Tag Archives: J.C.Newman

by | November 10, 2024 · 1:42 pm

A Quick Florida Trip, Part One: The J.C. Newman Experience

When I saw that the Flyers were playing the Lightning in Tampa, my wife encouraged me to plan a trip down there to take my buddy Kevin (CigarProp) to his first NHL game. I made some inquiries and managed to secure two club level tickets with access to the Diamond Crown cigar lounge in the Amalie Arena.  We were allowed in 90 minutes before game time, so we went into the lounge for a cigar. Kevin selected some PDM Corojo Robustos, a favorite of us both.  Christina and Nidya work in the lounge, they get the cigars out of the humidor cabinets, ring them up and cut and light. I was wearing my Flyers sweater, I may have felt a little out of place.  We watched the first period from our seats and grabbed  some food, which was a n upgrade from what we would have gotten if I had just bought nosebleed seats off of stub hub!  There was brisket and pork belly, sushi and all manner of delicious desserts. We were definitely spoiled.  We watched the second period from the lounge, where I selected som Fuente 8-5-8 Sungrowns. The humidor in the lounge has a nice selection of J.C. Newman and Fuente cigars, and they weren’t priced bad, a buck or two over what they would be in a shop (in a no tax state!). The lounge has windows overlooking the arena, and several televisions, but it’s hard to watch unless you’re right at the glass, but any time I can watch hockey and smoke a cigar I’m happy.  We returned to our seats for the third period, overtime and the shootout, where the Flyers managed to win.  I enjoyed the game, and I think Kevin had a good time too.  It was a really good time and the ladies working the lounge were outstanding. I think at one point I counted 30 patrons in the lounge, which isn’t huge, and the ventilation was really good.  I have no idea how one would get tickets, but if you are in Tampa and have the opportunity, jump on it! Many thanks again to J.C. Newman for the tickets!

 

Friday we spent the day at the J.C.Newman headquarters and factory, El Reloj (that’s El Relow, no matter how you’ve heard it pronounced).  This is a historic building, and the only major factory left in the country.  There’s a few little cigar factories here and there, but this one is producing millions of cigars using machines from the 1920s and ‘30s. They refer to this as machine assisted and not machine made, as these are not automated and require some human input. This is another tour I recommend if you’re in Tampa. The tour is very educational, there’s a museum aspect, with a lot of J.C. Newman memorabilia, Tampa cigar history, and even the oldest known cigars from the mid-1800s that were found in a shipwreck not all that long ago!  The basement has another museum area, as well as an aging room for the handmade cigars they make, and some tobacco processing areas. The second floor has the machine made production and packaging, and the third floor has a rolling gallery where they make the American, Angel Cuesta and some special cigars.  One of the special cigars they were making was the Tampa Smokers, named after the old baseball team and shaped like a baseball bat.  I always wondered how they made these.  Now I know. 

We would stay on the third floor for the rolling seminar.  This is where they provide bunches and one has to  apply the wrapper. We wrapped five Robustos, and this is harder than you think. I’ve done it a few times before, and I think my results were pretty good, except for applying the cap. I struggle with the cap. The blend they provided is special, I’ll have to reach out to Holden who led the class and find out, but I believe it’s a modified American blend.  I should have paid more attention, but I was trying to finish my darned caps right. 

 

Following the rolling exercise, we embarked upon a tasting seminar. Puritos of various tobacco varietals and primings were supplied, along with a flavor wheel and a sheet for notes. I am better at finishing caps on cigars than I am at this. Regular readers know that I have a fairly limited vocabulary when it comes to tasting cigars, and it’s even worse when one’s had a bunch of cigars the previous day and one’s palate is fatigued.  Cody did I really nice job at leading this, as he did giving the factory tour. Once again, and I can’t stress this enough, if you find yourself in Tampa, set aside an afternoon and experience El Reloj. I’ve taken the tour twice now and seen different things each time. I still haven’t risen in the haunted elevator yet.  Thank you very much to everyone at J.C.Newman, especially Sydney!

 

On Thursday before the game we delivered some cigars to Single Barrel Cigar Co. for a project Kevin is working on, visited Tampero Cigars in Ybor and enjoyed a Tampero Maduro torpedo, and we stopped by Corona Cigars and talked to Ricky Rodriguez for a bit.  It was a great couple of days, I enjoyed spending some time with Kevin and got to see some more of Tampa and Ybor City. 

