A.C.E. Prime Launching at IPCPR 2019 With Five Brands

At this year’s IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, Tabacalera Pichardo—a Nicaraguan based factory—will begin to offer its own brand under the A.C.E. Prime name—and the factory is coming out swinging with five brand families split into 11 SKUs.

One cigar helps to explain the acronym, A Cuban Experience. There will be three different blends under the A Cuban Experience name, each offered in a single size.

A Cuban Experience El Corazon uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper over an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and fillers from Nicaragua.

• A Cuban Experience El Corazon (6 x 52) — $10.50 (Box of 20, $210)

For those wanting a lancero, there’s A Cuban Experience El Elegante which uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Condega, Jalapa and Ometepe tobaccos. The company says this cigar was developed by Eradio Pichardo and the late Arsenio Ramos.

• A Cuban Experience El Elegante — $15 (Box of 10, $150)

And for those wanting more strength, there’s La Sombra. It uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper over an Ecuadorian Sumatran binder and fillers from Nicaragua, but the company says there are six different ligero tobaccos used in the blend.

• A Cuban Experience La Sombra (6 x 60)

Pichardo Clasico is made to taste similar to Cuban cigars with a profile the company describes as floral. It uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers.

• Pichardo Clasico (6 1/2 x 50) — $9.50 (Box of 20, $190)

There are also three different cigars and blends offered under the Pichardo Reserva Familiar, each named after the wrapper tobacco. For the Pichardo Reserva Familiar Connecticut, that means an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

• Pichardo Reserva Familiar Connecticut (6 x 52) — $10.50 (Box of 15, $157.50)

The Pichardo Reserva Familiar Habano replaces the wrapper with an Ecuadorian habano variety but keeps the Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers.

• Pichardo Reserva Familiar Habano (6 x 52) — $11 (Box of 15, $165)

As for the Pichardo Reserva Familiar San Andres, it uses a Mexican wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua.

• Pichardo Reserva Familiar San Andres (6 x 52) — $10.50 (Box of 15, $172.50)

Luciano Meirelles, A.C.E. Prime’s founder, also gets a cigar with his name on it called Luciano The Traveler. It uses pelo de oro tobaccos in the filler from both Ecuador and Peru, capped off by an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. Production is also limited to 25,000 total cigars.

• Luciano The Traveler (7 x 46) — $17 (Box of 12, $204)

The company has also announced two other lines, both made in collaboration with former NBA players: M.X.S. by Dominique Wilkins and M.X.S. by Tiago Splitter.

Tabacalera Pichardo says it produces 2.5 million cigars per year, perhaps best known for Juárez from Crowned Heads. A.C.E. Prime says it expects to begin shipping the cigars around the 2019 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, which begins June 29 in Las Vegas.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.