Before we could start on the major restoration we just completed at our El Reloj Cigar Factory in Tampa, our team had to clear out almost 70 years’ worth of items from the building. During this process, we uncovered some hidden gems.

One of those was a trap door from the 1930s with a secret staircase that went from the General Managers’ office down into the basement where he could hide when the Tampa Mafia would come through looking for payroll cash. Another was J.C.’s travel trunk that accompanied him on his voyage from Hungary to Cleveland in 1889. But perhaps the most exciting find for fans of our brands was a stash of 10-year-old Brick House cigars that was tucked away in the basement years ago to age and wait for a special occasion to arise. When we rediscovered them during our 125th year, we thought that sharing them with our TAA retailers would be a perfect fit.

Fans of Brick House will recognize the flavor of its distinctive blend but will taste some notable differences in this aged version. The many years that have passed since these were rolled have created a smooth and balanced taste that only time has the ability to do. Through the aging process, the flavors have married and created a cigar more mellow and a bit less spicy than its contemporary counterpart. Discover a taste of history and savor this once-in-a-decade Brick House. 

This cigar has now shipped and will be arriving on TAA Retailers’ shelves soon.

Brick House Beginnings – TAA Exclusive Original Aged Blend
Mighty Mighty Maduro (6 ¼” x 60)
10 cigars per box
$9.80
 
Mighty Mighty Natural (6 ¼” x 60)
10 cigars per box
$9.80
 
Churchill Natural (7 ¼ x 50)
10 cigars per box
$9.60

Brick House Beginnings Retailers

J.C. Newman New Releases and the Company Legacy

Cigars produced by J.C. Newman, carry a legacy of dedication to quality, and history. Through two world wars, a great depression, and the cigar boom, many of our cigars have stood the test of time. As we approach our 125^th company anniversary, we reflect on the cigars we’ve produced that have made an impact on the industry, all while looking ahead to what we can contribute to the future.

Innovation is key to growth but taking a moment to look into the past has allowed us to make decisions about the future. Two of the newest cigar additions to our catalog, the Yagua and The American, are taking us back to the roots of cigar making, while forging forward into the ever-changing palates of the cigar smoker.

Yagua from PENSA: The Imperfect Nicaraguan Cigar

This cigar will be far from the blemish free cigars that the industry has come to know and love. This cigar is birthed from a romantic story, told to Drew Newman by the J.C. Newman PENSA factory manager, Lazaro Lopez.

Lazaro recounted tales of his grandfather, working out in the remote tobacco fields of Cuba, far from the cigar factories in the cities. After harvesting the tobacco and allowing it to ferment, Lazaro’s grandfather would roll up a few cigars by hand to smoke for himself. Without any of the modern factory tools, Lazaro’s grandfather had to be resourceful. He took a few fronds from the Yagua tree – a royal palm that is native to Cuba – and tied them around a bundle of his hand rolled cigars to help give them a firm shape. While the unique binding technique worked, because the cigars were pressed together while still wet, they took the form of the other cigars they were tied to, resulting in cigars that were anything but round. Some cigars had five sides, others were more triangular, but none were the same.

Inspired by Lazaro’s childhood memory, we challenged our factory to make a cigar using the same process. The tobaccos were hand selected and fermented to mimic the boldness of his Grandfather’s freshly picked tobacco and the cigars are rolled wet, ensuring each cigar is uniquely shaped.  Named Yagua, after the palm leaves which bound the cigars, this new concept is sure to appeal to the seasoned cigar lover looking for something unconventional in the modern humidor.

The Future of Cigars is Now

We’re so looking forward to sharing these cigars, and our factory with you next year, and for many years to come. Mark your calendars for the factory opening in Spring of 2020, and don’t forget to look at your local retailer for the Yagua, and The American, available soon!

Not only is The American hand rolled in the United States with American heirloom tobaccos, but all of the materials used to make and package The American come from the United States as well.

