In 2015 two cigar enthusiasts named Juan Cancel and Bill Ives started a company called Cubariqueño Cigar Company and launched a brand called Protocol. They went to the 2015 IPCPR, getting a small space at the Espinosa Cigars booth and quietly sold out of their inventory. Over the past three years, the brand has grown. In […]
At the 2018 IPCPR Trade Show, Debonaire House co-founder Phil Zanghi was floating between the Drew Estate and De Los Reyes booth. Much of the reason is he is getting ready to transition his distribution away from Drew Estate by the end of the year. In 2019, Debonaire House will resume self-distribution, this time leveraging the […]
For the fourth year in a row, we are providing a full “Post-Game Report” assessing the IPCPR Convention and Trade Show. This year we added four daily “post-game” recaps from the show floor. At the same time, I felt the need to continue to have the detailed post-game analysis of the trade show. In this […]
2018 would be a big year for Mel Shah and Bombay Tobak as the company would launch a new brand known as MQBA. In a time when innovation is on the decline in the cigar industry, Shah and his company brought something a little different to the IPCPR Trade Show with MQBA. MQBA is made up […]
Cornelius & Anthony is the premium cigar company launched by Steven Bailey and his family. Bailey had made his mark in the cigarette business (with S&M Brands), but about five years ago, he turned his attention to the premium cigar industry. While Bailey had great success in the cigarette business, he had a bit of […]
For 2018, James and Angela Brown brought a new larger booth into IPCPR to showcase their Black Label Trading Company (BLTC) and Black Works Studio (BLK WKS) brands. The booth was not only one of the standout ones in terms of design, but it was one of the most welcoming ones. This year the booth […]
After a one year absence, Riste Ristevski‘s Jas Sum Kral (JSK) Cigars was back at the IPCPR Trade Show. If booth traffic was any indication, retailers were quite enthusiastic about JSK being back at the trade show. Despite what was a very active booth, Ristevski was engaging as always, devoting time from his busy schedule to […]
One pre-announced release, one mystery release, one audible, one annual release, and the return of a popular industry personality all made the Alec Bradley booth one of the more interesting ones at the 2018 IPCPR Trade Show. One of the company’s featured releases was Blind Faith. This is a project spearheaded by Alec Rubin and […]
It was the third IPCPR Trade Show for Bryan Mussard and Cattle Baron Cigars and while this year he didn’t show any new products, the booth certainly had the feel of a company on the rise. Two years ago, Cattle Baron Cigars had a small area as a part of the De Los Reyes booth. […]
It was the fifth IPCPR Trade Show for Crux Cigars. The company came out of the gate like gangbusters in 2014, launching with six brands. Since then Crux has taken healthy steps to round out its portfolio – especially during the past two to three years. The company had a new face in the booth […]
