Cigar Coop Prime Time Show

Topper Cigar Company is a regular stop for the Cigar Coop Coalition team at the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, and 2025 was no exception. Last year, Topper Cigar Company made a significant release with the Topper 1894 line, a cigar celebrating its 130th anniversary. This release came just three years after the company launched its 125th-anniversary cigar. The reason for this accelerated timeline is that Topper has historically traced its company's founding back to 1896. However, Chris Topper, President of Topper Cigar, discovered historical documents indicating that the company’s inception dates back to 1894.  As a result, Topper is established as the longest-standing family-owned cigar company in the United States, solidifying the company’s rich history in U.S. tobacco. This year, Topper had a couple of line extensions to both the 125th Anniversary and 1894 lines in the form of a 4 1/4 x 43 vitola called the Shorty. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wQm  

The 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show saw Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Co. go back to its roots with its two new releases.  Over the past decade, Oscar Valladares has built a significant factory and farming operation in Honduras. One of the first people Valladares started working with was Jim Robinson, a Pittsburgh retailer. That project would be the Leaf by Oscar. Subsequently, Valladares would then produce the line synonymous with Robinson, Island Jim. Today Robinson's lines are now part of the Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Co portfolio - and this year the company would have no releases around Leaf by Oscar and Island Jim. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wQt  

For Prime Time Episode 342, we are honored to welcome back the Artesano Del Tobacco guys, Billy and Gus Fakih. Billy and Gus are the folks behind the brands of Artesano Del Tobacco. This includes Viva La Vida and El Pulpo. It’s been a little while since we last had them for a full show, and tonight we will get updates on the latest on what’s happening. Plus we will have our special “Under the Sea” segment, FSG Beef, Alec Bradley Live True, Espinosa This Day in Sports History, and Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Deliberation segments.

The 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA Trade Show marked the third consecutive one for Serafin de Cuba. This year, Serafin de Cuba introduced a new limited-edition cigar. Unfortunately, before the Trade Show, they had to swiftly rebrand this product to Reserva 2506 to avoid a potential trademark issue. Fortunately, Serafin de Cuba completed the rebranding and was able to highlight this new release at the 2025 Trade Show. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wPa

Aganorsa Leaf consistently brings fresh surprises to the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, and 2025 was no different. This year, they unveiled two exciting releases centered around two of their most prominent brands: JFR and Supreme Leaf. The JFR brand is marking its 20th Anniversary, and to celebrate this significant milestone, a new regular production line has been launched. Meanwhile, Supreme Leaf is a limited production line, and this year, not only did a new size make its debut, but there was also some new packaging. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wOX

One company that was not a cigar company we visited at the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show was Abbina Craft Sipping Soda. Abbina (Italian for “to match” or “to combine”) Craft Sipping Soda was created by Charlie Albanetti, who sought a more interesting non-alcoholic beverage pairing for cigars than other commercially available sodas. The company emphasizes that Abbina’s unique flavors, including earthy notes reminiscent of beet and leathery undertones infused with saffron and patchouli, are intended to both create new flavor combinations with those typically found in cigars and to highlight otherwise undetectable flavors in cigars. Abbina sodas are crafted in small batches with complex flavors, specifically designed for slow sipping. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wOb  

The 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show marked a unique year for AJ Fernandez Cigar Company. Naturally, everyone's thoughts were with the company following the recent factory fire that occurred a few weeks prior. Despite this challenge, the company had several intriguing releases to showcase. First, they celebrated the tenth anniversary of the New World brand with a special commemorative cigar. Additionally, there was a collaboration with Dominican cigar legend Eladio Diaz. Lastly, a cigar originally created for Haiti was now being introduced for national distribution. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wNY

While not a new exhibitor at the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, JM Tobacco was a first-time visit for the Cigar Coop Coalition team. Last year, Kevin Shahan of Cigar Prop warmly introduced JM's President, Anto Mahourkian, to our team. JM Tobacco is a company that has achieved success in the value-priced cigar market, but more recently, they have been expanding their premium brand, Española. For 2025, a new blend is being introduced to Española: the Corojo. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wN2

The Oveja Negra Brands booth at the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show was bustling with activity in 2025, as always. While our interview couldn't capture all the excitement happening there, it was anything but slow. A major highlight is that Black Works Studio is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a series of special releases. Additionally, Black Label Trading Company and Emilio are introducing new offerings as well. Another significant development that occurred after the Trade Show is that Apostate Cigars will be joining the Oveja Negra family in June. Lastly, during the 2024 awards season, Oveja Negra Brands emerged as a major winner in the Cigar Coop Coalition. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wMM

