Often, when we talk about Paul Garmirian cigars, someone will say, “If you know, you know.” And it remains one of the most coveted Hidden Gem brands in the industry to this day. Having received a 25th Anniversary Connoisseur a couple weeks ago in this month’s Small Batch Cigar of the Month Club, I figured we would shed some light on this beauty today.
From the get-go, my first impression is of aged tobacco. That’s to be expected, but it’s always such a welcome sensation from Paul Garmirian. My subsequent puffs are of peppercorn, French bread, hints of vanilla, and finished leather. The vanilla notes really accent the aged tobacco impressions, lending this cigar a pleasant background that reminds me of old books.
Any time I do a bit of research into a PG Cigar, I come away with my mind blown. Let’s take a look at what I just found on the 25th Anniversary:
“Celebrating 25 years (1990-2015) 25,000 Connoisseur were made in 2015 packed in 1250 boxes. The cigar transitions effortlessly, many have called it, “A Masterpiece” A beautiful dark and oily Oscuro Maduro wrapper, four complex fillers and a Dominican barrel aged binder produce a rich, complex and balanced smoke that is sure to impress the most discriminating aficionados. The strength is medium to full body, but full in flavor. 150 boxes of Short Robusto were released in November 2016.”
Moving into the second third, rich notes of toffee, espresso, dark chocolate swirl around a creamy base. If you’ve been reading our Cigar of the Weeks this year, you know that I’m a sucker for Affogato-like cigars and the Paul Garmirian’s 25th Anniversary is just that after dropping the ash.
It’s hard to express how complex and harmonious this cigar is. Each tasting note is perfectly balanced, layering flavor upon flavor masterfully. As the ash builds back, tasting notes from the beginning come back for an encore and meld into the darker notes with ease.
I think I’ll take my leave now and enjoy the rest of this fine cigar in solitude. If you’ve also smoked one of these, please drop us a comment below with your thoughts!
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