PCA 2023: Fratello

Perhaps more than just about any company, I was very curious to see what Fratello’s strategy for PCA 2023 would be. More than any company can think of recently, Fratello has been announcing new cigars and then not immediately shipping them. That in and of itself would be relatively fine—you don’t need to ship your new cigars immediately—but I consider it risky when you then announce another new product on top of that. For the first half of 2023, Fratello has announced a lot of new products, but has rarely shipped them on time, creating this overlapping new product cycle and I was curious to see if it was going to get better or worse at PCA 2023.

I was pleasantly relieved to see that Omar de Frias didn’t have six new cigars to show off at PCA 2023. Intead, it was about the Lunar Series, which the company has already soft launched, and a homecoming of sorts for the Sorella blend. Allowing the company’s Lunar Series to get the full spotlight was the right decision. Had Fratello come to the show with Arlequin Connecticut, a 10th Anniversary Limited Edition and lanceros for two lines, that would have taken away much of the attention for the Lunar Series, which I think serves as the company’s de facto 10th anniversary release.

As for the booth, it looks like it was new for this year. It was an open concept with displays, a small closet and other branding to help enclose the booth. There was also some very interesting rum in the booth. One thing that was very apparent in the Fratello booth and some others I stopped by: carpeting makes a big difference. It was very difficult for me to tell where the Fratello booth started and ended. Part of this is due to a lack of orderly aisles at this trade show—the Fratello booth felt sandwiched by the booths around it and the column running through it—and part of it is that many of these open-concept booths don’t use different colored carpeting. As with everything related to a trade show, renting carpet is stupidly expensive, but I think for Fratello it would have helped a lot spatially. I’m not sure if that makes a dimes worth of difference in sales, but there are a lot of people who spend their careers designing spaces to help increase sales.

Fratello Sorella Toro (2023)

This is not the first release of the Sorella Toro in the U.S., but it will be the first time American consumers can purchase the cigar as a standalone item. Sorella debuted in 2019 as part of the Fratello Space Pack, a five-count sampler that contained 6 x 50 toro cigars, including two new blends: Sorella and Arlequin. After getting feedback about the two blends, Fratello designated Arlequin for the U.S., while Sorella was reserved for stores outside the U.S.

Interestingly, the toro that is sold for international markets measures 6 1/2 x 54.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
• Binder: Indonesia
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua

• Fratello Sorella Toro (2023) (6 x 50) — $11.50 (Box of 20, $230)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2023

Fratello The Lunar Cameroon

There are three versions of The Lunar, which have a moon landing theme. The Cameroon and Connecticut are both regular production items that come in unique-looking, albeit standard boxes. All three are made at La Aurora Cigar Factory. Fratello says the trio will begin shipping to stores nationwide on Aug. 1, 2023.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Cameroon)
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Nicaragua

• Fratello The Lunar Cameroon (6 x 50) — $14 (Box of 15, $210)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: June 2023

Fratello The Lunar Connecticut

If you are wondering why the release date is listed as June, it’s because the company held three prerelease events at stores in June.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
• Binder: Mexico
• Filler: Cameroon, Dominican Republic & Nicaragua

• Fratello The Lunar Connecticut (6 x 50) — $14 (Box of 15, $210)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: June 2023

Fratello The Lunar Limited Edition Humidor

The star of the show is the Lunar Limited Edition Humidor. As many of you know, de Frias was a former NASA employee. For this release, he has teamed up with Steve Altemus, the former NASA Deputy Center Director for Johnson Space Center and the founder, president and ceo of Intuitive Machines.

Intuitive Machines has a contract with NASA to place five scientific instruments on the moon. The first flight is currently scheduled for later this year and Fratello’s logo will be on the spacecraft. This humidor is designed to look like the spacecraft. This packaging has gotten a lot more criticism—including in our comments section—than I would have ever expected and I’m not sure why. It looks more or less the same in person, but I just don’t understand why some people have such negative reactions to this. It’s a replica of a spacecraft, one that the company has some attachment to. It’s not remotely as detailed as S.T. Dupont’s Apollo collection, but that piece was $40,000; this is $450.

• Wrapper: Dominican Republic
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic

• Fratello The Lunar Limited Edition Humidor (6 x 50) — $25 (Humidor of 18, $450)

Production: 200 Humidors of 18 Cigars (3,600 Total Cigars)*

Release Date: June 2023

*There are 200 humidors being made, but only 175 will be sold. Intuitive Machines will receive 25 of the humidors.