PCA 2025: Micallef Cigars

Micallef Cigars’ President, Dan Thompson, opened our interview at the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) with the word “momentum.” Thompson has said Micallef Cigars has momentum with its Color Series. This year, that momentum continues with the fourth installment of the Color Series with Micallef Purple. In addition, the momentum doesn’t stop with Purple as Micallef Green and Micallef White are on the horizon.

Much has been made of Micallef’s aggressive price points with the Color Series, but this has also been a journey of Micallef improving its core competencies as a cigar maker. Micallef Cigars was launched in 2017, but over the past three years, the company has made strategic investments in growing and procuring higher-grade tobaccos, as well as efficiently scaling up production at its factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. By making its operation more vertical, it has been able to offer these price points to the consumer.

Thompson described this strategy as “fun.” At the same time, Thompson was very open that due to current events around costs, and in particular the tariffs, the price increases will be on the horizon;

Micallef Purple

The color purple is a combination of the colors blue and red. In terms of the Micallef Purple, it is literally a mix that incorporates components of the Micallef Blue and Micallef Red. Micallef Purple utilizes the San Andres Sumatra wrapper, which is also found on the Micallef Blue. At the same time, it incorporates the Nicaraguan Broadleaf binder found on the Micallef Red. It comes in the same 5 x 52 Robusto and 6 x 52 Toro sizes, with pricing remaining at $7.00 and $8.00 MSRP for now.

Micallef Green

Last year, Micallef launched the Blue at PCA 2024 and previewed the Red as a release for fall 2024. This year, Micallef takes a similar strategy – namely, launching the Purple at PCA 2025 and previewing the fifth installment, Micallef Green. Micallef Green is slated for a fall 2025 release.

Micallef Green is going to feature a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper. When Micallef discontinued its Bold Series, one of the more popular offerings was the Micallef Bold Mata Fina. The Micallef Green introduces a new Mata Fina blend to the series, incorporating a San Andres binder. This choice aligns with the tobacco lineage of the other four Color Series releases, which all utilize San Andres tobacco in their blends.

White and Beyond

There will be a Micallef White, and that is planned for PCA 2026. Initially, this cigar was intended to be the second offering in the lineup. It features a Connecticut Shade wrapper and is designed to be a milder smoke. Over the years, many manufacturers have shared that developing Connecticut Shade and milder cigars can be quite tricky since any imperfections in the blend are more likely to show. Thompson mentioned that Micallef faced similar challenges, which led to the delay of the Micallef White. However, they have now perfected the blend to their satisfaction, so it is officially on the agenda for next year.