PCA 2025 Pre-Game Part 3: Predictions for Top 5 Cigars of the Show
For the 15th year, the Cigar Coop brand will provide coverage of the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show and Convention. This is also the 15th consecutive Trade Show we are covering, and we are proud to be a part of a tiny group of media to say that. Our four-part series for the 2025 PCA Trade Show has you covered, whether you are going to the show or following from home.
This article is usually in the running for the most controversial article of the year on Cigar Coop. This is the 12th year I have done this article. In the past, I have looked to see what the hottest cigars are at the Trade Show, and what would sell out at the Premium Cigar Association Trade Show.
This project has evolved over time. In 2022, I invited members of the Cigar Coop Coalition to share their personal picks. The goal was to encourage each team member to think independently and create their own list of the most impactful cigars, specifically, those that would become hits. For the most part, each member focused on what they believed would be the most significant cigars. Of course, this author had to make things more complicated on his list by having rigid criteria – something the cigar industry absolutely loves hates. This criterion was personal and not imposed on the other panelists.
More importantly, as the curator of this article, I wanted each team member to express their honest opinions, and you, the reader, can decide which list lines up the best with yours.
Finally, we again invited a guest to submit a top 5. This year’s honor goes to Jay Davis of Blue Smoke of Dallas.
PCA 2025 Pre-Game – Predictions for Top 5 Cigars of the Show
The deadline for our team to submit these lists was April 7, 2025. Of course, some releases may have been announced after these dates. Ultimately, to curate and publish this article, it was necessary to establish a clear deadline.
Will Cooper’s Picks
My list includes only regular and ongoing limited production items. Historically, I focus on what I believe will perform best at the show, rather than personal preference.
| Rank | Cigar | Notes |
| 1 | Perdomo Legacy | Perdomo has been on fire the past several years, and the fact that this cigar is using Shade Grown tobacco, and because Nicholas Perdomo III spearheads it, has me intrigued. |
| 2 | Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary | The tobacco is the story here, and tobacco is being sourced from all of Altadis’ growing partners: AJ Fernandez, José Mendez, the Turrent Family, and Plasencia. I’ve already previewed this, and it’s great. |
| 3 | Matilde Para José Seijas | This cigar pays tribute to one of the legends of the cigar industry. Enrique Seijas has established a strong reputation in this field, and I have no doubt that since his father’s name is associated with this cigar, it will be an outstanding choice. |
| 4 | My Father Blue | It’s My Father’s foray into Honduran tobacco, and it’s coming out of their Honduran factory. I’m intrigued, and a lot of folks will be intrigued. |
| 5 | Aladino 85th Aniversario Reserva | The hype will be real, but will it last? |
Bear Duplisea’s Picks
| Rank | Cigar | Notes |
| 1 | HVC La Rosa 520 10 Year Anniversary | The original release was a banger, but how can anyone bet against Reinier Lorenzo at this point? He rips off hit after hit with Aganorsa Leaf, then opens his own factory. Does that slow him down? Nope. In a world where everyone is trying to compete at $35+, HVC continues to provide value and quality at more reasonable price points. |
| 2 | Perdomo Legacy | Hot off the heels of the 30th Anniversary, Nicolas Perdomo III continues the saga of honoring his father’s lifetime and work. An homage to a vibrant force in the industry is no small task. However, the Perdomos have never taken the easy road. |
| 3 | Rocky Patel Thirtieth Anniversary | There’s a lot of anniversary cigars once again this year, and I’ll always be a sucker for them. There are several I am excited about, including Foundation’s 10th, and another on this list. I find Rocky’s intriguing because I want to see if this is another miss like White Label or the Edge Anniversary, or another winner like Disciple or SIXTY. |
| 4 | Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust 10th Jubilee | See above: I’m a sucker for a milestone. Saka continues to take the PCA Trade Show by the reins each and every year. Word of Saka also excites me, but knowing Steve, a lot went into this milestone blend. |
| 5 | Matilde Para José Seijas | This has been a project in the works for a long time, and it’s great to see Enrique Seijas able to create under his late father’s name again. This holds a special place in my heart not only for his father’s lifetime work, but emotionally, I feel a strong connection with the passing of my own father last year. |
Ben Lee’s Picks
Ben has opted to focus on egular and ongoing limited production items.
| Rank | Cigar | Notes |
| 1 | Perdomo Legacy | I’m always excited for new Perdomo cigars. They very rarely miss. |
| 2 | My Father Blue | I’m excited to see what My Father can do with Honduran tobacco. |
| 3 | Tatuaje Avion Corojo | Avion has always been one of my favorite blends from Tatuaje, so seeing it with a Corojo wrapper excites me. |
| 4 | Aladino 85th Aniversario Reserva | This is an interesting blend using 100% Pinareño seed tobacco |
| 5 | Oz Family Cigars Karatoba | This is a beautiful cigar, and I love to see the return of a dark Sumatra wrapper on a cigar. |
Ben also listed an honorable mention as the Bentley Black, the AI Cigar Project. “A cigar created with he help of artificial intelligence? Yes, I’m intrigued,” said Ben.
