In 2020, Drew Estate was one of the “Big Four” that made the decision to withdraw from exhibiting at the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. Since then, Drew Estate has pivoted its model for introducing its products to market. At the time it was exhibiting at PCA, there was a heavy focus on marketing […]
Summer of ’22 Report: Kafie 1901 Cigars
William Cooper Feature Story No Comments Feature Story, Kafie, Summer of 22
This summer, Kafie 1901 Cigars announced its restructured portfolio. The past year has been quite a busy year for Dr. Gaby Kafie and his company. While the company announced it was shutting down its factory, it opened a whole new chapter by finding a new manufacturing partner in La Aurora Cigars. Dr. Kafie brought his […]
Summer of ’22 Report: Davidoff of Geneva
William Cooper Feature Story No Comments AVO, Camacho, Davidoff, Feature Story, Ferio Tego, Summer of 22, Zino
While Davidoff hasn’t been a quiet brand for 2022 as a whole, when it came to the Summer of ’22 reporting period (Memorial Day to Labor Day), the big three brands of Davidoff (Davidoff, Camacho, and Nicaragua) were all quiet. Instead, the new products for the Summer of ’22 were in two areas: Zino and […]
Summer of ’22 Report: Favilli Cigars
William Cooper Feature Story No Comments Favilli Cigars, Feature Story, Summer of 22
There perhaps isn’t a company that has undergone more of a transformation in the past two years than Favilli Cigars. Earlier this year, it was announced that Mombacho Cigars would be changing its name in the U.S. to Favilli Cigars. This was due to a dispute with Tabacalera Tropical over the use of the Mombacho […]
Summer of ’22 Report: General Cigar Company
William Cooper Feature Story No Comments CAO, Feature Story, General, Hoyo de Monterrey, Scandinavian Tobacco Group, STG, Summer of 22
As far as the brands of Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) go, we are covering them by their distribution arms focusing specifically on General Cigar Company and Forged Cigar Company. Today we turn our attention to the brands falling under General Cigar. As many know, STG was one of the “Big Four” that decided to withdraw […]
Summer of ’22 Report: AJ Fernandez Cigar Company
William Cooper Feature Story No Comments AJ Fernandez Cigars, Feature Story, Summer of 22
While AJ Fernandez’s footprint was certainly present at the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, when it came to his own brands, the decision was made to skip this year’s Trade Show. From a personal standpoint, I always enjoy visiting the AJ Fernandez booth and seeing AJ and the team. The good news is […]
Summer of ’22 Report: Altadis U.S.A.
William Cooper Feature Story No Comments Altadis, Feature Story, Omar Ortez, Romeo y Julieta, Summer of 22, Tabacalera USA
Altadis U.S.A. is one of the “Big Four” companies that withdrew from the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show back in 2020. Altadis U.S.A. has seemed to have found its groove since pulling out of the PCA Trade Show. The company has spread its releases out throughout the year without having the releases compete with […]
Summer of ’22 Report: Viaje Cigar Company
William Cooper Feature Story No Comments Feature Story, Summer of 22, Viaje
While Viaje wasn’t at the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, the company had quite an active summer. If you look at the Memorial Day-Labor Day window, there were eight releases to keep cigar enthusiasts interested. For each of these releases, owner Andre Farkas puts his own creative spin and adds different degrees of mystery. […]
Summer of ’22 Report: Joya de Nicaragua
William Cooper Feature Story No Comments Feature Story, Joya de Nicaragua, Summer of 22
This year, the focus for Joya de Nicaragua has been Connecticut Shade and Connoisseur vitolas. There wasn’t a new line that was unveiled for Joya de Nicaragua in 2022, but the company decided to focus its releases around its two successful Connecticut Shade releases, Numero Uno and the Antaño CT by adding a Corona and […]
PCA 2022 Report: Arturo Fuente
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2022 No Comments Arturo Fuente, Feature Story, Fuente, PCA 2022, PCA 2022 Post Game
Our final PCA 2022 Report is for Arturo Fuente. For 2022 there are two distinct components to cover at Arturo Fuente. First is the Arturo Fuente booth itself, and second is the well-publicized Fuente y Padrón Legends collaboration which was in an area adjacent to the Fuente booth. Arturo Fuente Booth The Arturo Fuente booth […]