Paul Garmirian PG Gourmet Series 35th Anniversary Super Robusto

There are many different types of cigar companies that we write about, but only a few seem to really march to the beat of their own drum, eschewing trends, fads and, quite frankly, even most of the activities their competitors would consider necessary for the commercial success of a cigar business.

Paul Garmirian’s eponymous cigar company is one of them.

While the company used to make an annual appearance at what was then known as the IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, it’s been years since I’ve seen the company with a trade show booth. I gather there’s not much done in the way of consumer events either, nor is there seemingly much marketing—paid or otherwise—and even the @pgcigars account on Instagram is actually for a different company. The cigars sell themselves. I think they sort of have to.

One other thing that most cigar companies rely on that Paul Garmirian does not is a steady stream of new products. That said, there is a consistent stream of new products. Every five years, when the company celebrates a major anniversary, it is likely to put out a new line celebrating that accomplishment.

For its 35th anniversary, that new line arrived last month. The Paul Garmirian PG Gourmet Series 35th Anniversary uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper over a blend of Dominican tobaccos. The cigars are made at O.K. Cigars in the Dominican Republic, the Davidoff-owned factory best known for making AVO. Garmirian’s cigars were long made at the Occidental Cigar Factory, which was located next to O.K. Cigars and the Cigars Davidoff factory, all part of a larger Tabadom campus. A few years ago—maybe longer—Davidoff shut down the Occidental building and moved that production into O.K. Cigars.

“In 1990, I set out to create the best version of both Cuban and Dominican qualities,” said Dr. Paul Garmirian, the company’s founder, in a statement sent to retailers. “The 35th blend is so smooth that it makes you think that it is either the mildest strong cigar or the strongest mild cigar we’ve ever made.”

Garmirian said he wanted to replicate the Cuban cigars that he smoked in the late 1950s. Furthermore, the company says that it had 135 people test smoke the blend prior to its release.

It’s offered in two vitolas:

• Paul Garmirian PG Gourmet Series 35th Anniversary Connoisseur (6 x 52) — $24 (Box of 25, $600)
• Paul Garmirian PG Gourmet Series 35th Anniversary Super Robusto (5 x 54) — $22 (Box of 25, $550)

While Garmirian is not as well-known as many other brand owners, his time in the cigar business has been a rich one. He’s also the owner of McLean Cigars PG Boutique, a retail store in McLean, Va. In 1990, he published the “Gourmet Guide To Cigars,” which came out just before his PG Cigars. He’s also had collaborations with S.T. Dupont, well before that became en vogue, and he is responsible for the greatest cigar cutter I’ve ever gotten to use.

• Cigar Reviewed: Paul Garmirian PG Gourmet Series 35th Anniversary Super Robusto
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: O.K. Cigars
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $22 (Box of 25, $550)
• Release Date: October 2025
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review:

Compared to the company’s core line, the Gourmet Series, these cigars look somewhat darker, though I’d say it’s a pretty standard color for a cigar. There’s some visible oil, but way more veins, though I like the overall look and the proportions of the cigars. The aromas from the first two cigars’ wrappers are pretty similar: medium-full with a vinegar-like smell leading earth, wood and some paste-like smells. The third cigar has almost no vinegar, creating a much smoother, albeit medium-plus experience. The aromas from the feet are also similar: they mostly smell like a room of sweating tobacco with dashes of wood, milk chocolate, vinegar and salt added; each cigar is medium-full. Cold draws vary a bit, though the first two cigars have an abnormally dense flavor profile. The first cigar tastes like wood, accented by acidity, sweetness and spice; towards the end, it tastes like cinnamon candy. The second cigar has a milk chocolate flavor that edges out the woodiness, though the rest of the flavors are similar, save for some added salt at the end. The third cigar differs in that the draw is abnormally open and the flavors are more muted with granola leading plain white rice, woodiness and a touch of chocolate. All three cold draws are medium-full in intensity.

The first puffs of the first two Paul Garmirian PG Gourmet Series 35th Anniversary Super Robustos—mimicking my notes on their cold draws—start similarly: very Davidoff-like. There’s a sweet woodiness that is accented by saltiness, bread flavors, dense earth, white pepper, green olives and some sweetness. The third cigar starts much more hollow; it’s still woody with some sweetness, but I can’t get many secondary notes. Unfortunately, I’m also immediately concerned about the construction. The first cigar isn’t delivering much smoke to the mouth and both the first and second cigars aren’t developing an ash in a normal manner. It’s quite white and a bit static. While the draws on the first two cigars are pretty good, the third cigar’s draw is quite open. Flavor-wise, each cigar is led by woodiness—the first two cigars have more layers and complexity—over saltiness, sweetness and pepper. It’s tough to draw many consistent, unique flavors: it tastes like aged tobacco and wood, but there are times in which there’s more creaminess, a sharper horseradish-like burn, or even some meatiness. The first two cigars get shaper during the finish with the pepper and horseradish overpowering the woodiness and cinnamon, while the third cigar is off on its own path, turning more earthy with dry terroir joining some creaminess and oak. Retrohales are saltier, which brings out flavors like nuttiness and potato chips to join the wood and bread, though there are minor touches of sweetness, sharpness and some herbs. The finish is a lot sharper with the horseradish sensation joining dry grass and dry earth. Flavor is medium-full to full, body ranges from medium-plus to full, and strength is medium-plus to medium-full. Oddly, there’s not much correlation; for example, the third cigar has the most intense flavor but the thinnest body. Construction isn’t good. The first two cigars need a combined three touch-ups, all to help with wildly uneven burn lines. The third cigar’s burn line isn’t much better, but unlike the other two, there’s never a point when I see part of the burn line stop burning. Unfortunately, that cigar’s draw is quite loose, something that is not an issue on the other two cigars.

