ACE

Ace Prime cigars were founded in 2019 by three friends: Tiago Splitter (yes, the NBA player who won a ring with the Spurs), Luciano Meirelles (a sommelier and mixologist with years of international business experience), and Don Eradio Pichardo (a master blender utilizing generations of Cuban tobacco expertise). Initially, they described the Ace Prime cigar approach as "growing (or sourcing) the best tobacco; ensuring the finest processing and aging; developing a level of skilled manufacturing excellence; and investing in people and local communities." The standard line of the premium cigar company—time will tell if they can achieve their goals, but we will always cheer for them. The main production facility for Ace Prime cigars is Tabacalera Pichardo, located in Estelí, Nicaragua. This is not surprising, as Nicaragua has become one of the main centers of the modern cigar industry, if not the center. There, they created the company's flagship brands, initially consisting of Fiat Lux, MXS, Luciano, and Pichardo. These are distributed in collaboration with Crowned Heads, a Nashville-based cigar company made up of former CAO team members. The story of Ace Prime Cigars dates back to 2009. Meirelles was serving as an international political advisor for a project aimed at helping the Dominican Republic secure tax breaks for cigar exports. He connected with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and through this connection met Pichardo, who owns a cigar factory in Nicaragua. A decade later, the Ace Prime cigar brand was officially launched, but the roots of the core partnership began years earlier. The tobacco for Ace Prime cigars comes from various places—the wrappers are grown in Ecuador, including Corojo '98 and '99, Criollo 2012, Sumatra, and proprietary Connecticut seed hybrids. The farms in Nicaragua grow the filler tobacco, while another leaf is sourced through foreign partners in Peru and Costa Rica. We look forward to the old-school tobacco experts delivering excellent flavors, but we also see this brand has a healthy love for sports, thanks to connections with Splitter, Dominique Wilkins, and former baseball player Adrian Gonzalez.