As you will be well aware, there are plenty of interesting characters in the cigar business. Alongside the traditional tobacco families, there are for instance musicians such as Avo Uvezian, who gave his name to the internationally successful AVO brand, or actors such as George Hamilton and Burt Reynolds, who for at least a number of years had cigars manufactured bearing their names, as well as sportsmen such as the NFL champion Mike Ditka, whose name was used for a Graycliff cigar series, and lawyers such as the founder of Indian Tabac, Rocky Patel. Another cigar man already well known in the USA is the doctor Garo Bouldoukian, who is planning to extend his boutique cigar operations to Europe.

 

by Reinhold C. Widmayer

With a total production of less than 200,000 cigars per annum, his brand is the perfect example of a boutique cigar. "Garo Habano" is the name he gives to his creations, marketed as a one-man show through selected dealers since 1996. And like many another manufacturers, he was initially only interested in creating cigars according to his own taste and for his own enjoyment. "I grew up in Cyprus, and spent many years on the continent of Europe. One naturally gets used to the taste of Cuban tobacco," states Garo, full of praise for Havanas. "I have been smoking cigars ever since I can remember. Wherever I’ve lived, wherever I’ve travelled, my first call has always been the best tobacco store to buy a few Havana cigars."

Garo was born in Lebanon ("my family name is of course almost unpronounceable for many people") and has lived in Los Angeles since 1978, where he still pursues the profession of chiropractor. He was a late vocation medical student. He first began studying in St. Petersburg, Russia, but then decided to move to the Dominican Republic with a few friends, graduating as Doctor of General Medicine in 1988. "It was also there that I first had the idea of producing cigars myself," he recalls. "Before I returned to the USA, some cigar-manufacturing friends of mine had asked me to market a few of their brands there. However, not being a gifted agent, I suggested that I should find someone suitable. In return, I was allowed to experiment with tobacco mixtures in their factory – the Cuevas y Hermanos plant, where cigars are rolled for companies like Peterson – where I was able to pursue my ideal of the perfect cigar." It was in this way that Garo began to realise his second life’s ambition: "I love my profession as chiropractor, but cigars are my true passion."

Garo’s search for a suitable brand name was just as meticulous as his search for the perfect blend. He finally selected the lily, known as the fleur-de-lis, raised by Louis VII to the symbol of the French royal family roughly 900 years ago. He contracted the designer Dicran Kassouny for the graphic implementation of the logo and his web site (www.garohabano.com). His cigar bands are a visual promise of what the cigar is to offer. Garo’s first cigar creations, brought together in the "Blue Label" line in 1996, were still rather mild. "It was the type of cigar that you allow yourself at the start of the day to accompany a coffee." Dominican Piloto Cubano tobacco under the velvety Connecticut shaded wrapper with an Olor leaf binder from the Dominican Republic. Nevertheless – or precisely for this reason? – the newcomer was overwhelmed with hymns of praise in the relevant publications. Smoke, the Smokeshop Magazine, the Robb Report, Wine & Dine and Milton encour-aged him to make further creations. The colour green appeared on the band with the "Garo Verde", and in 1998 he launched the "Garo Maduro" on the market. For these, the doctor of medicine turned to Indonesian and Brazilian wrappers, and the cigars became more aromatic and a little stronger. Three years ago, the busy cigar doctor extended his range with the addition of the "Millennium" series, using a Habana 2000 wrapper, and the "Classique" series with a Rosada wrapper and a filler mixture composed of Piloto Cubano and Costa Rican tobacco.

Most recently, Garo seems to have dedicated himself to Figurados. His "Nouveau" series created in 2001 consists of one Torpedo and three Perfectos, and is marked by another special feature: the tobaccos are fermented under the influence of alcoholic essences. "They are not flavoured cigars in the conventional sense," is Garo’s immediate defence, "you can only guess the fragrances. The focus is absolutely on the tobacco." The names of the four Nouveau Vitolas derive from his love of music. The Perfectos, with the lilting names of "Blues" (Chardonnay note), "Jazz" (Merlot note) and "Flamenco" (Champaign note), consist of fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, a Nicaraguan binder and a Cameroon wrapper, while the "Salsa" Torpedo (beer note) has a Nicaragua Habano wrapper.
The most recent series is a homage to the industrious readers in the cigar factories and is called "Los Lectores". The three formats with the simple names "C", "T" and "R" have wonderfully tanned Nicaragua wrappers and are masterpieces from the Reyes factory in Santiago. "All my cigar creations are like my children. I try to remain true to my line, my idea. As a boutique brand, I must find my niches and set myself apart from the competition," is how the ever-cheerful doctor explains his strategy. "It is for this reason that I choose my partners carefully, and prefer to grow slowly." Despite the modest size of his business, he has ambitious objectives: "If I ever create a new line, it will certainly be with Nicaraguan tobaccos. And sometime or other I will also risk the plunge into Europe, where I grew up and learned to love cigars. Enquiries are welcome at any time!"
In Europe, Garo Bouldoukian's cigars will only be found under the trademark Garo, without the addition of "Habano". This is to avoid any litigation with Habanos S.A.

 

European Cigar Cult Jurnal