While the first and second cigars had been the most similar, that changes in the second third. The first and third Paul Garmirian PG Gourmet Series 35th Anniversary Super Robustos are getting sharper. That sharpness is the largest change, but it’s not attached to a specific flavor; rather, it’s an isolated burning sensation. Other flavors remain similar—dry peanuts, bread, creaminess, minerals, salt—though I find the overall profile less distinct than the first third. The finish sees an uptick in acidity and barnyard, though on the third cigar, there’s a lot of whiskey flavors, including toastiness, sweetness, a barrel flavor and some of the burn. While the flavor in the mouth isn’t any more impressive than the first third, the retrohales have really leveled up. It’s a thicker and more complex profile with so many parts of the flavor wheel getting activated: peanuts, sandalwood, salt water, sugar sweetness, oak, leather and barnyard. When the finish starts, some metallic aspects emerge—especially on the side of the tongue—though there’s also lots of aged tobacco flavors, toastiness and some caramel sweetness. Flavor is full, body is medium-plus and strength ranges from medium-plus to medium-full. All three cigars need at least one touch-up in this section, though it’s now the third cigar that is having the most issues, requiring touch-ups for both combustion and an uneven burn.

If you believe in the narrative that cigars should end stronger than they finish, the Paul Garmirian PG Gourmet Series 35th Anniversary Super Robusto is here for you. Both the flavor intensity and the nicotine strength are slightly but noticeably stronger than they were an inch ago. Quite frankly, the cigar tastes like an amped-up AVO Classic, which makes a lot of sense. There are dry crackers, dry earth, oak, hay, white pepper and varying amounts of toastiness. The sharpness that defined the second third has tucked back into the rest of the profile. With an inch left, there’s an uptick in creaminess. The finish of the second cigar has gotten very interesting: a mezcal-like toasty burn, pinecones, Thousand Island dressing and some dry minerals. Unfortunately, the first and third cigars don’t have any of that magic, instead, they just add some black and white pepper to what was already there. Retrohaes see the flavors rush to the top of my nose, but they oddly stall. There’s nuttiness, some plum sweetness, woods and some sharpness. Repeated retrohales repeat this experience; it’s like someone cut the scene about 15 seconds short. Flavor is full, body is medium-plus and strength is medium-full, getting close to full. There’s some minor good news on construction: the first cigar avoids any need for touch-ups. Unfortunately, the uneven burn lines continue to cause issues for the second and third cigars, as is the overly loose draw on the third cigar.

Final Notes

• This is one of just a handful of Paul Garmirian cigars that are thicker than 52-ring gauge. There are a couple of other 54-ring gauge cigars and a 57-ring gauge, albeit that cigar is a salomónes. In short, this company is not doing big ring gauge cigars.
• I don’t put too much stock into cigar companies saying they want to make cigars that taste like Cuban cigars. I wasn’t alive in the 1950s, so I don’t know what Cuban cigars of that era tasted like.
• One of these days, a cigar company is going to talk about making broadleaf-wrapped cigars like how they tasted in 2010. I will be here for that.
• While the flavor profile had times when there was clear room for improvement, I’d be okay with just fixing the combustion issues and calling it a day. For the most part, the flavor profile is at least good. Sometimes it’s great, other times it’s awesome.
• I found all three cigars to be quite firm with some hard spots throughout the top half of the cigar, including in the top two inches of the cigars.
• These cigars had some ugly ash. Each cigar’s burn line went awry seemingly every inch and the appearance of the ash was not pretty, far from the look of a stack of dimes that some of the prettiest-looking ash can appear like.
• It was three weeks between when the cigars arrived at the office and when I smoked them. That’s about a week less than what I aim for, but I don’t think that’s the explanation for the construction issues. I have years’ worth of experience smoking prerelease cigars, many times with just a few days of rest. There’s no correlation, let alone causation, between the two.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• Paul Garmirian lists these cigars as 5 x 54 robusto extras. Above are the measurements I found for the three cigars smoked for this review. I’m not surprised to see that the third cigar—the one with the loose draw—was lighter than the other two.
• These cigars took a long time to burn through, nearly two hours and 40 minutes for the second cigar, though just two hours and 15 minutes for the third cigar.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.