M Ali Haroen
If talking about kretek cigarette or clove cigarette, one of the most popular is Gudang Garam Merah produce by PT. GUDANG GARAM Tbk. of Kediri, Indonesia.
Gudang Garam Merah (Indonesian ‘merah’ is ‘red’ in English) is hand-rolled non-filtered clove cigarette, very popular in Indonesia and have big sales volume in Indonesia.
The cigarette blended uses a selected tobacco, clove and sauce, the blend wrapped by cigarette paper (ambri).
To make sure about the quality of products, PT. Gudang Garam Tbk. has they own cigarette paper company that produced a cigarette paper, PT. Surya Zig Zag, that the production facility used France technology of machinery.
This clove cigarette has a distinctive original flavor and taste, this flavor keeping the producers since the first release of this cigarette in 1958, and because of the consistent quality or even better, Gudang Garam Merah gained the Top Brand Award in 2013.
Gudang Garam Merah Review
The cigarette is bold and smooth, to starting smoke this cigarette it did not need any preparation, start light-up the cigarette and it will sound a little bit crackling because of the blend of tobacco and clove.
The first puffing it will taste a warm, fruity, earthy cocoa, and sweet. The smoke comes out from the cigarette have a nice tobacco flavor smell and a complexity of its blend.
After the one-third of burn, the taste of Gudang Garam Merah is more flavor and nice, and this will be consistent until it finish or the burn near the red band of the cigarette.
The good taste is happen not only because of hereditary recipe using to blend of high quality selected tobacco leaves and cloves, but also because of the exact sauce made by the Gudang Garam experienced blender, that has a highly dedication on their job to craving a high taste kretek cigarette.
The cigarette contains of 38 mg tar and 2.2 mg nicotine, packaging with a dominant red color paper pack contain of 12 cigarettes.
Besides selling at the local market, this clove cigarette Gudang Garam Merah also can find in the international market, in Europe and United States, especially at the international tobacconist.
The Producers
PT Gudang Garam Tbk (Indonesian for “salt warehouse”) is an Indonesian cigarette company, best known for its kretek (clove cigarette) products. It is Indonesia’s fifth-largest tobacco manufacturer, with a market share of about 20%.
The company was founded on 26 June 1958 by Tjoa Ing Hwie, who changed his name to Surya Wonowidjojo. In 1984, control of the company was passed to Wonowidjojo’s son, Rachman Halim, who subsequently became the richest man in Indonesia. Halim headed the company until he passed away at the age of 60 in 2008.
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