Stogie Reviews: Paul Garmirian Gourmet Epicure

As you might have seen in last week’s Cigar Insider, the fine folks of PG Cigars are traditionalists who make significant sacrifices to create cigars that look, taste, and feel like pre-Castro Cubans. Dr. Paul Garmirian and his son Kevork have honed an important strategy: set aside gimmickries to focus on providing top-notch products for the most discriminating of cigar enthusiasts.

Their efforts often result in cigars that are dissimilar to many of today’s most popular blends. The Epicure size from PG’s original Gourmet Series, which debuted in 1990 at Georgetown Tobacco, is no exception.

The blend features a Colorado shade Connecticut wrapper that’s grown in Ecuador and a binder and filler from the Dominican Republic. It has a dry, leathery look and a faint prelight aroma of cedar and earth. Handmade in Santiago, the Gourmet Series is known for its spice and balance.

We didn’t find a ton of spice but, not unlike most PG creations, the five and a half inch by 50 ring gauge Epicure is big on balance. It starts with a clean vegetal taste and then quickly moves into a mild, complex array of oak and cedar.

Like a Davidoff Grand Cru, this series’ subtleties are best uncovered if you occasionally smoke through the nose. Doing so will give you access to all the warm fruit and dry red wine notes that are otherwise too muted to appreciate. For this same reason, if you’re on a steady diet of powerhouse Nicaraguans the Gourmet Series Epicure is probably not up your alley. It’s the sort of stick that pairs better with a nice red burgundy than a strong cocktail of rum or whiskey.

We are happy to report the physical properties are as good as you’d expect for a cigar that sells for $9.50. The burn is surgically straight and the ash is well-layered and sturdy. Fans of Graycliffs will be pleased with the easy draw despite the cigar’s firm touch.

This mild creation’s many wonderful traits won’t hit you over the head; they will, however, reward those who pay close attention. For its delicate deliciousness, we give the Paul Garmirian Gourmet Series Epicure four stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick A & Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys