PCA 2022: Artista Cigars
This is my second year of covering Artista, though there have been some significant changes since last year.
First, its booth was no longer the last-minute one they had to use last year due to issues at customs with the intended booth. Instead, a freshly designed booth with a new color scheme and seating area, though the company opted to keep the high-top style tables and counter in the back to hand out literature and price sheets.
The second significant change is a complete brand overhaul. Previously, the name Tabacalera El Artista was what the company did business as, then produced brands such as Buffalo Ten that were well received but did nothing for brand recognition. With a rebrand to Artista Cigars, along with some new lines featuring the company’s name, a clear goal is presented to associate the Artista name with the cigars.
First in the rebranding push are two lines under the Artista Series with the Artista Harvest up first. Of note, the packaging you see above is a very close prototype but is not the finalized box or bands.
- Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
- Binder: Ecuador (Habano Seco)
- Filler: Dominican Republic
- ARTISTA Harvest Robusto (5 x 54) — $10.20 (Box of 20, $240)
- ARTISTA Harvest Toro (6 x 50) — $10.40 (Box of 20, $280)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: Fall 2022
The second in the Artista Series is the Artista Midnight, which like the Harvest, does not have the finalized bands or box in the above photo.
- Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
- Binder: Ecuador (Connecticut Shade)
- Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua & U.S.A.
- ARTISTA Midnight Robusto (5 x 54) — $10.20 (Box of 20, $240)
- ARTISTA Midnight Toro (6 x 50) — $10.40 (Box of 20, $280)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: Fall 2022
Artista Studio Works PaperBoy Connecticut
Lastly, the company added the Artista Studio Works line that allows them to play around with fun projects that might not necessarily conform to the same looks and feel of the Artista Series. The first project under this umbrella is the PaperBoy. The bundles of 8 are wrapped in fake newspapers with made up news stories written by the team about the company and factory. It will come with two different wrappers. First, an Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut…
- Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
- Binder: Dominican Republic (Negrito)
- Filler: Colombia, Dominican Republic & U.S.A.
- Artista Studio Works Paperboy Connecticut (4 x 44) — $3.06 (Bundle of 8, $24.50)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: August 2022
Artista Studio Works PaperBoy Maduro
…and second, a Mexican San Andrés maduro.
- Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
- Binder: Dominican Republic (Negrito)
- Filler: Colombia, Dominican Republic & U.S.A.
- Artista Studio Works Paperboy Maduro (4 x 44) — $3.06 (Bundle of 8, $24.50)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: August 2022
Brian Burt
I have been smoking cigars since 2005 and reviewing them as a hobby since 2010. Initially, I started out small with a 50-count humidor and only smoking one or two cigars a month. Not knowing anybody else that smoked cigars, it was only an occasional hobby that I took part in. In March of 2010, I joined Nublive and Cigar Asylum, connecting me with many people who also shared an interest in cigars. Reading what they had to say about brands I had never heard of, I quickly immersed myself in the boutique brands of the industry and it was then that cigars transformed from a hobby into a passion.
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