.• Wrapper tobacco grown in Florida
• Binder tobacco grown in Connecticut
• Filler tobacco grown in Connecticut and Pennsylvania
• Cigar molds made Florida
• Cellophane tubes made in Pennsylvania
• Boxes designed and made in Florida with wood from Ohio, ink from Illinois, and hinges from Massachusetts
• Labels and bands design in New York and printed in Florida on paper from Wisconsin and ink from North Carolina
• Inside booklet designed and printed in Florida with sketches drawn in Massachusetts on paper from Wisconsin and inks from Florida

Introducing The All-American Cigar

In 1895, my great-grandfather, Julius Caeser Newman, founded our family business. Four generations later, the J.C. Newman Cigar Company is the oldest family-owned cigar company in the United States of America. There are many old, multi-generational family businesses in the premium cigar industry. What sets us apart is
that J.C. Newman Cigar Co. is the oldest family-owned premium cigar maker in the United States.

As we began approaching our company’s 125th anniversary, my wife, Ariel, had the idea to create an all-American, handcrafted cigar – something that had not been done for decades. Her vision led to this project. The American was the first cigar rolled in our “El Reloj” factory in Tampa, Florida when it opened in 1910. To celebrate
our company’s 125th anniversary, we have relaunched this historic cigar brand.

What makes The American unique is that it is the first 100% all- American cigar. From the tobaccos to the cigar molds to the boxes, labels, and cigar bands, everything about this very special cigar is made in America.

This project speaks to the heart of who we are: a four-generation American family business still owned and operated by the founding family. When you light up The American, you are celebrating the centuries-old tradition of handcrafting premium cigars in America.

About Ybor City and El Reloj 

In the middle of the 19th Century, cigar makers fled Cuba and settled 90 miles to the north in Key West, Florida. In 1885, Vicente Martinez Ybor moved his cigar factory from Key West to what was then an undeveloped area north of the small town of Tampa. Soon, others followed
and the new community became known as “Ybor City.”

Within a few years, the cigar industry transformed Tampa into the largest city in Florida. At its peak in the early 20th Century, Tampa had more than 150 cigar factories and 10,000 cigar workers who rolled more than 500 million cigars a year by hand. Tampa was internationally known as the “Fine Cigar Capital of the World.”

When El Reloj opened in 1910, it was heralded as the largest and finest cigar factory in the world. It was designed for 1,000 cigar workers and built at a cost of $75,000. It has a red brick exterior with wooden beams, a sloped slate roof, and a distinctive clock tower. Like most cigar
factories in Tampa, the factory has three floors and a basement, runs east and west, and is 50 feet wide. It has tall ceilings and large windows to maximize the amount of natural light.

History of The American

The American cigar brand was created in the 1880s by E. Regensburg & Sons, a well known cigar company in New York City. These cigars were first rolled at Regensburg’s cigar factory on Canal Street in Lower Manhattan. By the end of the nineteenth century, The American had become very famous.

In the early 1900s, the Regensburgs decided to move their operations from New York to
Tampa, Florida because Tampa had become internationally known as the “Fine Cigar Capital of the World.” They built the “El Reloj” cigar factory in Tampa’s Ybor City cigar district. When El Reloj opened in 1910, The American was the first brand of cigars rolled in our factory. More than a century later, we have recreated The American’s original shield and cigar band from the late 1800s.

About the Flag in the Shield

With The American, we have recreated the original shield and cigar band from the late 1800s. Many have asked why The American’s shield includes the Puerto Rican flag. Like Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and other Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico has a rich tobacco heritage. Puerto Rican revolutionaries exiled in New York City created a flag similar to Cuba’s to support their campaign to liberate the island from Spanish rule. In support of this fight for independence, this flag design was incorporated into The American shield and cigar band when the brand was created in the late 1800s. Puerto Rico adopted this design as its official flag many decades later in 1952.