PCA 2022: Bellatto Premium Cigars

There have been years when my coverage of Tony Bellatto’s trade show booth is pretty quick and easy because there’s very little new. This year, that’s not the case at all.

Earlier this year, Bellatto announced that he was pivoting from La Barba to Bellatto Premium Cigars. I use the word “pivoting” because it seems like the intent is to close a chapter and start a new one, even if some of the La Barba cigars will continue to be sold. Bellatto Premium Cigars is a new company that is not simply a rebrand of La Barba, though there is one La Barba release that entered full production at the trade show, but I believe this is supposed to be the final cigar from the La Barba era. The Bellatto era also kicked off with three new lines of its own. And then there’s Lost&Found, which is being covered here and also going through a major transition in 2022.

As for the booth, it is pretty barebones but certainly seems more than enough to do the trick. Most of the new product is on display on a table, there are seating areas, and if the seats are occupied, the booth is located right next to the lunch area where there are literally hundreds of seats and dozens of large tables.

Bellatto Edition Brazil

Edition actually started life as a private blend for the friends and family of William Ventura, the man behind Tabacalera William Ventura. Tony Bellatto says that after enough whisky and Sprite, he managed to convince Ventura to let him sell the blend. It is branded as Bellatto Edition as a celebration of his father’s, Gene, 50th anniversary of working in the cigar industry. The Bellattos own a trio of cigar shops in Ohio called Havana House. Gene Bellatto is also a partner in Bellatto Premium Cigars.

There are two versions of Bellatto Edition, one with a Brazilian wrapper and the other Ecuadorian Connecticut shade—both of which are aimed at being reminiscent of old-school Dominican cigars. That said, the filler is undisclosed as William Ventura won’t tell Bellatto what it is. Of note, these are made at the William Ventura factory, which is different than the factory that makes La Barba, which is run by William’s son, Henderson.

• Wrapper: Brazil (Arapiraca Dark)
• Binder: Undisclosed
• Filler: Undisclosed

• Bellatto Edition Brazil Lonsdale (6 x 46) — $12 (Box of 20, $240)
• Bellatto Edition Brazil Robusto (5 x 50) — $14 (Box of 20, $280)
• Bellatto Edition Brazil Toro Grande (6 x 54) — $15.50 (Box of 20, $310)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2022

Bellatto Edition Connecticut

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut Shade)
• Binder: Undisclosed
• Filler: Undisclosed

• Bellatto Edition Connecticut Lonsdale (6 x 48) — $13 (Box of 20, $260)
• Bellatto Edition Connecticut Robusto (5 x 50) — $14 (Box of 20, $280)
• Bellatto Edition Connecticut Toro Grande (6 x 50) — $15 (Box of 20, $300)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2022

Not pictured.

Knockaround

This is noticeably less expensive than the other Bellatto-branded cigars debuting at the trade show, and that’s intentional. Knockaround is meant to be an every day cigar and is one of the rare releases that comes in a box where all the sizes are priced under $10.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
• Binder: Dominican Republic (Habano)
• Filler: Dominican Republic

• Knockaround Robusto 550 (5 x 50) — $7 (Box of 20, $140)
• Knockaround Toro 650 (6 x 50) — $8 (Box of 20, $160)
• Knockaround Gordo 660 (6 x 60) — $9 (Box of 20, $180)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2022

La Barba Ricochet Crü Shade

This is the Ricochet blend but with an Ecuadorian Connecticut shade wrapper, which means it should fit firmly into the new school Connecticut category. While these four sizes just started shipping, earlier this year Bellatto released a very small run of lanceros in this blend and the Ricochet Crü Oscuro.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut Shade)
• Binder: Indonesia (Sumatra)
• Filler: Dominican Republic (HVA), Nicaragua (Criollo) & U.S.A. (Pennsylvania)

• Ricochet Crü Shade Cafe (4 x 42) — $8 (Box of 25, $200)
• Ricochet Crü Shade Robusto (5 x 50) — $11 (Box of 25, $275)
• Ricochet Crü Shade Toro (6 x 50) — $12 (Box of 25, $300)
• Ricochet Crü Shade Magnum (6 x 60) — $13 (Box of 25, $325)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2022*

*These sizes all began shipping this month but the Lancero was released earlier in the year.

