Paul Garmirian Ships PG Gourmet Series 35th Anniversary

Paul Garmirian’s latest anniversary release is on its way to stores.

The Paul Garmirian PG Gourmet Series 35th Anniversary is a two-vitola, regular production line composed of an Ecuadorian habano wrapper covering a binder and filler blend of tobaccos grown in the Dominican Republic. The cigars are made at the Occidental Cigar Factory in the Dominican Republic.

There are two vitolas, both packaged in 25-count boxes:

• 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)

As the name of the cigars suggests, the new line commemorates the 35th anniversary of Garmirian’s Gourmet Series, which debuted in 1990. Garmirian created the Gourmet Series in an attempt to replicate the Cuban cigars he smoked in the late 1950s.

“In 1990, I set out to create the best version of both Cuban and Dominican qualities,” said 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, the person, is also the owner of McLean Cigars PG Boutique, a store in McLean, Va. In 1990, he published his book, “Gourmet Guide To Cigars,” and launched the first line of PG Cigars later that year, first as an exclusive to his shop before a national release in 1991.

Boxes of both vitolas started shipping to retailers earlier this week.