PCA 2023: AJ Fernandez

To the best of my recollection—and this site’s search capabilities—AJ Fernandez was not at the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, something that seems quite odd to say about a company so large, though we have been saying that about other companies bigger than AJ Fernandez, so it’s not entirely unfamiliar. In looking back at my coverage of the company in recent years, I’m reminded of my surprise at the company’s booth at the 2021 PCA Convention & Trade Show, as the company took a scaled-down approach as many companies did following the year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While I don’t know if I’d call the company’s previous booths the most lavish at the show, they always seemed to lean into that side of the spectrum and were always plenty big to welcome in all the retailers wanting to place orders.

This year, the company returned with a new booth, one that looked and felt much like the AJ Fernandez booths of previous years. One of the more interesting things is that the company didn’t load it up with its extensive portfolio of cigars, instead choosing to use its display space to focus on its newest products. While I didn’t confirm the strategy behind this with the company, it echoed what another company with a fairly large portfolio did, and when I asked them about it, the response was simple: if you, as a retailer, don’t know about us or aren’t already carrying our products, that means we need to have a different conversation than the one we’re having at the show with most people visiting the booth. Not to mention that this approach reduces the number of cigars needing to be shipped to the show and the costs associated with getting them to the booth, among other things.

This year, the company added just a few things to its portfolio, many of which were displayed in the cases you see above, while a good chunk of the booth was set up with table and chairs for meetings and the placing of orders.

New World Dorado Corona

The New World Dorado line gets a fifth size, the first new size since the line shipped to retailers in September 2022. The blend remains the same, and the size becomes the thinnest ring gauge among the five vitolas in which the line is now offered.

• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Habano Sun Grown)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua

• New World Dorado Corona (5 5/8 x 46) — $10 (Box of 10, $100)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2023

 

New World Dorado The Gold Standard Sampler

As part of the release of the New World Dorado Corona, the company is releasing a sampler with one of each of the five vitolas in the line:

• New World Dorado Robusto (5 1/2 x 52)
• New World Dorado Gordito (5 1/2 x 60)
• New World Dorado Figurado (6 x 56)
• New World Dorado Toro (6 x 54)
• New World Dorado Corona (5 5/8 x 46)

While I have mixed feelings about samplers such as this, I do think this is a great way to compare the vitolas to see if there’s one you like significantly more or less than the others, and do so in a convenient package without having to worry about a retailer being out of a size or two. There’s also the gifting aspect of this, since the holidays aren’t that far away.

MSRP: $50

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2023

New World Minis

Prior to the release of the Minis, if you wanted a small vitola in the New World line, your best option was a 5 1/2 x 55 robusto. This new size gives you a much smaller option, while keeping the same blend as the bigger sizes in the line.

• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Oscuro)
• Binder: Nicaragua (Jalapa)
• Filler: Nicaragua (Condega, Estelí & Ometepe)

• New World Minis (4 x 36) — $4.40 (Box of 5, $22)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2023