  On Prime Time Jukebox Episode 160, we look at the Last 25 Years in Music. Basically the year 2025 starts the second quarter of this century. In this episode, we look back at the first quarter of this century – 2000 to 2024 (the last 25 years) and we look at the trends, artists, and innovations from the world of music that shaped that first quarter century. Plus, we’ve got music news, cigar news, New Music 45 and the music pairing of the week. In this episode, Dave smokes the Knuckle Sandwich 57, and Coop smokes the Viva La Vida Connecticut. As always, you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists: Episode 160 Playlist 

One of the more interesting stories behind a cigar release at the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Showcame from Black Star Line Cigars. The cigar is called Meadowood, MLK, and it's a cigar that pays homage to Martin Luther King. Meadowood was a tobacco farm located in Simsbury, Connecticut, owned by the Cullman Brothers. Before attending college, King worked at this farm, where he found inspiration to become a pastor by delivering small sermons to his fellow employees. This is a story that many people are unfamiliar with, but Black Star Line Cigars' Meadowood keeps this history alive. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wLV

When thinking about C.L.E. Cigar Company's theme for the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, one word came to mind - smorgasbord. There was a little bit of everything going on at C.L.E. across the company's three brands: C.L.E., Asylum, and Eiroa. There were new lines, reblends, rebrands, innovative packaging, and a flavored cigar. However, all these releases dwarfed Asylum's 134 x 13 release - the Megalophobia. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wLo

Didier Cigars is a newcomer to the U.S. market and the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. Founded by Didier Lazare Benitah, born in France and now residing in Miami, the brand draws inspiration from the fashion industry, where Didier worked for several decades. He brings the concept of Haute Couture to the cigar industry. Haute Couture refers to exclusive, custom-fitted clothing found in high-end fashion. Similarly, Didier applies this concept to the packaging and manufacturing of cigars. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wJY

For the accessories fan, Quality Importers Trading Company always provides a lot of new and fun things, and the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show was no exception. Quality Importers has a wide range of accessories under various brands. If you look at things from a high level, this year Quality Importers focused on travel humidors, a new electronic humidor, and a new electronic humidification device. In addition, the Xikar brand now has a new soft-flame lighter and an extension to its popular XI1 cutter line. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wKa

Casa 1910 had a busy few weeks leading up to the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. The Mexican-based company hired Rob Maneson, an industry veteran, as its new Chief Commercial Officer. Additionally, Jeremy Fondi was appointed the new U.S. National Sales Manager. Finally, Casa 1910 is launching a major new product line called Mexigars. This line was previewed at the 2024 PCA Trade Show and is officially being introduced to the market this year. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wJ4

Each year at the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, Gurkha introduces several new releases, and 2025 was no exception. A few years ago, Gurkha decided to emphasize its capabilities as a cigar maker, which led to a more simplified packaging approach. However, in the past couple of years, Gurkha has returned to its roots with more ornate and elaborate packaging while continuing to enhance its cigar-making skills. Additionally, the 2025 PCA Trade Show featured the unveiling of a new brand, Volition America, which was launched in late 2024 and presents an entirely different theme. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wJ2

On Prime Time Jukebox Episode 159, we present Down the Rabbit Hole #9– our 9th installment of this series. This time we are joined by a very special guest, co-founder and President of Crowned Heads, Jon Huber The concept works as follows:  Jon, Dave and Coop start with a familiar song and then go down the path of selecting a song inspired by that song. Each will go through multiple iterations of this exercise and choose a song from the inspired previous song selected. Ultimately, we will see where this journey takes each of them. Along the way we talk more music and cigars for what was a fun and informative show. Plus we got music news and the New Music 45 segments. As always, you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists: Episode 159 Playlist

For Artista Cigars, the story of the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show continues to be around its portfolio restructuring, and in particular, the company's eponymous Artista brand. The most notable change is the introduction of a new blend in the Artista brand called the Artista Colorado. With the addition of the Colorado, along with the recent announcements of Puro Ambar and Cimarron joining the Artista lineup, there are now six different lines under the Artista brand. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wHT  

My Father Cigars would mark two big milestones at the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. First up, the company is launching its first Honduran made cigar, the My Father Blue. Not only is My Father Blue being made at the Garcia's new Honduran factory, but it features tobacco grown on the Garcia family farms in Honduras. Second up, the Don Pepin Garcia brand is marking another milestone. This one celebrates 20 years of one of the company's oldest. As always the products were on display in one of the most exquisite booths at the 2025 PCA Trade Show.  We also presented the Garcia family the Prime Time Awards for Large Company of the Year and Large Factory of the Year for 2024. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-wHN

For Prime Time Episode 341, we are honored to welcome back Omar de Frias of Fratello Cigars as our special guest. We know one thing, Omar will bring a lot of excitement and energy to the show tonight. It’s been 12 years since we first took the journey with Omar down #FratlelloRoad, and things just don’t seem to slow down. We’ll catch up with Omar and he some of the stories from #FratelloRoad. References The Cigar Authority Dance Off Pants Off 5 Boutique Cigar Pointers | Cigar Advisor