As you may or may not know, the PCA show in Vegas isn’t just an expo, it’s also a gigantic sales floor where retailers like Mission can place orders for limited edition products available only at the expo. There are special discounts, exclusive sticks, and all sorts of unique opportunities for those who attend.

To give you an idea of what's available, let’s start with Rocky Patel.

I immediately grabbed multiple boxes of the ALR (aged limited rare) second edition: a box-pressed cigar rolled at the Tavicusa factory in the heart of Estelí, Nicaragua. They’re wrapped with an oily Mexican San Andres wrapper and they’ve been aged two years before release.

Here’s one I’m very excited to try: the new White Label. This line is going after the Davidoff smoker with a true Connecticut wrapper and what’s rumored to be some Cuban seed filler.

Over at the My Father station we ordered 20 boxes of the Garcia y Garcia 2021 edition, featuring a Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper and a Nicaraguan Criollo binder. Creamy, nutty, cocoa, all that. This thing is begging for rum.

After the show it was time to hit the Center Bar at the Mirage and unwind with a cold gin martini. For those who never read my old blog, let me reintroduce you to my favorite person from the booze business, who now—thank God—is in the cigar business. He’s one of my best friends and he’s my mentor for all things tobacco: Matt Freerks. As the VP of Sales for La Palina, Matt is a powerhouse in the business, and I’ve been relishing every opportunity we have to work together again. It’s been a hot and heavy reunion of two old friends.

Matt Freerks is also an amazing combination of styles: part rockabilly, part playboy, part Southern gentleman. Like James Bond, he knows what to order. He has impeccable taste and I find myself biting his style every now and again.

Men either want to party with him, or destroy him.

Dinner was at Brezza, the fantastic Italian-themed eatery in the new World Resorts Casino. This was my first time back in Vegas since its opening, so it was fun to explore. I was sitting with La Palina’s Sammy Phillips and Bill Paley, when out of nowhere Matt Booth walks in and pulls up a chair. Then Alan Rubin from Alec Bradley cigars walked in, along with his sons: Alec and Bradley. That’s when the party really started.

If you’re unaware of the Bill Paley story, and how he came to found La Palina cigars, that’s a much longer saga for another blog post. Bill’s family founded CBS and his mother was “Babe” Paley, at one point the most famous woman in America along with Marilyn Monroe. The stories this man has are simply unreal. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with him on the patio, talking about his past, and sharing some incredible La Palina cigars.

Lots more soon.

-David Driscoll