, regal or exotic names, strictly limited quantities, and a positioning Hansotia himself summed up in a single phrase that became famous across the industry — he called Gurkha the “Rolls Royce of cigars.”

His Majesty’s Reserve: The Million-Dollar Cigar

Nothing illustrates the Gurkha philosophy better than His Majesty’s Reserve (HMR), the cigar once considered the most expensive ever produced. A box of His Majesty’s Reserve has been listed at prices ranging, depending on the edition, from roughly $15,000 to $25,000 — working out to around $2,000 per individual cigar.

The recipe matches the price tag: a Connecticut Maduro wrapper aged 15 years, a Dominican binder and filler aged 12 years, and the entire annual production — limited to fewer than 75 boxes — infused with an entire bottle of Louis XIII cognac per box. It’s the kind of product designed not necessarily to be the “best cigar in the world” in a technical sense, but to be the industry’s most spectacular collector’s item.

Controversy and Extravagance, in Equal Measure

A brand built on superlatives inevitably attracts criticism too. His Majesty’s Reserve has been described in the trade press as “the most controversial” cigar in the world, and some well-known industry reviewers have questioned whether the extreme price is justified by the smoking experience itself, beyond the rarity of the materials and the marketing story.

Another recurring criticism concerns how often Gurkha releases “limited” editions — so frequently, some observers say, that the “limited” label starts to lose its meaning. For Hansotia, though, this always seemed to be a deliberate part of the game: the extravagance isn’t an accident — it is the brand’s strategy.

Gurkha Today

From a two-person office, Gurkha grew into one of the world’s best-known ultra-premium cigar companies, with a vast portfolio of collections — from accessible lines aimed at newcomers to the brand, to rare editions such as His Majesty’s Reserve or Cellar Reserve. Hansotia has since stepped back from the CEO role, but he remains permanently associated with reinventing the luxury segment of the cigar industry.

More than thirty years after that vacation in Goa, the legacy remains the same: the idea that a cigar can be, at once, a refined agricultural product and a spectacular luxury object — and that, sometimes, the biggest businesses start with a forgotten box in a marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions About Gurkha Cigars

Who founded Gurkha Cigars?

The modern brand was relaunched by Kaizad Hansotia, an American entrepreneur of Indian descent, who acquired the rights to the “Gurkha” name in 1989.

Why is the brand called “Gurkha”?

The name comes from the Gurkha soldiers of Nepal, known for their courage within the British army during the colonial era; British troops borrowed the name for cigars associated with that period.

How much did the Gurkha brand originally cost?

According to trade press accounts, Hansotia acquired the rights to the dormant brand for roughly $143–$149, at a market in Goa, India.

What is His Majesty’s Reserve?

It is the most expensive cigar in the Gurkha portfolio, featuring a Connecticut Maduro wrapper aged 15 years, infused with Louis XIII cognac, produced in limited editions of fewer than 75 boxes per year.

Why is Gurkha called the “Rolls Royce of cigars”?

It’s a phrase used by founder Kaizad Hansotia himself to describe the brand’s extreme luxury positioning — elaborate packaging, rare tobaccos, and prices to match.

Is Gurkha available at Mister Tabaco?

Yes. Explore the Gurkha collections available at Mister Tabaco and discover our dedicated series on the brand, with detailed comparisons between the Ghost, Cellar Reserve, Bourbon, Dragon, HMR and other lines.

Mister Tabaco

At Mister Tabaco you’ll find a selection of Gurkha cigars, from accessible collections to rarer, long-aged editions. Explore our dedicated series on the brand to compare collections and choose the right blend for you.