Have you ever been to TPE before? It's a yearly tradeshow held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and stands for Total Product Expo (used to be Tobacco Products Expo back in the day). It focuses on all things tobacco, cigar, and vape related, and is only open to those in the industry. This was my first year attending, and I was honestly impressed with how much there was to see. It does lean heavier on the vape and alternative products over cigars, but there was still a decent cigar presence with a good mix of smaller, boutique brands as well as big names.
It is a three-day tradeshow, and I just made it for one day (the last day on Feb. 2nd), but that was enough time for me to make it through all the cigar vendors. If you really want to check everything out though, I would give yourself two days. They have the whole expo floor as well as an upstairs level to explore. The last day was a quieter time to go, and gives you an opportunity to take a little more time and talk to the owners and reps from the various companies. Smoking is allowed, which is definitely a plus!
I walked out with quite a few cigars to try out, and I'm looking forward to lighting them up and reviewing them. Some of the newer brands (to me) that I'm excited to try include Founders Cigar Co., Blackbird Cigar Co., Artista Cigars, and Warfighter Tobacco.
Other great brands that were there included: ZR, SOMM, La Sirena, La Palina, Drew Estate, Kristoff, Plasencia, J. London, Sinistro, Montecristo, Oscar Valladares, Perdomo, JM's, and Espinosa to name a few. It was definitely a fun time seeing a lot of friends, and meeting some new people in the industry. I can't wait to see what's to come next year!
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