Charlie Minato

6 days ago | halfwheel.com | Charlie Minato

It took a few visits to catch employees at La Aurora’s booth. Given how things were when I visited last year, I wasn’t surprised that it was bursting at the seams on Saturday. I also chose to come when Anthony Mackie and Karl Malone were both in the booth, which only added to the chaos inside. What caught me completely off guard was that Guillermo León, La Aurora’s owner, was willing to give an on-camera interview in English.

6 days ago | halfwheel.com | Charlie Minato

Ashton is based in Philadelphia. In February, the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. The 2025 PCA Convention & Trade Show is in New Orleans. Are these things relevant? I don’t care. E-L-G-S-E-S. Go Birds. In fairness, during my two visits to the booth, I think I spoke more about the Eagles than I did about cigars. With that out of the way, I can report that the Ashton booth remains more or less the same since this configuration debuted in 2022.

1 week ago | halfwheel.com | Charlie Minato

Reinier Lorenzo’s HVC Cigars began right around the same time halfwheel did. I first met Lorenzo when both of us were still finishing college and just starting in the cigar business. As such, my annual visit to his trade show booth is a great reminder about how far each of us has come as both people and businesses. This is a rented booth—or at least appears to be made out of items that are available for rent—and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that approach.

1 week ago | halfwheel.com | Charlie Minato

We’re back from New Orleans and we’re ready to talk about it. Brooks Whittington and I will talk about our impressions of the 2025 PCA Convention & Trade Show, some of the new cigars and yes, we’ll figure out which one of us has to review the next 7 x 70. See you Friday, noon. VIDEOYou can also watch on halfwheel’s Facebook page and (hopefully) Instagram Live.

1 week ago | halfwheel.com | Charlie Minato

I’m unsure when the changed happened, but at some point during the last couple of years, the booth that houses De Los Reyes—as well as the factory’s clients—went from some sort of custom cabinets to IKEA furniture. It appears to be the popular KALLAX family of units, which is actually  what the standing desk I write this post from is built from. While that change doesn’t sound like a positive one, I actually like the new approach.