PCA 2022: Top 3 Things — Patrick Lagreid

Having returned from the sweltering heat of Las Vegas to the much more enjoyable sweltering heat of Phoenix just about a 10 days ago, and writing booth recaps ever since, I’ve been doing a good bit of thinking back of the things that stood out from the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show.

In some ways, I could probably spend an hour or so and a lot of words on the things I remember, whether it be conversations, new products, booth designs, the number of products some companies released or the complete lack of products that other companies had. Yet the more I thought about it, I tried to reduce those things down into a couple of categories: what would I have liked to left the show floor with, what am I most looking forward to seeing on a store shelf in the near future, and what stood out for one reason or another, regardless of whether or not I’d actually buy it or even want it.

As a gentleman, I’ll leave the Padrón y Fuente Legends collaboration for someone else to mention, though I will say I really did enjoy being part of the energy and excitement surrounding the unveiling of that project. And with apologies to a number of companies and people who made some great products, showed me some really interesting things and offered me some very good conversations, here are the three things that have stuck with me the most from the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show:

1. PDR Cigars’ El Vinyet

When Abe Flores pulled a couple of samples out of his bag and told me about this project, it immediately caught my attention. He’s paying homage to some of the influential cigars in his life, and he’s personally involved with their creation, as he will be bunching them, while one of PDR Cigars’ most senior rollers will be applying the wrapper. It will be limited to about 30 stores, and each of the first four sizes will be limited 5,000 cigars, with the Salomon even more limited.

Flores said he’s likely only to make about 2,000 of them, and they will come with a premium price tag of $50, while the other sizes will be in the $10 to $16 range. Given both his personal involvement and what he is attempting to do, I’m incredibly interested to see how the cigars turn out.

2. Tabanero Cigars Making Its Trade Show Debut

A couple of years ago, I made the decision to go to Tampa for the Cigar Heritage Festival, as I had heard a lot of good things about it, I’d never been to Tampa, and I needed to do some traveling during a somewhat slow time of my year. I enjoyed the visit immensely and have done my best to return to the event every year since.

While I enjoy the festival on its own, one of the things I found incredibly fascinating was the number of smaller cigar shops there are in Ybor City, many with their own rolling operations and producing their own cigars. One that I found myself gravitating to on a regular basis was Tabanero Cigars, owned by Yanko Maceda. It was one of those perfectly quaint shops for me to hang out in; it’s right on E. 7th Ave., and there is almost always tons of action to watch going on through the windows, yet that glass provides just enough of a barrier to not feel immersed in it. It’s an easy shop to feel comfortable in, simply grab a cigar or two, an espresso or other beverage, and find a chair to relax in for a bit. Now, Maceda is expanding his reach as he looks have retailers around the country carry his cigars. Seeing him at the trade show not only brought up great memories and thoughts of another trip to Tampa, but it was great to see one of these local shops looking to make the leap to the national stage.

3. ADVentura’s Barbarroja’s Revenge

Marcel Knobel promised me that ADV & McKay Cigars Co. had something special in store for the packaging of the latest chapter of its ADVentura series, and what he had in store certainly caught my attention.

When you open each box, you’re greeted by the voice of Barbarroja telling you to experience the cigar or “pay the price.” Kitschy? Maybe. New technology? Not really. Possibly a bit annoying after a while? Sure.

But I will give the company credit for creating something that stuck in my mind. I can’t tell you how many boxes of cigars I saw during the trade show, many of them well-designed and more than functional, and even some that were truly artistic and well-designed—such as Espinosa’s Las 6 Provinicias CMW—but after a few days back home, I can still hear the voice of that pirate.