PCA Magazine Fall 2019

28 PCA The Magazine | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG PRIME CE Reddy saw the potential of their star power. “With them you’ve got a marketing connection, with who they are, and you have an opportunity for interaction,” he says. “Being our first time exhibiting, we had to figure out a way of cutting through; there are a lot of brands that launch every year.” With two former NBA players in his stable, Reddy conceived of the idea of a half-court basketball exhibition on the floor of the trade show. Retailers had the opportunity to play three-on-three, get tips and pointers from the pros, and participate in a free-throw competition as well. The presence of professional athletes and an actual basketball court as part of the A.C.E. Prime exhibit created a buzz that resonated throughout the show. Reddy adds, “We were fortunate, in where we were positioned, that there was the opportunity to have that space. PCA was generous enough to allow us to do that.” Having given show attendees a reason to take notice of them, the A.C.E. Prime crew was then able to wow retailers and vendors alike with their debut offering of no fewer than five lines consisting of 11 cigars, an impressive array for any manufacturer. This was the premiere of the factory’s eponymous Pichardo Reserva Familiar (Family Reserve); founder Meirelles’ own Luciano The Traveler cigar, composed 100 percent of exclusive pello de oro tobaccos; and the aforementioned MXS , which stands for Maximun Excellence and Success. The themes of preparation, planning, training and perfect blending reflect the careers of the two NBA stars, as well as the limited edition cigars they were instrumental in creating. The final element inMark Reddy’s marketing strategy was obtaining endorsements from prominent industry figures such as DrewNewman of J.C. Newman Cigar Co.; Jon Huber of Crowned Heads; and the illustrious Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, the creator of La Gloria Cubana cigars, and most recently of 2018 Cigar of the Year La Historia. Each of these cigar business stalwarts had high praise for the company, the quality of the cigars and, of course, the driving force behind each of those elements, company founder Luciano Meirelles. Meirelles got his start with tobacco in the early 2000s, working as a political consultant in the Dominican Republic. “My mission was to negotiate with Brazil and Argentina to lower the import tax on cigars,” he says. “I met with several factory owners at that time, but one caught my attention: Ernesto Perez-Carrillo.” The “Godfather of Boutique Cigars” became a mentor for Meirelles. “Ernesto didn’t teach me how to blend a cigar at that time, but how to taste it! The first step to blending is learning how to taste a cigar.” Years later, in 2012, Perez-Carrillo helped Meirelles blend his first cigar, called Meirelles and Acevedo. Meirelles also came under the tutelage of two esteemed tobacco men. “I only started truly blending myself after my encounter with Eradio Pichardo in Brazil. He had a large cigar store and factory in Sao Paolo. I used to attend his shop and cigar lounge when I was living there. Pichardo is one of the most talented blenders I know. His knowledge on the agricultural side of the industry is vast.” Eventually the two men would unite to formTabacalera Pichardo, the factory which produces the brands introduced by A.C.E. Prime at the PCA trade show. Meirelles goes on to recount: “I was also blessed with the mentorship of the late Arsenio Ramos for the past seven years, who taught me all I know about tobacco processing and fermentation.” Tabacalera Pichardo became a thriving business, manufacturing private label cigars for a number of highly regarded brands. In relating how the factory’s own brands came into being, Meirelles explains, “I’ve been producing cigars for other companies. I never wanted to put our brands out there; I didn’t feel ready to do that. And it was actually a comfortable situation. The company was doing well, so why change? That was the question that we asked for a long time. But that was more me than Tiago.” And that was how the association with Tiago Splitter developed into what became a partnership in A.C.E. Prime. They were originally just casual acquaintances, Meirelles says: “Tiago and I knew each other fromBrazil, but at a distance. We were never really close friends. That friendship actually strengthened about five years ago, when he was living inMalibu.” There they reconnected at a church event. Both men served on the board of the Tiago Splitter, Master Blender Don Eradio Pichardo, and Dominique Wilkins A C E P R I M E