 

Check out Kevin’s pics and videos, he’s far more talented with that than I am! It was a whirlwind couple of days, but there’s more! I just got home around noon, and I’m working on very little sleep, so excuse any typos please. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | September 15, 2024 · 9:44 am

Brick House TAA, Tatuaje PCA and Villiger TAA Cigars

I stopped by my local Tobacconist Association of America retailer recent;y and picked up a few cigars I hadn’t tried yet. I got a couple TAA Exclusives and a PCA (Premium Cigar Association) exclusive. These are cigars that are only available to members of the respective associations, in the case of the TAA, the members have an annual meeting (usually at a tropical resort ironically outside of the US (technically they are still in “the Americas”).  Selected manufacturers make exclusive cigars, some good, some not so much.  I think I selected a couple of the better ones.  I started with the Brick House Ciento por Ciento, which translates to 100 percent, and I’m not sure what the significance of this name is without doing more research than I feel like doing.  I grabbed this one for three reasons: I typically like Brick House cigars, I hadn’t smoked this one, and it’s almost Bricktoberfest (starts tomorrow, my daughter’s birthday!).  I don’t know how long these had been on the retailers shelf, but when I removed the band it had tan lines!  The front face of the cigar wrapper leaf was faded, which is odd because the humidor at this shop has no sun exposure.  Perhaps they moved them from another store, I don’ t know. It was only one side, kinda like my tan. Anyway, this didn’t seem to have any effect.  This is a 6¼” x 54 Toro made in J.C. Newman’s PENSA factory in Esteli, and is a Nicaraguan Puro. The wrapper is from Jalapa and seems a bit lighter than the standard Brickhouse.  It has a overall woody profile with a hint of citrus here and there.  Good cigar and well priced, as a Brick House should be. 

 

Next up was the Tatuaje PCA 2023, which came out in early 2024, of course.  Tatuaje has probably been the best at making TAA Exclusives, and is a very big supporter of the PCA, which is a much larger organization.  The point of offering this Exclusive is to get  member retailers, and any retailer who isn’t a member is a fool, in my opinion, to physically come to the annual trade show to buy. This PCA exclusive is a  6 3/8″ x 54 Toro, made at the My Father factory in Esteli, and has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  This was a delicious cigar with. sweet exotic spices throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed smoking this, which isn’t unusual considering I enjoy most Tatuaje cigars I smoke.  I may swing back and grab a couple more, although they are on the top end of what I consider well priced, around $15 I think.  Great tasting cigar!

 

I’ve smoked a couple of the Villiger TAA Exclusives, however this one has eluded my notice.  Villiger, like they do with a lot of their brands, uses a variety of factories.  This was their second year making a TAA Exclusive, and they used the Tabacalera Palma factory in the DR.  Their Trill brand was made there, which I don’t think is in their portfolio any longer.  Like the Brick House, this cigar also had tan lines.  I guess they are the opposite of tan lines really, there was some fading on the top face of the wrapper.  This was a 6″ x 54 toro with an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Dominican binder and fillers.  I’m generally a fan of Villiger cigars, there’s some I like better than others, but they make good cigars.  This had a sweet wood profile, not my favorite, but pleasant enough.  The cigar burned well and I think it was unter $10, not too bad.  As I think about it (read: looked back on my own site), I have smoked the 2020 (E.P. Carrillo) and the 2022 (Espinosa), and I think the 2022 was my favorite. I guess I need to see if I can find the ’23 and ’24 versions if they exist!.

 

As I write this, I’m enjoying a cigar on my porch. I hate that it will be too chilly soon to do this.  I found a Leccia Desnudo in the humidor and, while it isn’t my usual choice for a morning cigar, it’s got a few year age and is a nice, mellow maduro cigar, great with coffee. When these came out back in 2016 we hosted a Desnudo Sunday and did a video, which is here.  Everyone remained clothed.  That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | May 12, 2024 · 10:13 am

