It took us a few tries to get time with the folks at the Aganorsa Leaf booth at the 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, but that was because the booth was very active. That’s understandable because Aganorsa Leaf came into PCA 2023 with a strong lineup of brand and line extensions. Heading up […]
PCA 2023: El Rey del Mundo
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments El Rey Del Mundo, Feature Story, Forged Cigar Company, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game
When Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) spun off Forged Cigar Company in 2021, one of the first things it did was to take the El Rey del Mundo line and put it under the Forged umbrella. Previously, El Rey del Mundo was sold through JR Cigar and distributed through Santa Clara Cigars. This move was […]
PCA 2023: Lampert Cigars
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Feature Story, Lampert Cigars, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game
Lampert Cigars was a first-time booth visit for the Cigar Coop Coalition team. However, the brand has been on the team’s radar for some time. The brand is the namesake of Dr. Stefan Lampert, a lawyer out of Austria. He created a brand called My Cigar Lab which gave people the opportunity to create their […]
PCA 2023: Palió
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Feature Story, Palió, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game, Quality Importers
Quality Importers Trading Company declared 2023 the “Year of the Palió” as there was a big focus on the Palió brand. For many years Palió was known for its innovative cutter. Over the past few years, Palió has become a value-priced brand for cutters and lighters in the Quality Importers portfolio. When Xikar was acquired, […]
PCA 2023: ATL Cigar Co
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments ATL Cigar Co, Feature Story, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game
The 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show would be the second one for ATL Cigar Co. At the same time, it would be the first one since the company entered into a collaborative relationship with Luciano Cigars. Under the arrangement, Luciano Cigars is now handling distribution for ATL Cigar Co. In addition, ATL Cigar […]
PCA 2023: Topper Cigars
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Feature Story, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game, Topper
Cigar Coop has been covering the Trade Show since 2010, and every year we manage to visit Topper Cigars’ booth. There is a rich history for this family, and owner Chris Topper is quite proud of it. There aren’t any new offerings from Topper Cigars this year, but there were a couple of things of […]
PCA 2023: Fratello Cigars
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Feature Story, Fratello Cigars, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game
At an FDA Seminar at the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show, a relatively unknown new brand had its debut cigar launched. That brand was Fratello Cigars, owned by Omar de Frias who worked for NASA. Following the Trade Show, Omar would take a grassroots approach to introduce his cigars to the market that he called “Fratello […]
PCA 2023: Plasencia Cigars
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Feature Story, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game, Plasencia
Back in 2017, Plasencia Cigars launched its company and brands at the IPCPR Trade Show. While Plasencia is a name synonymous with tobacco and cigar production, as far as branding their own cigars, the company was a relative newcomer in that space. That debut at the 2017 IPCPR was a blueprint for how a cigar […]
PCA 2023: Xikar
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 1 Comment Feature Story, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game, Quality Importers, Xikar
It has been over five years since Quality Importers Trading Company acquired Xikar. Since then, the company has worked hard to make it one of its flagship brands in the portfolio. In the past few years, the innovation pipeline for Xikar has not slowed down – and that trend continued at the 2023 Premium […]
PCA 2023: Artista Cigars
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Artista Cigars, Feature Story, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game
In 2022, the company known as El Artista underwent a rebrand. El Artista brands are owned by Ram Rodriguez, who also owns the Tabacalera El Artista in the Dominican Republic. The rebrand included a portfolio restructuring as well as changing the company name for the brands to Artista Cigars. Last year as a part of […]