Cigar Coop Prime Time Show

Partagas was one of several brands being showcased by Forged Cigar Company at the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show.  Quietly, Partagas has been emerging as one of the more innovative brands since STG shifted it into the Forged Cigar portfolio in 2021. Since then, we've seen Partagas add its first Connecticut blend, Partagas Cortado, and its first San Andres Maduro, Partagas Valle Verde. More recently, we have witnessed Partagas begin to collaborate with other factories. This started in 2023 with the El Titan de Bronze release on Partagas de Bronce. This year at PCA 2025, Partagas unveiled a new collaboration with Tabacalera William Ventura - Partagas Y Nada Mas Santiago. At the same time, this cigar marks a major change in direction for the Partagas brand. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wiP    

While Plasencia Cigars is always one of the busiest booths at the PCA Trade Show, 2025 took things to another level. This year, Plasencia Cigars had a significant release with Alma del Cielo, and the company hosted a major launch event at their booth. Plasencia Cigars is no stranger to major trade show launches. In 2017, Plasencia hosted a major launch event at IPCPR to introduce its brands. While Plasencia has released many cigars, this is the first launch event since then. Plasencia pulled out all the stops - not only were there presentations by Nestor Andrés Plasencia and Interim CEO Jim Young, but a performance by renowned R&B/Soul artist October London also highlighted the unveiling. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wiH    

There were quite a few changes at the Global Premium Cigars booth at the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. For starters, CEO Enrique Sanchez was joined by his new Chief Growth Officer, Jaime Florez-Estrada, a veteran of the cigar industry. On the cigar front, the 1502 brand is going through a substantial repackaging. Finally, there was a new blend - a Connecticut Shade offering under the Cachitos brand. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-whn

Officially, the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show was the first since Raquel and Patricia Quesada assumed day-to-day leadership of Quesada Cigars. While Raquel has been a face of the company in recent years, Patricia has now returned, and together the sisters are continuing the legacy of the Quesada name. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-whd

On Prime Time Special Edition 174, the Cigar Coop Coalition gathers for its 2025 PCA Recap. The team is back from this year’s Trade Show, and we will talk about the highlights of the show and the memories we took away. Additionally, we feature our Artesano del Tobacco Under the Sea, Espinosa, this Day in Sports History, and Tabacalera USA’s Great Things are Happening Here segments.

While Ferio Tego has been present at the PCA Trade Show since 2021, the 2025 PCA Trade Show as a little different in that its distributor, Davidoff of Geneva was back. For the most part, things were the same at Ferio Tego, as the company had its own booth located in the vicinity of Davidoff. As always we catch up with one of the principals behind Ferio Tego, Michael Herklots Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wgm  

The 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show was the fourth one for Oz Family Cigars. Company founder Tim Ozgener has used each of those PCA Trade Shows to introduce a new release. 2025 would also see Oz Family Cigars release its fourth regular production, Karatoba. This would be a very different release for Oz Family Cigars. Our interview with Tim not only discusses the Karatoba, but a fun tradition we have is that we ask Tim to do impressions of some cigar industry personalities. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wge  

On Prime Time Jukebox Episode 158, the title of this episode is “Everyone Has One Great Song” The concept works as follows:  Dave and Coop explore artists they simply do not like, and see if they can find one really good (or great song) from that artists. Dave and Coop make this picks cold, so neither knows what the other is thinking. Plus we got music news, cigar news, New Music 45 and the music pairing of the week In this episode, Dave smokes the Aksum Corona Gorda from Foundation Cigar Company. Coop smokes the Room101 15th Anniversary. As always, you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists: Episode 158 Playlist References David Briggs 1943 – 2025 - Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Roy Thomas Baker, Producer of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ the Cars, Foreigner and More, Dies at 78 Developing Palates Team Cigar Review: Los Statos Deluxe Connecticut Robusto - Developing Palates

Fratello Cigars certainly had a busy 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. Each year I try to come up with a theme for a booth, but when it comes to Fratello owner and founder Omar de Frias, there is one word that comes to mind - "excitement". Omar brings an energy and genuine excitement to the projects he is developing. Like each year, Fratello's booth is quite busy in 2025, but our team managed to get to Omar on day one as opposed to trying to catch him before the Trade Show closes on the final day. With over a decade in the cigar business, Fratello Cigars has built up a nice portfolio of core and limited edition offerings.  2025 saw several new additions introduced at PCA 2025. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wfl

The 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show marked our first visit with Manny Iriarte Enterprises and The OpusX Society. Iriarte has long worked with Arturo Fuente on packaging and box design. Recognizing the power of the Fuente Fuente OpusX brand, Iriarate worked with Carlito Fuente to create The OpusX Society. The OpusX Society offers another outlet to cater to the rabid fan base of OpusX. This includes both accessories and exclusive products with original art inspired by the OpusX brand. This is a separate company from Arturo Fuente, but it nonetheless receives the company's support. Manny Iriarte's company has been attending several trade shows, and this year, there were plenty of products for fans of OpusX. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wfA

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. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-we1

Foundation Cigar Company celebrated its tenth anniversary at the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. In 2024, owner and Master Blender Nicholas Melillo made significant changes by revamping the Wise Man line and rebranding Metapa as Aksum. He expected 2025 to be a more relaxing year. However, a recent fire at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua has impacted Foundation, as many of its lines are produced there. Despite these challenges, Melillo is determined to move forward. Foundation has a limited edition, a line extension, and a new event-only cigar. The common denominator is that all of these projects will involve Connecticut tobacco, as Connecticut is Melillo's home state and the location of Foundation Cigar Company's headquarters. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wdY

One of the staple companies of the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show is Gran Habano Cigars. For the past couple of years, Gran Habano has been showcasing its Gran Habano Corojo No 7. Initially released in the Gran Robusto (6 x 54) size, the Gran Habano Corojo No. 7 was finally introduced to the market late in 2024. This year, Gran Habano is introducing two new line extensions: a Robusto (5 x 52) and a Corona (7 x 46). Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wcW

As has well been documented, 2025 marked Davidoff of Geneva's return to the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. If there was any question about how things would go for Davidoff upon its return, it was quickly answered. Davidoff's booth was undoubtedly one of the busiest at this year's trade show, buzzing with activity from beginning to end. It showcased four prominent brands: AVO, Camacho, Zino, and the flagship Davidoff brand itself. However, like AVO and Camacho, Davidoff has launched a limited-edition cigar to commemorate a special milestone. This particular release marks the ten-year anniversary of Davidoff Escurio, commemorated in the Davidoff Escurio 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2025. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wcJ  

We are back from the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, and tonight for Episode 339 we have Jeff Borysiewicz as our special guest as we also celebrate 8 years on Prime Time. We will have a wide range of topics from Corona Cigar to the FSG Tobacco Farm to a bunch of industry topics. Plus we will have our Alec Bradley Live True, Altadis Ties That Bind, FSG Beef, Espinosa This Day in Sports History and Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Industry Deliberation segments.

To say the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show was a big one for Perdomo Cigars was an understatement. Two years ago, Perdomo had what was arguably one of the biggest and most successful launches in recent memory with the Perdomo 30th Anniversary. It would seem that topping the buzz around Perdomo 30th would be a challenge. In this case, the launch of the Perdomo Legacy might have surpassed it. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wa

Perhaps one of the most interesting first-time exhibitors at the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show was Raíces Cubanas. This is the brand originating from Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L., the renowned factory in Honduras. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wb3  

Camacho, much like the other brands in Davidoff's portfolio, returned to the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show for the first time since 2019. This year Camacho introduced the Camacho Limited Edition 2025 cigar. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-w9l

At the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, Davidoff made a notable return, and one brand that stood out with a fresh look was Zino. Davidoff had not participated in the PCA (formerly IPCPR) Trade Show since 2019. For many years, the company's primary focus has been on its flagship brands: Davidoff, AVO, and Camacho. Although Zino has always been included in Davidoff's exhibits, it was generally considered a secondary brand. However, this year, Zino took its place alongside the other three major brands, and the difference was quite noticeable. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-w80

One of the many first-time exhibitors at the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show was Valacari Cigars. Founded by Tallahassee retailer Nimmer Ahmad, the company works with Tabacalera Pages de Nicaragua S.A. in Nicaragua to make its cigars. While a first-time exhibitor, Valacari has been in business since 2016. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-w6v