Cigar Review: Paul Garmirian Petit Bouquet ’91
22 May 2012
Buying cigars with serious age can be difficult. Fortunately for me, I live near the McLean Cigars PG Boutique, home base of Paul Garmirian Cigars, a company that takes seriously their commitment never to rush cigars to market.
And while all of their cigars are aged for years before they are sold, at their shop they have an even more special collection of cigars that have been aged for well over a decade, including many from the first years of PG Cigars, which was founded in 1991.
On my last trip to McLean, I selected a four-pack of Petit Bouquet-sized PG’s from the original PG release in 1991. The four -pack slide box ran me $44, or $11 each, a lot for a short cigar (4.5 x 38) were it not for the over two decades of age on these Connecticut-wrapped Dominicans.
To get some details on the cigar, I emailed Kevork Garmirian of PG and also asked him for more details about PG’s aging process and philosophy “So many wonderful things can happen to cigars as they rest,” he told me. “It’s good to know when a particular filler or wrapper was grown, but what’s even more interesting is the balance with other tobaccos, their age, and how long it has been since the cigar was rolled.”
“We get a lot of compliments on our PGs and I think that has a lot to do with our ‘staggered’ ordering and aging process,” he continued. “We order cigars about 3 years in advance. With the exception of our Limited Edition that we’ll release in a few months, the cigars that I receive in 2012 will age in our U.S. warehouse for a 2015 release.”
Despite over 20 years of age (Kevork tells me the tobacco is from the late 80s) the little Petit Bouquet shows some rich flavors. Cedar is dominant, but there’s also hints of honey, hay, oak, cereal, and clove-like spice. It’s perfectly balanced and mild- to medium-bodied.
One word of advice: Be careful removing the cellophane, as years of oils have nearly fused the cigar to the protective plastic wrapper on some of the samples I smoked. So long as I successfully removed the cigar from its wrapper, I found construction to be flawless.
Ultimately, the Petit Bouquet isn’t my favorite PG cigar (my preferred profile is more full-bodied, like the 15th Anniversary), or even my favorite aged PG (the larger Belicoso Fino, also from 1991, has more depth) but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an enjoyable smoke and a great experience. I’d even say that for providing almost a full hour of enjoyment, the cigar is a good value at $11. Depth of flavor, value, flawless construction, and a unique experience earn this 21-year-old Paul Garmirian Petit Bouquet a rating of four stogies out of five.
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I've had a chance to try this cigar (or something very close to it) and also found it to be well worth the money. One thing I definitely miss about living in Virginia is being close to that PG Boutique shop so I can swing by and pick up some super-aged smokes. Those that currently live near McClean need to get over there…It's well worth the trip and money!
I once tried to order the PG Symphony for a good friend of mine from their shop. This cigar runs about $20 and I was ready and willing to pay whatever shipping and handling it took to get me one of these for my friend.
Unfortunately, they stood firm and would only send me some of these cigars if I bought 5 of them. Now I am just a man of very modest means evidenced by me only wanting one for my friend and none for myself, but coughing up $100 plus s&h was just too much.
I never got a good explanation as to why they couldnt charge me and send one off other than, "we will only do that if you buy 5." I'm not trying to be critical, or attacking, but just sharing a somewhat odd experience.
mighty-
The Symphony 20 is a very nice smoke.
It's a shame you couldn't easily order more but I would venture to guess that part of the reason is that PG doesn't want to undercut it's authorized retailers. Owning a brand and also a shop is tricky, as often times retailers get mad if they feel that the brand's home shop is cutting into their business.
You might take a look at their list of authorized retailers: http://www.pgcigars.com/main_dealers.html
If one isn't near you, you might look at some of the ones that have websites to see if they will sell you a single.
thanks Patrick, I will look into it!
Mighty –
If you have no luck with the dealers and still one a single Symphony 20, send me an email at georgee.stogieguys(at)hotmail.com and I'll see if I can help you out.
Boy living in VA has it's perks! Buying inexpensive cigars in New York has become a really difficult thing to do. Luckily I've found a store that sells hand rolled's on 33rd St. that is very inexpensive.
Chris S-
I assume you are speaking of La Rosa Cubana: http://www.stogieguys.com/2006/05/stogie-commenta…
As a New Yorker (now in exile in Virginia) I very much like that place. It's a gem in the middle of the busy city and the cigars are pretty good too!
Nice review on the PG's 🙂 I'm a fan of them as well.