PCA 2023: United Cigars

United Cigars came into the 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show with two brand expansions. In a world where the “one and done” limiteds are quite popular, it was nice to see United Cigars focus on two of its brands which will have ongoing regular production releases. One thing United Cigars has done quite well with the cigars it produces and distributes is to provide something for every cigar enthusiast. This year, the brand expansions hit both ends of the spectrum – this includes adding four new sizes to its ultra-premium Red Anchor brand and a new regular production offering to its Firecracker brand with the Black Bomb Firecracker. Both of these brand expansions continue to strengthen United Cigars as an attractive portfolio for many retailers to bring in.

This year, United added a new brand to its portfolio called Red Anchor. It was a dormant brand that was recently acquired by United Cigar. The history of this brand can be traced back to 1772. In bringing back Red Anchor, United Cigars is partnering with Hendrick Kelner Jr and the KBF (Kelner Boutique Factory) in the Dominican Republic. The partnership is appropriate as the Kelner family has its roots in Holland, and that is the country where the Red Anchor brand commenced. The blend features an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper over a Dominican Monte Plata binder from the Kelner family farms and a combination of Dominican and Pennsylvania fillers.

Last year, Red Anchor had a limited production launch in one size – a 6 x 54 vitola known as the Admiral. This year will see an expansion of the line with new regular production sizes joining the Admiral (SRP $25.00/cigar). These sizes include: Gunner (6 1/2 x 43, SRP $20.00/cigar), Captain (5 x 50, SRP $20.00/cigar), and Commodore (7 x 55, SRP $30.00). Each size is presented in 25-count boxes. Plans are for Red Anchor to ship toward the end of the summer of 2023.

In addition, there is an event-only size of the Red Admiral known as Cooper (4 1/2 x 43, SRP $15.00/cigar)

The Black Bomb Firecracker is actually a refresh of a previous iteration that was released as a limited edition. The new 2023 Black Bomb Firecracker receives an all-new blend and new packaging. If you aren’t familiar with the Firecracker Series, it is a 3 1/2 x 50 vitola that features a long fuse stemming from the cap. The series started as a concept created by David Garofalo as an exclusive to his Two Guys Smoke Shop stores to commemorate Independence Day. The first Firecracker was done by My Father Cigars based on the Don Pepin Original Label. The series morphed into an annual release with different manufacturers producing Firecrackers. Eventually, the series moved into Garofalo’s United Cigars distribution arm.

While most of the Firecracker releases have been limited edition cigars (including the original Black Bomb Firecracker), there is a regular production Firecracker produced by José Dominguez. Now the refreshed Black Bomb Firecracker becomes the second regular production Firecracker. The new Black Bomb Firecracker incorporates the patriotic packaging design of the current regular production Firecracker, but uses mostly a black and gold color scheme. The Black Bomb Firecracker uses a Mexican San Andres wrapper over a Sumatra binder and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. Like the current regular production Firecracker, production comes from José Dominguez’s Tabacalera Magia. Pricing is set at $5.99 per cigar.

Photo Credit: United Cigars

Selected Tobacco

As for Selected Tobacco, the brand that United is best known for distributing, it had several releases focusing on the Alfonso and Atabey brands. We covered this in the Selected Tobacco booth report. Like last year, the United Cigars booth was adjacent to the Selected Tobacco booth.