PCA 2024: Luciano Cigars

The 2024 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show is the second one for Luciano Meirelles since he reorganized his operations as Luciano Cigars in 2022. Since the reorganization, much of the strategy for Luciano Cigars has been around strategic partnerships and alliances. As mentioned, Luciano Cigars has partnered with Peter James, a luxury cigar goods company, to form a new venture, Peter James Cigar Company. There is a new manufacturing relationship with Plasencia. Finally, there is a partnership with former NBA all-star and champion Ron Harper. At the same time, each project with these partnerships has a unique story to tell.

Peter James

The first release under this Peter James Cigars is Emergence. The Emergence line carries a price point of $60.00 to $66.00. It’s produced in small batches featuring high-quality tobacco and uses highly skilled labor. The tobacco used is based on a rigorous selection process for leaves carefully sorted by size and texture. Each cigar is produced by a single bunchero and roller pair. This is a limited production of 100 cigars daily.

Photo Credit: John McTavish, Developing Palates

Emergence features an Ecuadorian Corona Hybrid Visa from a region south of Quevado that is close to the Loja region. This region is known for its volcanically enriched soil. The wrapper has undergone a low fermentation cycle of over five years. The cigar also features a Brazilian Mata Fina binder. The filler is a blend of Nicaraguan, Dominican Piloto Cuban, and U.S. tobaccos. Presented in 20-count boxes, Emergence is available in three sizes: R 52 (5 x 52, SRP $60.00/cigar), Toro Elegance (6 1/2 x 50, SRP $62.00/cigar), and Sublime (6 x 54, SRP $66.00/cigar)

Fiat Lux

There were two big stories around Fiat Lux. Just before the PCA Trade Show, Luciano Cigars announced it was moving its regular production from Fiat Lux to Tabacos de Oriente, the factory owned by the Plasencia family. Second, a new limited edition under the Fiat Lux brand called Tenebrus debuted a PCA 2024. The name Tenebrus comes from the Latin word ‘Tenebris,’ meaning darkness. The concept came from Joshua Beaver, Luciano Cigars Midwest Regional Sales Representative. The “darkness” is seen on the packaging, contrasting the core of Fiat Lux’s bright packaging.

The blend for Fiat Lux Tenebrus features a dual wrapper—each tobacco fermented for over five years. The first wrapper is a Honduran Habano wrapper from Azuacualpa, Olancho, from the Plasencia San Agustin farm. The second is an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. Both wrappers cover a blend of Nicaraguan tobacco for filler and binder. Fiat Lux Tenebrus comes in one vitola measuring 6 1/2 x 52. There will be 1,500 ten-count boxes. The cigar has an MSRP of $22.00/cigar.

Luciano Cigars will contribute a portion of the proceeds of Tenebrus to Plasencia’s “Soul from the Earth” foundation to honor the late Conrado Plasencia. Conrado was the factory director of Tabacos de Oriente and passed away in September 2023.

Underrated

Underrated was a brand that was launched at the beginning of the year. The big news around Underrated is just before the 2024 PCA, it was revealed that former NBA all-star Ron Harper had been a silent partner working on the brand with Luciano Cigars’ Founder and President Luciano Meirelles and his team. At the time, Harper took a silent role to allow the brand to get recognition on its own. With the brand gaining recognition, the decision has been made to introduce Harper as a partner. Fittingly for the Underrated brand name, despite winning five NBA championships, Harper was often considered an underrated player for his contributions on the court. Harper’s name now appears on the packaging.

Photo Credit: John McTavish, Developing Palates

The blend features a Mexican San Andres wrapper. The fillers feature Connecticut Broadleaf and Ecuadorian HVA, customarily seen as wrappers, alongside Pueblo Nuevo Medio Tiempo. It’s available in four sizes – each presented in 20-count boxes: Corona Gorda (5 5/8 x 46, $7.50 SRP); Robusto Extra (5 1/2 x 50, SRP $7.90); Toro Especial (6 1/4 x 52), and Sublime (6 1/2 x 54, SRP $8.50). Production comes from the Luciano Cigars Factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Photo Credit: John McTavish, Developing Palates

Y Panda

Finally, there was a new Y Panda Limited Edition cigar known as the Y Panda Domino. Y Panda is the brand in collaboration with Linxu “Panda” Yan. Panda has been learning about cigar making from Luciano Meirelles for the past few years and is also a brand ambassador. Last year, the first Y Panda cigar was released. This year, the Domino follows. The Domino is a Connecticut Shade Toro that was offered as a PCA-exclusive