2024 PCA Post-Game Report: Day Two

It’s our post-game report for Day Two of the 2024 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. Attendance continued to be the story of the show, as attendance continued to be higher than I expected.

As mentioned, the move to the spring was key in the attendance story. While Day Two seemed like there was less traffic than Day One, it still seemed like there was more traffic compared to previous years on Day Two. My observations were when it came to the big booths, there was still plenty of activity in those booths. This was evident in larger booths such as Altadis, Drew Estate, General, Arturo Fuente, and Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, as all four of these booths seemed quite busy.

On this day, the Cigar Coop Coalition svisited Altadis and Drew Estate. Altadis had a nice boost when they returned last year, and they seemed to build on that this year. As for Drew Estate, they haven’t been to a Trade Show since 2019, so its been about four and a half years since we’ve seen Drew Estate. The good news is that nothing changed. It’s still a combination of product innovation (this year it was Blackened S84 Shade to Black) and plenty of customers. Oh yes, the loud Hip Hop music was back. Yes, it was very loud.

I’ve been asked what cigars I really liked on the show floor. This is quite the difficult question to answer because its not easy to smoke while walking at the show floor, taking notes, and working with equipment.  And many of the cigars launched won’t be smoked until we arrive at home. It hasn’t quite been the most competitive field of new cigar prospects, but right now I’m leaning toward Macanudo Emissary España, Oz Family Cigars Firsat, and Aladino Fuma Noche.

Finally, today was another day of mainstream celebrities at the Trade Show. Today’s celebrities included the return of Guy Fieri,  who was at Espinosa (his third trade show). In addition, NBA All-Pro Ron Harper was present at Luciano Cigars. We also saw NFL Hall of Famer Ed Reed who is a fixture at the Plasencia booth.

It’s hard to believe, but as fast as the PCA Trade Show has started, it will come to its conclusion on Day Three. We will be back with a final recap. A reminder stay tuned to Cigar Coop for our detailed product and booth reports.

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop