Tag Archives: J.C.Newman

by Craig Vanderslice | January 10, 2023 · 7:00 am

News: J.C. Newman Cigar Co. Releases 2023 José Gaspar Cigars

This is pretty regional, and not something I generally share, but it’s pretty cool and the video that J.C.Newman produced for this made me laugh. This looks like a very accessible blend.

J.C. Newman Cigar Co. Releases 2023 José Gaspar Cigars

Celebrates Tampa’s two world-famous traditions, cigars and Gasparilla

Tampa has two-century-old traditions: Since 1885, Tampa has been known as “Cigar City.” Since 1904, pirates have been invading Tampa and throwing a large festival called Gasparilla. Today, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. brings both traditions together by introducing José Gaspar cigars. Handcrafted by J.C. Newman, a 127-year-old, four-generation family business, José Gaspar cigars pack a punch perfect for any pirate.

“José Gaspar was one of most feared pirates in the Americas,” said Drew Newman, fourth-generation owner. “Sailing from his base near Tampa Bay in the late 1700s, he terrorized the Gulf of Mexico and amassed a great fortune. Gaspar celebrated victories with a bold and flavorful cigar. This cigar honors his legacy and the tradition of Gasparilla.”

This year, J.C. Newman is releasing 10,000 José Gaspar cigars. The 2023 release of José Gaspar is a 6’ x 54 cigar wrapped with an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper. The 2023 José Gaspar cigars are sold in packs of 5 cigars with an MSRP of $40. José Gaspar cigars are only available at the following locations in the Cigar City of Tampa, Florida:

Casa de Montecristo
Cigar Castle
Cigar City Brewery
Corona Cigar Company
Edwards Pipe and Tobacco
Grand Cathedral
Hotel Haya
J.C. Newman Cigar Museum and Factory Store
King Corona International Plaza
King Corona Cigars
Tobacco Depot
Vincent & Tampa Cigar Co

“When pirates invade Tampa and parade down Bayshore Boulevard on January 28, they will be enjoying José Gaspar cigars,” said Newman. “Just like the pirates of Gasparilla, however, José Gaspar cigars will sail out of Tampa Bay at the end of January and will not be available again until next year.”

About J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

Founded in 1895 by Julius Caeser Newman, J.C. Newman Cigar Company is the oldest family-owned premium cigar maker in America. J.C. Newman rolls its El Reloj, Factory Throwouts, and Trader Jacks cigars by hand-operated, vintage cigar machines at its historic cigar factory in Tampa, Florida. It also hand rolls its Brick House, Perla del Mar, El Baton, and Quorum cigars at the J.C. Newman PENSA cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. J.C. Newman’s Diamond Crown, MAXIMUS, Julius Caeser, and Black Diamond cigars are handmade by Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic. With its longtime partners the Fuente family, the Newmans founded the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which supports low-income families in the Dominican Republic with education, health care, vocational training, and clean water.

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Gaspar, J.C.Newman, José Gaspar, Tampa

by Craig Vanderslice | January 1, 2023 · 9:59 am

Happy New Year, Winner Announcement and a Cigar or Two

It seems that 2022 is in the books, and it’s 2023 now. Still no flying cars, but we do carry the entirety of human knowledge in our pockets, at the expense of education and common sense! I am blessed with a beautiful family and enough cigars to get me through for a while, so I’m not complaining. I’ve had worse years than 2022. I managed to fly 4 times, a record for me. Twice to trade shows in Las Vegas, once to Tampa and a personal vacation to Puerto Rico. We also went to a Barnsmoker, a Red Meatlovers Club dinner on a friggin battleship, and a few shop events, although not as many of the latter as I’d like. It was a good year. Hopefully ’23 is equally good! I know I’ve slowed down a little on original content, I’m just not smoking the volume of new cigars that I used to. I’m finding as I get older I tend to want to smoke what I like! Weird, huh? I have no plans to give up though, after 13 years I’m invested. I do have a prize to give away, so let’s get on to that!

I let this giveaway go on a week and a half, longer than usual, but it’s been a busy week or two! You may recall the prize was a hefty pile of stuff from various venders, and undisclosed cigars from my humidor. I’ll have fun packing up a bunch of my favorites to share with the winner. I referred to Google’s random number generator and the number it spit our was 2, which corresponds to the second comment at 9:28pm on 12/21, which was by Tim McCabe. Tim, please email me your info! Tim is a long time reader, and I have to appreciate the patience and fortitude of the many folks who’ve been reading my nonsense over the years! Thanks to everyone, I may be able to scrounge up some more goodies in the near future.

Naturally, I smoked some good cigars over the last few days. Most notable was another of the Alec Bradley Fine and Rare series, this one dated 2017. The one I smoked last week I’m told was from the tenth anniversary set, and I assume this one is from the same. My Secret Santa, Mitch, was very generous and shared these with me. Aside, he managed to send a bunch of cigars I’d never smoked before! No small feat. Another aside, and Kevin Shahan witnessed this, while in Tampa I met a gentleman, we’ll call him Aaron, who was shocked when he attempted to gift me a cigar he was sure I’d not had before, a pre-release Nica Rustica with actual Rustica leaf in the blend, and I had smoked that back in 2013 in Nicaragua. I digress. The ALec Bradley Fine and Rare 2017 (BR12-13) is a 6″ x 52 torpedo, or maybe 109, shaped cigar. It has mostly Honduran components, with some Nicaraguan in the filler. It started off with a little bit of a bite, some acidity, perhaps, but that quickly became what I call spicey. It was, overall, a very good cigar, with some nice, medium flavors, and I think there was a cinnamon or baking spice flavor that came and went. Thank you, Mitch, for the opportunity to try these!