Erron Nielsen’s Picks
| Rank | Cigar | Notes |
| 1 | My Father Blue | Honduran cigar from My Father. High expectations and interested in the flavor profile with this tobacco |
| 2 | Aladino 85th Aniversario Reserva | 100% Honduran Pinareño puro…very intrigued— Aladino line is a favorite…and with it being an Anniversary cigar, high hopes |
| 3 | Perdomo Legacy | Based on the release of the 30th, and the promotion of this cigar, Perdomo appears to be firing on all cylinders |
| 4 | Foundation 10-Year Aniversario | Huge fan of Foundation cigars. Nic putting out a 10-year anniversary cigar…..Connecticut Broadleaf/Connecticut Havana seed wrapper…should be interesting |
| 5 | HVC La Rosa 520 10 Year Anniversary | Reinier Lorenzo continues to put out hit after hit. Expecting this cigar to be no different |
Tripp Waldrop’s Picks
| Rank | Cigar | Notes |
| 1 | My Father Blue | I’ve always been a big fan of My Father, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with Honduran tobaccos |
| 2 | Perdomo Legacy | After hearing Nicolas Perdomo III explain his excitement for this cigar candidly at The Great Smoke, I’m really excited to see how different it is from Perdomo’s legacy offerings. |
| 3 | Viso Horny 555 | It’s been a joy to follow Tyler’s journey from passionate cigar enjoyer to learning the ropes of working with tobacco, to now releasing his first distributed cigar |
| 4 | Tatuaje T110 Corojo | I’m a huge fan of Corojo. From Pete’s early Corojo-wrapped cigars, I’ve always found them to strike my palate particularly well. His recent foray back into Corojo has been exciting, and I think some of his best work in the last few years. Combine that with the T110, which was an all-timer release, and I can’t not be excited about this cigar. |
| 5 | Aladino 85th Aniversario Reserva | Aladino has always offered something special, and like my colleagues, it’s easy to get excited for an anniversary release. |
Jay Davis’ Picks
| Rank | Cigar | Notes |
| 1 | Bandolero Premium 55 | I am most looking forward to the release of the Bandolero Premium Magnificos (6 x 55), because no one has perfected 55 ring gauges and Peruvian tobacco like Nelson Alfonso, and adding his unique aging rubric of sustained aging with multiple cedars to his existing Bandolero line promises an exceptional smoking experience. |
| 2 | Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Red Meat Lovers Fritanga | My second choice is the Red Meat Lovers Fritanga. I like Red Meat Lovers but haven’t loved the prensado box press. I believe that this release, being a parejo with added strength and spice reminiscent of Trique Traca, will deliver. |
| 3 | Tatuaje Avion Corojo | My third choice is the Tatuaje Avion Corojo. I have grown to appreciate Pete’s work in Corojo, and he tends to take successful gambles in the Avion vitola, so this promises to be a banger. |
| 4 | JFR 20th 660 by Aganorsa Leaf | My fourth choice is the JFR 20th 660. JFR is the benchmark of Aganorsa’s stable of products, and historically, they nail the 660 size, so I expect this new regular production size and blend will deliver. |
| 5 | My Father Blue Petite Robusto | My fifth choice is the My Father Blue Petite Robusto. I would have placed this first, but it’s Pepin’s first foray into Honduran tobacco, so I’m being cautious. However, I balance that with Pepin wanting to deliver out of the gate. I’m picking the smallest vitola because I generally prefer the flavor in shorter cigars made with Honduran tobacco, and fear any errors in the blend may become heightened in a larger ring gauge cigar. So I consider this the safest bet of an expected banger. |
Jay also listed an honorable mention as the Perdomo Legacy Maduro Epicure. “So Bear-like,” said Jay.
OVERALL PANEL: PCA 2025 Top 5 Predictions
Using a weighted 5-4-3-2-1 points system, here is a composite of the panel’s overall points.
| Coop | Bear | Ben | Erron | Tripp | Jay | Overall | |
| Perdomo Legacy | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 21 | |
| My Father Blue | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 17 | |
| Aladino 85th Aniversario Reserva | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | ||
| HVC La Rosa 520 10 Year Anniversary | 5 | 1 | 6 | ||||
| Tatuaje Avion Corojo | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||||
| Bandolero Premium | 5 | 5 | |||||
| Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary | 4 | 4 | |||||
| Matilde Para Jose Seijas | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Red Meat Lovers Fritanga | 4 | 4 | |||||
| Rocky Patel 30th Anniversary | 3 | 3 | |||||
| Viso Horny 555 | 3 | 3 | |||||
|
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust 10th Jubilee
|
2 | 2 | |||||
| Foundation Ten Year Aniversario | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Tatuaje T110 Corojo | 2 | 2 | |||||
| JFR 20th by Aganorsa Leaf | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Oz Family Cigars Karatoba | 1 | 1 |
2025 PCA Pre-Game Series – Other Installments
- PCA Pre-Game Series Part 1: About The Show
- PCA Pre-Game Series Part 2: The Pre-Show Analysis
- PCA Pre-Game Report Part 3: Predictions for Top 5 Cigars of PCA 2025
- PCA Pre-Game Series Part 4: Selection for “The Company” of the 2025 PCA Trade Show
Photo/Images Credits: Cigar Coop
Photo Credits – Provided by individual contributors
