The small scale version of El Reloj factory was once situated net to Arturo Fuente forming the “Little Tampa” section of the PCA floor. Arguably one of the absolute busiest booth areas at the entire show, the Newmans arrived with the same set up of the last few years and I think it still holds its own. There were several treasures that could be found lining the display cases in the booth and Drew Newman walked us through it.
This year, J.C. Newman Cigar Company celebrates 130 years in business and will be celebrating that with one of their releases. This makes them one of the oldest family company’s in the cigar business. There is much to be said about this accomplishment in a sea of 10, 25, 30, 60 and other anniversary releases the past few years.
While in the booth, we presented Drew Newman with our 2024 Company of the Year award.
Home Run Humidor
J.C. Newman has been known to present a sports memorabilia related humidor the last couple of years. This year, the Home Run humidor has returned made from wooden game used baseball bats. Each one is made in Milwaukee in a collaboration between J.C. Newman and Milwaukee Humidor Co. Each will come with twenty-five Tampa Smokers cigars and have a retail price of $2,000. These will be limited to fifty humidors total and will ship this summer.
130th Anniversary Humidor
As I mentioned before, J.C. Newman celebrates an impressive 130 year anniversary this year. The celebrate, J.C. Newman will release 130 of these beautiful humidors and each one will come with 130 Diamond Crown Classic Belicoso No. 9 cigars inside. It has an MSRP of $2,250 and will ship this summer.
Angel Cuesta Shade
In 2023, J.C. Newman brought back the Angel Cuesta, originally founded by the Cuesta-Rey cigar company. This year, the company will release a new Nicaragua shade grown version of the cigar. It was released as part of a TAA sampler but this will now get a full release.
- Wrapper: Nicaragua (Shade)
- Binder: Undisclosed
- Filler: Undisclosed
- Size: Doble Robusto (5 1/2 x 56), Toro (6 1/4 x 52), Salamones (7 1/4 x 57)
- MSRP: $20 -$23
- Production: Regular Production
The Angel Cuesta Shade is expected to be released in May to retail stores.
Sarzedas
This is yet another old cigar brand that the Newman/s have brought back to life. Drew Newman and Rich Dolak, Vice-President of Operations have been working on blending and recreating this cigar which has always been known as “the aromatic cigar”.
- Wrapper: Ecuador
- Binder: Undisclosed
- Filler: Undisclosed
- Size: Corona (5 1/2 x 43), Robusto (4 3/4 x 52), Toro (6 x 50), Churchill (7 x 48)
- MSRP: $8 – $10
- Production: Regular Production
- Release Date: Summer 2025
Tampa Smokers
We first saw the Tampa Smokers cigars on display last year at PCA 2024. This year they are on display again but they did start shipping earlier this month. They feature eleven cigars – ten toros and one special baseball bat shaped cigar that sits along the top of the box. This release is an homage to the original Tampa Smokers baseball team.
- Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut-seed)
- Binder: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf)
- Filler: Undisclosed
- Sizes: Toro (6 x 52), Baseball Bat (7 x 52/42)
- MSRP: Toro: $20 – Bat: $40
- Production: Regular Production
- Release Date: April 1, 2025
J.C. Newman also showed off a leash cigar carrying case with the Tamp Smokers logo made by Brizard & Co. It comes with three Tampa Smokers cigars inside, with an MSRP of $300, and is limited to 300 cases. These should be heading to retail stores now.
Leroy Neiman Collectors Edition 2025
J.C. Newman also had the third release of the Leroy Neiman Collectors Edition on display. We first saw this back in 2023 as a special release to honor the late painter and cigar lover, which also raises money for arts programs in Tampa schools. Each year features one of Neiman’s art works in the packaging design. This year the design utilizes Neiman’s “Jazz Horns” painting which is features on the box and the bands. Neiman was a huge fan of Jazz music and come to think about tit, what a cool nod for J.C. Newman to make with the PCA show’s return to New Orleans.
- Wrapper: Habano
- Binder: Florida Sun Grown
- Filler: Undisclosed
- Size: (6 1/2 x 52)
- MSRP: $22 / Box of 20, $440
- Production: 750 Boxes of Twenty Cigars (15,000 Total Cigars)
- Release Date: Fall 2025
Check out our interview with Drew Newman at PCA 2025 below:
