Paul Garmirian 15th Anniversary Belicoso Extra Review

[Ratters]

Cigar: Paul Garmirian 15th Anniversary "Gourmet Series"
Filler: Aged Dominican
Binder: Aged Dominican
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Colorado
Vitola: Belicoso Extra: 6 3/4x52



Price: Gifted by skullnose from the clubstogie forum. Wow, pricey when I looked them up at retail of $375 a box of 25.

Setting: Sun room, 4:00pm, about 65 degrees out. Paired with a Barq's.

Pre-light: Construction seems pretty impressive. Nice solid but springy feel with no soft spots. Bands are on nice and loose and slide off easily. Medium brown colorado wrapper with some medium to large size veins. Cut easily with the Palio near the bottom of the cap. Draw is nice with just the right amount of resistance. Pre-light taste reminds me of grape nuts.



First third: Cigar lit up nicely. Medium amount of smoke off the bat and a tad bland in flavor. The P.G. website had me expect a spicey flavor bomb but it's not here yet. But I'm less than an inch in. Flavor reminds me of an A.F. Hemmingway Short Story. Burn is a bit wavy and the ash a bit flakey. Ash dropped about 3/4" in. We'll see if things even out.



Second third: Smoke production is really starting to kick it up a notch. So is the flavor. Still just kinda getting that strong woody Dominican flavor with only a little tickle of spice on the tongue. Burn evened out but at an angle. But it's smoking well so I haven't bothered touching it up.



Final third: Spice has really picked up. Burn still a bit wavy but nothing out of hand. Cigar is starting to get into the medium-full range. Flavor is still very woody but much more flavorful and complex than the first half of the cigar. This is definitely the best part.

Final thoughts: This is a very nice cigar that's just not my style. But if you love high end Fuentes, you should definitely check this out. Very well made, never went out on this slow smoker, burn was a tad wavy but never needed tending to. Definitely got stronger and better toward the end, but there's something in Dominican tobacco that doesn't agree with my taste buds. But I'm also one of those freaks that dislikes Cuban cigars too, so take my review with a grain of salt. Just want to give a heart felt thanks to skullnose for letting me try this cigar. And thanks a bunch for the additional one you sent along, it's one of my favorites.

Smoke again: Probably not, just not my taste.
Buy again: Well, this was a very extravagant gift, but there are many much cheaper cigars I perfer.
Recommend: To my buddies who smoke Fuentes and love them, I'd give this a hearty reccommendation. Actually better tasting to me than the last Opus I had.