PCA 2022: ACE Prime

Of all of the companies I have covered during this year’s PCA Convention & Trade Show, ACE Prime may be the most fascinating. That is due in part to the extremely interesting conversation involving a number of different topics that I had with president and co-founder Luciano Meirelles, but also due to the details of his company’s two new releases.

Those two releases could not be more different: the first is a cigar created to pair with a wine which incorporates tobacco that has been selected for its neutral pH balance, while the other is a blend honoring the life of Meirelles’ mother, who passed away when he was just 12-years-old.

Like last year, ACE Prime is distributed by and has a partnership with Crowned Heads, so it is no surprise that ACE Prime’s cigars are being sold in the Crowned Heads booth. As I mentioned in my Crowned Heads booth post, the space has undergone a major upgrade since last year, resulting in some dramatic changes that really help nail down the idea that the booth is a cohesive partnership bringing together three different entities.

Maria Lucia

ACE Prime’s founder and co-owner, Luciano Meirelles, is honoring his deceased mother with this new line, and he said it took him years before even attempting a blend to honor her. The packaging features artwork by Meirelles’ daughter, Deborah, who is an artist and fashion designer. The design comes from a dream of a woman that Deborah had, and when she sketched it and showed it to her father, he recognized it as his mother when she was a young woman. Maria Lucia will only be offered to retailers who attend the show and will be limited in production, but new sizes are on the way for early 2023.

• Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf)
• Binder: Ecuador (Sumatra & HBN 92)
• Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua & Peru

• Maria Lucia (5 1/4 x 54) — $12.80 (Box of 12, $153.60)

Production: 4,000 Boxes of 12 Cigars (48,000 Total Cigars)

Release Date: July 2022

Mas Igneus

Wine and cigars have a bit of a love-hate relationship. Some people find them hard to pair together, while others like a hearty red wine as an accompaniment to their cigar. In the case of the Mas Igneus line, ACE Prime has created a cigar designed to be paired with hearty red wines with higher tannin levels, including a particular wine, “M” from Mas Igneus, a winery in which Luciano Meirelles is a partner. To do this, the company adapted a chemistry kit to test for the pH levels in the tobaccos being considered for the blend and then selecting ones that would complement the pH levels of the wine. Meirelles calls the cigar a very meaty blend that is almost a meal in terms of the density and texture of the smoke.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Corojo 98)
• Binder: Brazil
• Filler: Nicaragua

• Mas Igneus Short Robusto (4 1/2 x 50) — $11.95 (Box of 20, $239)
• Mas Igneus Toro (6 x 52) — $12.45 (Box of 20, $249)
• Mas Igneus Ancho (5 x 54) — $12.95 (Box of 20, $259)
• Mas Igneus Excelente (6 x 60) — $13.45 (Box of 20, $269)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2022