AJ Fernandez Cigar Company exhibited at the 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show after a one-year absence. While much has been made about the return of Altadis U.S.A. and Forged Cigar Company, it was equally good news to see AJ Fernandez’s own brands back at the 2023 PCA Trade Show. Last year, AJ Fernandez […]
PCA 2023: Montecristo
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Altadis, Feature Story, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game, Tabacalera USA
One of the most exciting things about Altadis U.S.A. returning to the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show is that the Montecristo brand was also back at the show. Montecristo can be considered the most premium brand in the Altadis U.S.A. portfolio, which is exactly how Altadis U.S.A. positioned it. The focus for Montecristo was […]
PCA 2023: My Father Cigars
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Feature Story, My Father, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game
Don Pepin Garcia set up shop at the El Rey de los Habanos factory in Little Havana in 2003. That year, he created a cigar for a newcomer named Pete Johnson and released his own brand called Don Pepin Garcia. That first Don Pepin Garcia (aka the Don Pepin Garcia Original or Don Pepin Garcia […]
Feature Story: The Full 2023 PCA Post-Game Report
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 4 Comments Feature Story, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game
Cigar Coop presents a full “Post-Game Report” assessing the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Convention and Trade Show for the eighth consecutive time. In this report, I analyze this year’s Trade Show. This year I again published five daily post–game recaps during the Trade Show. These were intended to be short daily recaps of the Trade […]
PCA 2023: Chazz Palminteri’s A Bronx Tale (Epic Cigars)
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 2 Comments Epic Cigars, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game, Zander-Greg
The premium cigar industry always loves when a mainstream celebrity enters the business, and this year, Oscar-nominated actor Chazz Palminteri has come on board. Palminteri is teaming up with Epic Cigars and Paul DiSilvio of La Casa Grande Tobacco company to launch A Bronx Tale. It is named for the play that was written by […]
PCA 2023: La Flor Dominicana
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Feature Story, La Flor Dominicana, LFD, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game
The 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show was quite special for La Flor Dominicana. There was a lot of excitement over the return of owner Litto Gomez’s eponymous line, the Litto Gomez (LG) Diez. It’s the first time we’ve seen the LG in nearly eight years. This year we talked to owner Litto Gomez […]
PCA 2023: Trinidad
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Feature Story, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game, Trinidad
Trinidad is a brand in the Altadis U.S.A. portfolio that has ben brought back to life in the past few years. In 2019, the Trinidad Espiritu Series was launched. First up was the Trinidad Espiritu No. 1, a cigar that paid tribute to the Caribbean region. This was followed up a little over a year […]
PCA 2023: Ferio Tego
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Feature Story, Ferio Tego, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game, Timeless
Ferio Tego, the company founded by Nat Sherman International alumni Michael Herklots and Brendon Scott, attended its third PCA Trade Show in 2023. For the past couple of years, Ferio Tego has focused on the launch of its eponymous brand and reintroducing the former Nat Sherman International brands. This year was a big year as […]
PCA 2023: Don Doroteo Cigars
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Don Doroteo, Feature Story, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game
The 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show was the second one for Don Doroteo Cigars, but this would be the first year the company would introduce its core line. A year earlier, the company brought a cigar to market called El Legado. The cigar was rolled in 2008 and had been sitting in the […]
PCA 2023: Quesada Cigars
William Cooper Feature Story, PCA 2023 No Comments Feature Story, PCA 2023, PCA 2023 Post Game, Quesada
In 2022, Quesada Cigars celebrated the 75th birthday of its patriarch, Manuel “Manolo” Quesada. At the 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, Quesada Cigars would celebrate another milestone – the 15th anniversary of Casa Magna. Quesada Cigars is releasing a commemorative cigar to mark the occasion – the Casa Magna XV. Quesada also had […]