Yesterday we met friends at what might be the only White Castle in PA for lunch, and I would have stopped in to New Tobacco Village, in Whitehall, PA, but, you know…White Castle…When I got home after an hour drive and got things squared away, I sat down to watch hockey with what might be my favorite cigar of 2022, the Diamond Crown Black Diamond. It gives the Muestra de Saka The Bewitched a run, if I had smoked more of those it would have been my number one for the year. As it stands, I’m going with the Black Diamond, so good! I ended 2022 with a Partagas Serie D No. 6 which I had picked up at the Rome Duty Free several years ago, just a little guy, but tasty. So let’s just say that the New Diamond Crown Black Diamond Emerald is my favorite cigar of 2022! Thanks to J.C.Newman for making this year memorable for me!

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Alec Bradley, Black Diamond, cigar, cigars, Contest, Diamond Crown, Fine and Rare, J.C.Newman

by Craig Vanderslice | November 27, 2022 · 9:12 am

CigarCraig.com’s Secret Santa and a Diamond Crown Black Diamond Cigar

Announcing the 2022 CigarCraig.com Secret Santa! We’ve been doing this for a few years now and it’s been a lot of fun. I grudgingly participate, I don’t want whoever gets me to be concerned, just send a few of your favorites that, maybe, I haven’t smoked! For me it’s about the giving, not the receiving. I announced it yesterday on Facebook when I set it up, and several people have already signed up! Here are the details:

CigarCraig.com 2022 Secret Santa

RSVP Deadline

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Exchange Date

Sunday, December 11, 2022

Budget

USD $40

If you missed out on some others, or just want to get in on the fun, get signed up! The Elfster platform makes things really easy, so have fun! This reminds me, I need to go through my swag collection, maybe there’s some giveaways coming up!

I make an effort to smoke something really good on holidays, and Thanksgiving was no exception. I recently came into possession of some Diamond Crown Black Diamond Emerald cigars, so that was my post-feast smoke. I smoked this cigar for the first time back in March of 2019, and I loved it. It’s distinctly possible that I haven’t smoked one since, it’s a bit hard to find. These are made at Tabacalera A. Fuente, with a dark Connecticut Havana seed wrapper, over Dominican binder and fillers. The Emerald is my favored size, 6″ x 52, but also comes in a 5¼” x 56 and 4½” x 54. Maybe I’ll find the other size when I visit the El Reloj factory this Friday! When Diamond Crown came out back in the mid ’90s it was only available west of the Mississippi and were all 54 ring, considered huge then. Anyway, this continues to me a terrific cigar and oe that suits my palate. It’s got loads of dark, rich flavors, espresso notably, and I like it a lot. I’m torn between this and the Maximus as my favorite in the line. I don’t have to choose, I love them both!

This time next week I’ll be heading to the Cigar Heritage Festival in Ybor City. I have a tour of J.C.Newman planned for Friday, an afternoon herf with friends from the old Usenet group on Saturday, and then the festival on Sunday. Apparently Admission is now free (I have not seen my refund yet!), so if you’re around, stop in and look for me, I’ll be the guy with a cigar.

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Black Diamond, cigar, CIgar Heritage Festival, cigars, Diamond Crown, J.C.Newman, Secret Santa

by Craig Vanderslice | November 11, 2022 · 5:38 pm

News: Eric Newman Inducted into the Cigar Hall of Fame

I am really looking forward to touring the El Reloj factory in Ybor City in a few weeks, it’s been on my bucket list! I’ll be honest, it figured into my trip more than the festival. It’s not a surprise that Eric Newman was inducted into Cigar Aficionado’s hall of fame, although I’m surprised he was the only one in the family inducted. J.C. Newman makes some great cigars, many of which are favorites of mine. By the way, I recorded a nice little interview with Eric at the PCA show, included below:

This week, Cigar Aficionado magazine inducted Eric Newman, president and third-generation owner of J.C. Newman Cigar Co., into its Cigar Hall of Fame. Established in 1997, the Cigar Hall of Fame has recognized 23 leaders for their extraordinary lifetime achievements in the cigar industry. Eric’s father, Stanford J. Newman, was in the inaugural Cigar Hall of Fame class. The Newman family now joins the Fuentes and Padrons with two family members in the Cigar Hall of Fame.

A grandson of company founder Julius C. Newman, Eric Newman was born into the cigar industry. When he joined the family business in 1972, Eric’s first job was curing tobacco leaves in the basement of J.C. Newman’s historic El Reloj cigar factory in Tampa. During the past 50 years, Eric worked his way up in the company and became its president in 1986. His many achievements include relaunching the Brick House brand in 2007, building what is now the second largest cigar factory in Nicaragua, and keeping the last traditional cigar factory in the United States open. He is also a past Chairman of the Cigar Association of America.

