Back in Taipei after staying in Las Vegas for 4 days. Traveling to the USA from Asia and back can be quite tiring and I have to say when I arrived in Las Vegas the jetlag was quite bad this time.
On the other hand, the food in Vegas was great. From the sushi in Sushisamba, the steak in Ruth’s Chris and the Cuban food in Sugarcane, it was all amazing. Even a quick lunch in the Hong Kong Café almost made me feel at home.
Ok, back to business.
I would say the Drew Estate/Swisher booth at the IPCPR was the largest, loudest and busiest booth at the trade show. Drew Estate celebrated 20 years Acid cigars and the Acid brand is now the #1 premium cigar brand in the USA. Although there were no Swisher products on display during the show, there were quite a few people from Swisher in Las Vegas.
Agio Cigars moved their booth to a new location this year, I think the size of the booth was similar to last year but probably in a better location. From what I heard, Agio was very pleased with the trade show orders this year. Especially the Balmoral Signature Series (Dueto & Paso Doble) was doing well.
As you may have noticed, Agio Cigars and Drew Estate/Swisher introduced a lot of products at the IPCPR this year. Balmoral Nicaragua, Balmoral Paso Doble, San Pedro Nicaragua, Drew Estate Tubos, Drew Estate ShadyXX, Undercrown Suprema, Acid 20, just to name a few.
Most of these products will become available for the international markets later this year. If you are interested in one of these products, please let me know but note that it may take a while before prices will be known and products can be shipped.
