Paul Garmirian is most known for bringing us the Gourmet Guide to Cigars almost three decades ago. Since then, he’s been working with Hendrik Kelner and Eladio Diaz to produce some of the cigar world’s most quintessential gourmet experiences. The Paul Garmirian 25th Anniversary is a limited edition cigar designed to celebrate 25 years of small batch cigars.
Wrapper: Undisclosed
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed
Vitola: Short Robusto (4 ½ x 52)
Factory: Tabacos Dominicanos
Production: Limited Edition
Purchase Link: PG 25th Anniversary
PG 25th Anniversary Review from Oregon
Summary: This short, stocky Robusto was a dark chocolate brown and appeared really well constructed. The draw was medium loose and I was really digging the cold draw...chocolate cherry cake. It mimicked Texas Sheet cake without the sweetness. The main flavors initially were dark fruits, cocoa powder and some dank earth notes. I also got just a hint of lemon zest on the finish along with spicy pepper. Other flavors that drifted in and out of the profile included leather, bitter coffee and some dark cherry near the end. I applied one burn correction and the charline was really sharp all the way through. Also, off and on I got some really strong hickory barbecue scents from the smoke, like a KFC stick.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: If you like this stick then you probably like hiking in a dark forest on a rainy day. It had a real quality, down to earth feel to it.
Pairing Suggestion: I’d recommend pairing this with a Bourbon Barrel Stout or something spicy like Angels Envy Finished Rye. I feel like anything weak would be drowned out.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: I’d go for the box on this baby. Everyone needs a supply of hearty, chewy, robust cigars in the humidor.
PG 25th Anniversary Review from Wisconsin
Summary: My first thought seeing this cigar was: this wrapper won't be winning any beauty contests. We'll call it 'rustic', perhaps 'rugged'. But this ain't no beauty contest, so let's fire it up!
I was met with a lot of different flavors throughout this cigar. The quick version is: it's full-flavored, and manages to have a lot of complexity. It kept a bready, woody core throughout, and almost always had a finish filled with pepper and baking spices. But it also cycled through all of these notes: wood, pepper, spice, bread, oak, hay, dark chocolate, walnut, caramel, anise, clove, leather, coffee, and cinnamon.
The flavors mixed it up frequently; I found each puff interesting. At one point, the recipe for this cigar's flavors would have looked something like this: take a croissant, add some chocolate, sprinkle liberally with pepper, dust lightly with chili powder.
The draw was a little more open than I prefer, but didn't impact the experience much. The burn line wasn't completely straight, but never needed touch-ups. The ash just kept hanging on, and the smoke output was above average.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: With apologies to the Pina Colada song...
If you like Liga Privada
And smoke Tatuaje
If you want your smokes stronger
Smoke this cigar, it is great
Pairing Suggestion: Bourbon would be an excellent pairing.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Box on this one.
PG 25th Anniversary Review from California
Summary: Grape jelly on the cold draw. Lighting up and I'm getting wood and grape skins. This cigar is straight up musky. Burn is starting to get wavy so I'm going to touch it up earlier rather than later.
Anyone remember having to eat an entire apple in sixth grade camp? Kinda tastes like an apple core (not to be confused with albacore).
Into the second third and nothing has changed. About halfway now and I'm starting to get some caramel, which is very much welcomed.
The grape has transitioned to some CAP'N CRUNCH'S CRUNCH BERRIES, a cereal I haven't had in probably 15 years.
Final third gets a little nutty but the bitterness has remained constant throughout.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: If you like this you probably like digging through the attic for Christmas lights.
Pairing Suggestion: Pair this with an extra-strong Mai Tai.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: I'd buy a single and see if it improves with age.
Participants in this blind review were completely unaware of the cigar they were evaluating until all submissions were received and processed. Each participant was asked to answer a summary paragraph, an if/than statement, a pairing suggestion, and a purchase suggestion. Cigars were provided by Small Batch with only the expectations of candid responses. All pictures, information, and formatting were completed by a Coordinator outside of the reviewing process.
Leave your comment