PCA 2021: Topper

For months, Chris Topper has been talking about his upcoming Topper 125th Anniversary. And like so many other cigar companies, he’s been telling me, “the cigars are done, but the packaging…” It’s a pretty common statement to hear at the trade show, and even now, the finalized packaging isn’t on display. The important part is that Topper is celebrating its 125th anniversary and in September, there will be a cigar to celebrate.

The Topper booth is a sectioned-off area of the De Los Reyes et al. space. As I’ve said in many other places, I think this really works well as it allows the booth to adjust depending on how many visitors it has and it cuts down on individual costs. Topper’s cigars are made by De Los Reyes, hence the connection.

Topper 125th Anniversary

The packaging is based on one of the oldest boxes in Chris Topper’s collection, which he believes are from 1933-1935 given the NRA logo that is on the inside of the lid. It will be offered first to the 40-some-odd stores that sold the Topper 120. Eventually, the cigars will be offered to other retailers. I’ve heard from Jean-Michel Louis of de Los Reyes and Phil Zanghi III, another De Los Reyes client, that the Connecticut broadleaf the factory is using is quite a bit different than what is used in most cigars. I’m curious to put that to the test.

The old box is pictured above.

• Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf)
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua (Habano) & U.S.A. (Pennsylvania Broadleaf)

• Topper 125th Anniversary Grande (6 x 52) — Est. $12.50

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: September 2021