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Not pictured.

22 Minutes to Midnight 11:38 Habano

This is a follow-up to the pair of 22 Minutes to Midnight blends that shipped in May. Those cigars—branded as 23:38—are considered Robert Caldwell editions, these are considered the Tony Bellatto editions. The reason behind the name is that Caldwell and Bellatto were testing smoking some cigars and at 11:38 p.m., 22 minutes to midnight, Bellatto texted Caldwell and said that they needed to do something with the cigars.

Bellatto was giving out samples, but the cigars were not on display because the packaging is not ready.

• Wrapper: Undisclosed (Habano)
• Binder: Undisclosed
• Filler: Undisclosed

• 22 Minutes to Midnight 11:38 Habano Corona Extra (6 x 48) — $16 (Box of 20, $320)
• 22 Minutes to Midnight 11:38 Habano Robusto (5 x 50) — $17.25 (Box of 20, $345)
• 22 Minutes to Midnight 11:38 Habano Toro (6 x 52) — $18.50 (Box of 20, $370)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2022

Not pictured.

22 Minutes to Midnight 11:38 Maduro

• Wrapper: Undisclosed (Maduro)
• Binder: Undisclosed
• Filler: Undisclosed

• 22 Minutes to Midnight 11:38 Maduro Corona Extra (6 x 48) — $16 (Box of 20, $320)
• 22 Minutes to Midnight 11:38 Maduro Robusto (5 x 50) — $17.25 (Box of 20, $345)
• 22 Minutes to Midnight 11:38 Maduro Toro (6 x 52) — $18.50 (Box of 20, $370)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2022

One Night Stand (2022)

In April, I wrote that Lost&Found was changing its business model from one that “found” cigars that were left at a factory for one reason or another, i.e. “lost” cigars. The issue is that after nearly seven years of going into factories to buy these leftover cigars, there just aren’t that many left.

So Lost&Found—the partnership between Bellatto, Caldwell and Jaclyn Sears—opted to remake some of its previous releases. These cigars using more or less the same recipes as the original releases, though they aren’t necessarily made at the same factories, nor do they have the same type of age. That said, all of the cigars are described as two- to three-years-old.

• Wrapper: Dominican Republic (Negrito)
• Binder: Undisclosed (Habano)
• Filler: Undisclosed (Corojo)

• One Night Stand 10th Anniversary Toro (6 x 50) — $15 (Box of 10, $150)
• One Night Stand Corona (TBA) — $10 (Box of 20, $2o0)
• One Night Stand Robusto (5 x 50) — $11 (Box of 20, $220)
• One Night Stand Toro (6 x 50) — $12 (Box of 20, $240)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2022

Not pictured.

Pepper Cream Soda (2022)

I saw a box of Cream Machine on display, but that’s not this.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Arapiraca)
• Binder: Dominican Republic (Piloto)
• Filler: Dominican Republic (Habano & HVA)

• Pepper Cream Soda 10th Anniversary Robusto (5 x 50) — $15 (Box of 10, $150)
• Pepper Cream Soda Corona (5 1/4 x 46) — $11 (Box of 20, $220)
• Pepper Cream Soda Robusto (5 x 50) — $12 (Box of 20, $240)
• Pepper Cream Soda Toro (6 x 52) — $13 (Box of 20, $260)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2022

Supreme Cream (2022)

Caldwell previously told me that the new version of Supreme Cream had a “slight blend (modification.)”

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Arapiraca)
• Binder: Dominican Republic (Piloto)
• Filler: Dominican Republic (Habano & HVA)

• Supreme Cream Corona Extra (5 1/4 x 45) — $13 (Box of 10, $130)
• Supreme Cream Robusto (4 3/4 x 50) — $14 (Box of 10, $140)
• Supreme Cream Toro (6 1/4 x 52) — $15 (Box of 10, $150)
• Supreme Cream Lancero (7 x 40) — $14 (Box of 10, $140)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2022