PCA 2023: JRE Tobacco Co.
JRE Tobacco Co. is one of the easier companies I cover with a photography-friendly booth space, all of its new cigars in a single display, and convenient digital media kits with all the blend and pricing information in one place.
For the last three years now, I’ve struggled with one thing: I can’t find the JRE logo anywhere to use for the featured photo. Though, in the end, that matters little, as you’re here to read about the new cigars.
As for the booth, it has been the same paired-down structure for three shows now, with only the carpet color having been updated since 2021. The various cigar lines that the company offers are housed in display cases around the edge of the booth, giving retailers walking by easy access to take a glance at what they could carry on their shelves.
The Aladino Classic line, first released at the 2022 PCA Convention and Trade Show, is a corojo-foward blend that the company describes as a more classic profile. This year, the line gets one of the Elegante sizes added, which is a 7 x 38 lancero.
- Wrapper: Honduras (Habano)
- Binder: Honduras (Corojo)
- Filler: Honduras (Corojo, Habano)
- Aladino Classic Elegante (7 x 38) — $9.50 (Box of 20, $190)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: July 2023
While not explicitly stated in the name, as many companies tend to do, the Aladino Limited Edition is an exclusive release only available to retailers who attend the 2023 PCA Convention and Trade Show. It is made up of tobacco that has been aged five to six years. The company has hinted that this is a preview of a large release slated for a later date.
- Wrapper: Honduras (Cameroon-seed)
- Binder: Honduras
- Filler: Honduras
- Aladino Limited Edition (6 x 52) — $16 (Box of 20, $320)
Production: 600 Boxes of 20 Cigars (12,000 Total Cigars)
Release Date: August 2023
Aladino Lounge Exclusive
Next up is the first Aladino cigar to be released using Sumatra from the JRE Tobacco Farm, but interestingly enough, it isn’t the only one to do so this year. This lounge exclusive release will only be available at the three branded Aladino Lounges: The Cigar Vault in Austin, Texas, Final Third Cigar & Whiskey Lounge in Indianapolis, Ind. and Nelson Loguasto’s Cigar in Greensburg, Pa.. The three lounge owners traveled down to the JRE factory and farm, working with Julio and Justo Eiroa to create the blend, which first shipped to their shops in June. An additional shipment will be sent again in September.
- Wrapper: Honduras (Sumatra)
- Binder: Honduras
- Filler: Honduras
- Aladino Lounge Exclusive (5 x 50) — $13 (Box of 20, $260)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: June 2023
Last on the list of new cigars is the Aladino Sumatra. This new blend is only being released in a single size, and because of the Lounge Exclusive, it is the second Aladino blend to utilize the JRE-grown Sumatra. The box uses branding that is much different than the rest of the JRE portfolio; that’s because the fourth-generation of the Eiroa family played a larger role in developing this release.
- Wrapper: Honduras (Sumatra)
- Binder: Honduras
- Filler: Honduras
- Aladino Sumatra (6 x 52) — $16 (Box of 20, $320)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: October 2023
Brian Burt
I have been smoking cigars since 2005 and reviewing them as a hobby since 2010. Initially, I started out small with a 50-count humidor and only smoking one or two cigars a month. Not knowing anybody else that smoked cigars, it was only an occasional hobby that I took part in. In March of 2010, I joined Nublive and Cigar Asylum, connecting me with many people who also shared an interest in cigars. Reading what they had to say about brands I had never heard of, I quickly immersed myself in the boutique brands of the industry and it was then that cigars transformed from a hobby into a passion.
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