PCA 2023: Ciccar

Each year we are assigned booths to cover every day, generally grouped geographically to reduce the time we have to walk across the trade show floor. Because we pack as much coverage as possible into every hour the trade show is open, it just works out that some booths must be scheduled on the last day of the show. As such, Ciccar’s debut at the 2022 PCA Convention and Trade Show was scheduled to be covered by myself on the final day, but when I showed up, the booth was packed up and there was nothing to cover.

While that’s not an oddity, we’ve certainly run into this plenty of times every year, but it was a disappointment because I was looking forward to learning more about this newer company. Thankfully, this year I had the booth on my schedule earlier so it was still around when I showed up.

The booth itself was a relatively small space, but one that was laid out well. With displays on either side of the back wall, a display case upfront on a branded pedestal and some seating, it was well put together, even if not overly elaborate. Letting the product do the talking as opposed to your booth is a great strategy, and that’s exactly what co-owner Mark Ciccarello was doing when I walked up.

A natural salesman, Ciccarello was listing off all the positive things about the accessory, but more importantly, he was demonstrating it as well. Before I could even get a chance to talk to him, he had already convinced the retailer to carry the product, along with having two other people stop by to purchase a few for themselves and friends. But what exactly is this product?

Ciccar Cigar Holder

When I first walked up to the booth, I just thought it was something of a fashion accessory, like a cigarette holder but for your cigar. Sure, it looks good, but after a few minutes of listening to Ciccarello’s spiel, I realized this was more of a tool than an accessory with no function. Ciccar, derived from Ciccarello’s last name and pronounced che-kar, is a cigar holder and nubbing tool that fits cigars between 38-58 ring gauge. While it’s not necessarily meant to be used to smoke your entire cigar with, although you could, the idea is when you start getting close to the end of your cigar where you can’t hold it anymore, you pop it into this holder.

From there, you can smoke your cigar down to the point where there’s no unburnt tobacco left and you’re sucking ash into your mouth. I wouldn’t recommend it, but the point is, you could. Not only does it keep you from burning your lips or fingers on the last bit, but it also creates a solid seal allowing for a full draw, unlike one you might get from a more traditional nubbing tool that is poked through the cigar near the cap. Ciccarello co-owns Ciccar along with Tyson Baker and Dan Rosenthal. I didn’t meet Baker, but Cicarello was sporting a beard and Rosenthal a mustache. They both pointed out that this product also keeps your cigar from singing any facial hair.

Even though it’s not a fashion accessory, Ciccar has ensured it looks good. You can either choose from wood or stone for the material. For the wooden tips (seen above on the left), you can choose from full wood or a colored resin tip of green, white, or black. For the stone version currently, it is only offered in tiger’s eye.

In addition to the cigar holder, Ciccar also offers a magnetic silicon ring that goes around the cigar holder, allowing you to stick it to whatever metal surface you’d like. Specifically, this was designed with golfers in mind so that you could stick your cigar on the golf cart frame, grab it to take a draw, and stick it back quickly and easily. There is also a gift set kit that includes a leather holder, spare silicon tips, and some cleaning accessories. Lastly, an aluminum base and a light-up base are available, giving you a place to set your Ciccar/cigar down, as it wouldn’t always balance well on an ashtray.

• Ciccar Cigar Holder — $100
• Ciccar Kit — $150
• Magnet Ring Pack (3 Pieces: White, Gray, Black) — $20
• Silicon Tip Replacements (5 Pieces) — $7
• Aluminum Ciccar Stand — $10
• Light Up Ciccar Stand — $30

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: 2022