“I am very honored and humbled,” said Eric. “It is a privilege to continue our family’s 127-year tradition of cigar making. It is especially meaningful to receive the same recognition that my father did 25 years ago.”

Today, Eric and his brother Bobby Newman lead J.C. Newman along with Eric’s son, Drew. After 50 years in the cigar industry, Eric has no plans to retire. “I wake up every day excited to go to work,” he said. “Working in our family business is invigorating. Cigars today are better than they have ever been. I have witnessed the transformation of cigar industry over the past 50 years, and I continue to be excited for the future of our family, our company, and the cigar industry.”

The following is Cigar Aficionado’s description of this award:

“His familial roots in the tobacco industry are four generations deep. His knowledge of Tampa’s cigar history is encyclopedic. And his time in the cigar world spans half a century. That’s why conversations with Eric Newman are not only fascinating but highly educational.

“The family business started in the late 1800s in Cleveland, Ohio, eventually moving to the landmark El Reloj building in Tampa in the 1950s. J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has some 22 million cigars made by hand in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and a small amount in Tampa-all under Newman’s supervision
and guidance.

“Newman made a brave decision in 1986 when he, along with his brother Bobby and father, Stanford, bought the remaining shares of the business from his other family members. They mortgaged the factory for a bank loan to pay out the family in cash and put the company in negative equity. The La Unica brand, a premium smoke presented as a bundle cigar, helped to get them out of the red. “Today, J.C. Newman produces stalwart brands such as Cuesta-Rey, Diamond Crown, Brick House and El Baton. Newman has been industrious in his ability to lead his company into the 21st century by creating cigars that are both traditional and modern in style.” – Cigar Aficionado

About J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

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by Craig Vanderslice | October 9, 2022 · 10:02 am

Epic, La Sirena and Brickhouse Cigars

There was a lot of news last week, and I didn’t get to most of them, but one I wanted to touch on was from Scandinavian Tobacco Group, STG, owner of General and Forged Cigars and. Cigars International. The press release was announcing an exclusive with Southern Draw, but what I found interesting was that this was the first time I had heard of Cigora, as explained below:

About Cigora
Launched in August 2022, Cigora is an exclusive cigar community and ecommerce site that represents the future of cigars online. With a clean, modern aesthetic, the site includes a robust online forum with informative content, unique discussion boards, and an ecommerce section that features top-shelf cigars as well as rare, limited-edition releases from brands including but not limited to Davidoff, Ashton, Tatuaje, Viaje and others. A rewards program, invitation-only virtual events and exclusive members-only content round out the site’s wide range of offerings.Cigora is open to all consumers of legal smoking age.

I don’t have a problem with this, I just find it curious that I hadn’t heard about it. Maybe it’s all over the Cigarworld forums, which is General’s online presence. Does Cigora replace Cigarworld? It’s hard to tell. I see some familiar names in the forum, so I’m not sure how this escaped my notice. That being said, I’m terrible about participating in website based forums! Still, it’s something I’ll explore.

Let’s get to the cigars! After a couple of trade show samples that I just didn’t like, I tried a new-to-me cigar from Dean Parsons’ Epic Cigars. Dean gave me this one at the TPE show, it’s the Epic Police 299, which is an homage to his police service in Canada. The 299 is his regimental number in the department. The cigar is made inthe DR, has a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, Cameroon binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s a 6½” x 54 cigar. I like that size, it’s a wonder it lasted this long in the humidor. This was a terrific cigar. I am a fan of the Epic Maduros, and the San Andrés, and this was a nice addition to the line. I got some espresso, and dark fruits, and it burned very well. It was a nice recovery from a couple not-so-good cigars the night before.

I finally had the right amount of time yesterday to smoke the new addition to the La Sirena Mexican Mermaid line, the 4×54. Any guesses what size it is? They skipped the large band on this one, going with just the small band that they usually put under the big one. I really like the Mexican Mermaid blend, it suits my palate perfectly. It’s unlike other San Andrés blends in that it’s a little meatier I think. I liked this new size, better than the “Lancero”, which is more of a lonsdale, but not quite as much as the Toro. That might change as I will certainly try to sample more of these in the future. It’s a nice little size.

Finally, it’s Bricktoberfest this month, and J.C. Newman has come out with a special Bricktoberfest 2022 Brick House cigar, a pigtailed 6″ x 52 cigar, a limited edition with a Nicaraguan wrapper from Jalapa and dual binders from Estelí and Condega over Nicaraguan fillers. The are running a promotion where if you buy 7 cigars you get a boot-shaped beer glass, which they erroneously call “Das Boot”. Of course, in German, Das Boot means “The Boat”. It should be “der Stiefel”, but the boot shaped glasses have a long history for some reason. Some stories about military hazings involving drinking beer out of an actual boot or something. The cigar was quite good, and I like the Brick House line, especially the maduro. I found it quite enjoyable, it’s a fairly straightforward cigar, but what it has tastes good to the end.