The 2024 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show marked the first time since 2019 that the brands of General Cigar Company were being showcased at the PCA Trade Show. While the Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) made a return to the PCA Trade Show, the decision was made to focus on the brands of Forged Cigar Company. This year, it was General’s turn, marking the return of several other brands. In many ways, it was a big deal to see brands like Cohiba, Macanudo, Punch, and Hoyo de Monterrey at the Trade Show again. General and its sister company, Forged, have garnered quite a reputation for the number of new releases in a year. The 2024 Trade Show didn’t have an avalanche of new releases from General.
In addition to introducing several new products, General Cigar introduced a new logo (it is in the thumbnail above). It is a cleaner, more elegant version of the logo. As for the latest products, there was a mix of value-priced products and more premium products. General didn’t come into the Trade Show with a new $100.00 offering, but the new Cohiba did come in at a price point just under $30.00.
Finally, this could be the last time we see General at PCA until 2026. It was our understanding that, at least for the time being, STG will rotate between showcasing Forged and General in alternating years at Trade Shows.
CAO
This year, CAO entered the 2024 PCA Trade Show with a two-blend line called CAO FASA. While CAO is known for its lifestyle brands, it has also been known for its focus on tobacco. This year, the slogan in the booth was “We go where tobacco takes,” and that is the case with the release of the new CAO FASA blends. As a result, the tobacco around CAO FASA was the theme of CAO at PCA 2024. CAO FASA comes in two blends: FASA Sol (featuring a Honduran Olancho San Agustin wrapper) and FASA Noche (featuring a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper). Both blends feature the same Cameroon binder and the same combination of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. The concept here was to highlight the importance of the wrapper on that foundation.
FASA Sol and FASA Noche are value-priced regular production cigars with equivalent prices between $6.99 (Toro) and $7.99 (Gigante). This continues the trend of value-priced cigars that General’s parent company, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG), introduced in Forged.
Booth Report
Cohiba
Cohiba has been General Cigar’s ultra-premium brand for many years. In 2024, Cohiba maintained its status with its new releases. In addition to being ultra-premium, Cohiba showcased itself as a brand around innovation. This year saw a new blend under the Cohiba Serie M line and a lancero size added to the Cohiba Riviera.
First up is the Cohiba Serie M Reserva Roja. The Reserva Rosa is the fourth Cohiba release made in the U.S. at the El Titan de Bronze factory. Unlike the previous three Cohiba Serie M releases, the Reserva Rioja features a new blend. The Cohiba Reserva Roja costs 29.99 per cigar and is packaged in ten-count boxes.
The Cohiba Riviera Lancero is a new size in the Cohiba Riviera line. It was the first Cohiba to be box-pressed and feature a Mexican wrapper. Now, it’s the first non-Cuban Cohiba available in a lancero. The Cohiba Riviera Lancero has an SRP of $14.99 per cigar.
The two Cohiba releases are on store shelves.
Booth Report
El Titán de Bronze
The big news with General before the 2024 PCA Trade Show was that General Cigar has an agreement with the El Titán de Bronze factory in South Florida to distribute the Redemption brand. There will be a new Redemption blend that will be going to market to kickoff this agreement. Slated for a July 2024 release, the new Redemption blend will be available full-time but in limited quantities. Therefore, General Cigar initiated a selection process for those retail shops that would offer it. The price point is $15.99 to $17.99 SRP.
Booth Report
Macanudo
Macanudo had one of the most talked about regular production lines at PCA with the Macanudo Emissary España. Emissary is a new subbrand under Macanudo, and the España is the first release. It gets the name because it has tobacco from Spain in the filler. Spain is not known as a country that features blends of premium tobacco. The idea behind Emissary is to showcase European sophistication. The Emissary España has already landed on shelves. Emissary España comes in at a price point between $14.99 and $17.99. General Cigar has said that other European tobaccos will be used for future releases of the Emissary series.
In addition, Macanudo had a special area reserved for the Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll project. This project is a collaboration between Macanudo and the Napa Valley’s Flint Knoll winery. It involved developing a blend in which the binder leaf is aged in French Oak barrels previously used in aging Flint Knoll’s single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll is currently an ongoing limited-production annual release.
Booth Report
Punch
Punch was the only brand that shipped its releases prior to the 2024 PCA Trade Show. 2024 would see two releases for the value-priced area. First up, Punch introduced the third blend in the Knuckle Buster series, the Knuckle Buster Shade. As the name indicates, it features a Connecticut Shade wrapper. Knuckle Buster Shade is priced between $5.39 and $6.09 per cigar.
In addition, Punch added a 4 1/2 x 60 line extension to the Knuckle Buster Maduro series, which costs $5.49.
Booth Report
Sancho Panza
Of all the brands showcased by General Cigar, Sancho Panza is the one brand with recent history at the Trade Show. Sancho Panza made an appearance at the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show as a part of Matt Booth‘s Room101 booth. At the time, General had recently acquired Room101. It also turns out that Booth was working with STG’s Justin Andrews to revamp Sancho Panza, so there was a reason behind Sancho Panza’s being at PCA 2022. Since then, General has made a considerable investment in Sancho Panza, which continued in 2024.
This year, the fourth regular production blend of the revamped Sancho Panza, the Sancho Panza Extra Chido, was introduced. What’s different about this cigar is that it is the first Sancho Panza cigar produced out of General Cigar Dominicana in the Dominican Republic. At the same time, it keeps to Sancho Panza’s reputation for being a premium value-priced brand, as all of the cigars carry a price under $10.00.
Booth Report
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where otherwise specified
