All good things must come to an end, and sadly that rings true for our visit to Las Vegas and the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show. Our final day saw us visit with several cigar makers, including Rocky Patel, Altadis, Oliva, General, Quesada, and Padron.

We started things off with Rocky Patel. Not only did we pick up a few new items from Rocky, but we also added new cigars from both his brother Nish and his cousin Nimish. It's virtually impossible to find a cigar in the Patel portfolio that doesn't sell because Rocky has such a huge following of loyal fans, so for us it's just a matter of having enough room in the humidors. We also added their Cafe Latte cigars to our flavored family.

Our second stop of the day was with Altadis USA. If the name doesn't mean much to you, their brands Romeo Y Julieta, Montecristo, and H. Upmann should certainly ring a bell. Last year they launched the Romeo by Romeo and not only was it a huge commercial success, but it also received some serious critical acclaim as well. The Romeo by Romeo Pyramide was ranked the third best cigar of the year by Cigar Aficionado. This year they hope to duplicate that success with the introduction on the Monte. ABC guests can look forward to seeing the Monte in their neighborhood humidors soon—along with a new H Upmann line.

Giving the new Monte a taste test. It met the standard and will be in ABC stores soon.

Our next stop of the day was with Oliva. I am amazed at how much growth I have seen in Oliva sales this year and I think it has a lot to do with their dedication to getting people in the field and representing their brand to the consumer. Because of the hard work of our Oliva guy, Albert Sosa, there wasn't much to discuss with Oliva other than tell them how great their brand is doing. We did grab a few new items, which I will talk about in future blogs.

The third leg of the day (without a lunch break, mind you) was with General Cigar. Like Altadis, General has some huge power brands. With names like Punch, Macanudo, Partagas and Cohiba, they are certainly a "big guy" in the business. But as strong and storied and established as these names are, it's some of their other offerings like La Gloria, Foundry, and CAO where some really cool innovation is taking place. Let’s first start with a Rick Rodriguez and his CAO line. Rick has long been a close friend to ABC and it is great to see him at the level he is today as a blender and cigar maker. This year Rick rolled out his Flathead line which includes a 7x70 box-pressed cigar. It is definitely the only of its kind on the market and if you like the big ones, you will soon be able to pick one up at ABC.

Yours truly, Rick Rodriguez of CAO, and Steve "Big Mungo" Mungeer

After catching up with Rick it was time for Team La Gloria. We added quite a few of Michael Giannini 's newest offerings—expect to see an exciting new Foundry and a few new eclectic cigars like you have never seen before. Michael's costume and merchandising creativity only takes a back seat to his knowledge of tobacco. Of course Michael isn't the only member of Team La Gloria with an ability to create new artisan cigars. My friend Yuri Guillen may not dress as "progressively" as his teammate, but his skill for blending well-aged and rare tobaccos is second to no one. His contribution to this year is his 2013 Trunk Show. It is two different cigars, both with smoke able bands that are made with some extremely limited tobaccos. They are so limited that they are only able to produce 500 boxes per year and they also must change the recipe each year. They quickly run out of these each year, but Yuri set enough aside for us to include these into at least ten of our stores.

Our final two visits of the day and the show were with Quesada and Padron. After a nice conversation with our rep Terrence Reilly and cigar maker Manuel Quesada, we decided to pick up the Robusto size of the Oktoberfest to go along with the Uber. So to all of you craft beer fans, you're welcome.

Our meeting with Padron happened as they were turning out the lights, but we are able to maintain our partnership and we will continue to offer their fine lines of cigars. Look for their top-selling 3000 line in your neighborhood store in the future. I didn't use the term “near” because though Padron is a very popular brand, they are still a very small operation and things are a little slow moving.

Our evening and show was topped off by a great dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse with Dave Bullock from Rocky Patel. Although, Dave is a "little more slender" than I, he was almost my equal at putting away some fine steak, ribs, pork, chicken, sausage, and every other non-vegetable item brought to our table on a sword.

I am typing this as I sit awaiting my flight home, and I will close by saying something that rarely leaves my lips: "I don't need a cigar right now, I am good."

Long Ashes,

Chris Gwaltney, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits regional manager. Follow me on Twitter at @chrisgnole