Blackbird, Sobremesa, Cohiba and Brickhouse Cigars

First off, I’m really looking forward to going to the Smokonos event at Best Cigar Prices in Drums, PA next Saturday.  There’s going to be a lot of the A-list cigar celebrities there, and a bunch of friends I haven’t seen in a long time. Unfortunately it’s sold out, but I hope to see some of you there!  It’s a shame that it’s the same day as the Atlantic City Cigar Social, we had a nice time at that event last year.  If you happen to be attending that event, say hello to my friend Dan at Bucksco Barrels! Wednesday evening we went to Parings Cigar Bar in Media, PA to visit with Jonas Santana of Blackbird Cigars, and his area broker Mark Weissenburger. We didn’t stay around for it, but he was hosting a tasting session with puritos and rum. I picked up some of my favorite Blackbird cigars, the Crow, and some of the new Superb in toro.  I smoked a Supurb there, and had one Thursday night at home.  This is a 6″ x 52 toro, where most of their toros are 54 ring gauge. It has a Habano wrapper and undisclosed binder and fillers. Jonas is very tight lipped about the blend, claiming he forgets, which I don’t buy for a minute.  I speculated that it had Dominican Olor, and got nothing…I find it has a dryness that I associate with that tobacco. It also has some sweet spice, and was a very nice cigar. I generally don’t smoke the same cigar twice in a row unless it’s really good. It’s always nice to see Jonas and Mark, and the staff at Pairings is top notch. It’s one of the few cigar bars around the area, so if having a drink with your cigar is something you enjoy, check this place out if you’re in the Philadelphia area.

 

Friday evening came around and I decided it was the right time to smoke the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sobremesa Brûlée Wagashi that was a generous Secret Santa gift from a fellow Craig.  This is from the original CigarDojo release, not the new regular production.  If I have to smoke a shade wrapped cigar, there are a short list of ones I’m attracted to, and the Brulee blend is one of them. I’ve had the Brulee and Brulee Blue, and I’d heard this was milder.  Maybe so, but it was packed with sweet, nutty tobacco flavor right off the start.  This is a box pressed, 6″ x 50 with a bun type pigtail cap.  I think I liked this better than the previous two iterations of Brulee, and I like them a lot. Highly recommended. 

 

I noticed that my friends at CigarMojo’s The Grove location (the one close to me) decided to use one of my pictures in an Instagram reel. I don’t mind, but a photo credit would be nice.  Remember people, when you use someone’s intellectual property, it’s the right thing to do to give them credit.  I left a snarky comment, but I might have to stop in and have a talk with them!  Anyway, yesterday afternoon I watched some TV on the porch with a Cohiba Riviera Lancero, which, admittedly, had just arrived the day before. I let it rest overnight, it seemed fine, and I gave it the old Humidimeter test, but the prongs on the meter are ever so slightly narrower than the cigar, so it was really only reading from between the binder and wrapper.  This is a box pressed 7″ x 38 with a San Andrés wrapper, Honduran grown Connecticut shade binder, and fillers from Honduras and Nicaragua, made at STG’s factory in Esteli. The box press makes it seems slimmer than 38 ring gauge.  I really liked the Robusto size in this line, so I felt compelled to smoke this lancero.  I really liked it.  It has dark chocolate and espresso, and since I figured out that dark chocolate gives me migraines, I seek it out in cigars.  The Lancero is actually the most affordable in the Riviera line at $15, the rest of them are in the $20 range, which means I won’t be smoking them. $15 I can handle and it’s a very nice smoke. It surprises me that it took this long for General to make a Cohiba in the Lancero size, considering how iconic the Cuban Cohiba Lancero. is. 

 

I wanted to include a fourth cigar today, and I was hunting around the humidors for something I hadn’t written about yet, and it occured to me that I hadn’t talked about the Brickhouse Crystal Churchill from J.C.Newman.  I’ve had a box in the humidor for a year or so and have smoked half a dozen.  This is the 7¼” x 50 Habano wrapped Brickhouse in a glass tube.  They come ten per box and run just under $10 each. I quite enjoy the Brickhouse line, they are Nicaraguan cigars that aren’t terribly expensive, but provide a good smoking experience. It’s on the leathery side, but I like it anyway!  The tube doesn’t do much for me, although it’s a nice presentation, I worry about carrying glass around in my pocket, so would prefer aluminum tubes for portability.  I like Churchills,  and this is a good one (although it’s a couple rings oversized!). 

 

That’s all for now, happy Mother’s Day to all who celebrate.  Don’t forget the Smokin Tabacco Raffle for The CFCF! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | October 1, 2023 · 10:21 am

Brick House, West Tampa, Big Sky and Stolen Throne Cigars

I got a bit of a late start on Bricktoberfest, thanks to our friends at UPS, and maybe the weather. Every year (at least for the last 6) the folks at J.C. Newman celebrate Oktoberfest (which runs from September 21 through October 6ish I think) with a special release of their Brick House cigar.  This is presented in a toro with a pigtail cap and is in boxes of ten. If you go to a participating retailer and buy five of any Brick House cigar you can get a really nice  Brick House Pilsner Glass.  I really like the 2022 version of this, and I haven’t had a chance yet to smoke the two side by side. The 2023 version has a rosado Ecuador Habano wrapper, and is supposedly blended to pair with an Oktoberfest style lager. I’m far too far removed from beer consumption to know if that’s true, might be.  On it’s own it’s a solid cigar, if the Brick House blend is up your alley, and I like the Brick House line.  I’d love to see this offered with a Broadleaf wrapper one year, beer guys, back me up, would a maduro go well with a dark beer?  The Bricktoberfest is a tasty Nicaraguan cigar with some unsweetened coffee cocoa notes. Very nice.

 

Thursday evening I visited the CigarCigars store in Downingtown, PA, not far from where I lived when I started CigarCraig.com.  Speaking of beer, those familiar with craft beers will know the name Downingtown as the home of Victory Brewery.  I used to work in the adjacent building and would smoke cigars and drink root beer at their bar once in a while. Of course, that was over twenty years ago when such things were allowed!  I stopped in the shop because they were hosting Rick Rodriguez of West Tampa Tobacco Co. for the evening, and I try not to miss an opportunity to see my friend Rick. I bought a handful of West Tampa Red, Black and White, but I wasn’t allowed to smoked any of those, Rick had a West Tampa Red Lancero for me.  Last December when I saw him in Tampa he gave me the White and Black blends in the Lancero format and you might recall that I thought they were spectacular.  Considering I’m a big fan of the Red in the traditional sizes, I had high expectations. In this case, I’m not going to say that this was a better expression of the Red blend than the Toro or Robusto, it’s different, as the Toro and Robusto are different from one another. It was a spectacular cigar, and if these ever make it into the wild, give them a try.

 

I’m getting to the end of the Big Sky Cigar Co. Samples, I’m down to the small ones now, and I’m smoking the Yellowstone, which is the Ecuador Connecticut wrapped robusto in the portfolio. I’m on my second one this morning, I smoked one yesterday afternoon and was quite happy.  This has the lighter wrapper over some heavier Nicaraguan binder and fillers, so it’s not without flavor. The literature lists it as mild, but I don’t think that’s the case, I find it to be medium.  There’s some spices, pepper especially through the nose, and solid cafe con leche. Oddly, as I’m writing, and smoking the Yellowstone, I’m listening to Frank Zappa’s  Montana, and the Yellowstone River, for which the cigar is named, runs through Montana, though those dental floss plantations, no doubt. I’m happy smoking this cigar on a Sunday morning with coffee.

 

Finally, I happened to be in Havertown, PA yesterday and stopped in to the Wooden Indian because I saw that they had received a restock of the Stolen Throne Yorktown Fleet, and I’d been wanting to give that cigar a try.  Something makes me think there’s a tie in to Stolen Throne Cigars and the Yellowstone TV show, someone is going to have to let me know if I’m thinking of something else.  Not that it has anything to do with anything, just popped into my head.  I don’t think it’s a secret that the Crook of the Crown and the Three Kingdoms are personal favorites of mine, and I need to smoke more of the Call to Arms to form an opinion.  I do like a Sumatra, and the Yorktown Fleet is a Maduro Sumatra wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler, although the wrapper isn’t overly dark. I hate to criticize my friends at the Wooden Indian, but they need to put these back in the humidor as opposed to having them on the counter by the register, as I feel like the couple I bought were on the dry side. I am going to reserve judgement on this for when my remaining examples have some time in my humidor (internal moisture content read a little lower than I’d like, measured after smoking one). I didn’t find the flavors to be what I expected. Construction was perfect, and I look forward to smoking it again when it’s had some time, and I might look for the Robusto in another shop. I know Lee Marsh pretty well and I’m reasonably certain that what I smoked last night wasn’t his intention. Of course, my palate might have been out of whack too.  I’ll come back to this one.

 

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

 

CigarCraig 

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by | August 20, 2023 · 9:15 am

La Unica, Partagas and Black Works Studios Cigars

I’ve had a handful of these enormous La Unica No. 100 cigars in the humidor for a few months and have only had a few occasions to smoke them come up. This is an 8½” x 52 double corona made at Tabacalera Fuente for J.C. Newman.  Back in the ’90s La Unica was the first premium cigar that was sold in a bundle, it’s since been moved to boxes, more befitting the quality of the cigars.  I generally lean toward heavier cigars, but this Connecticut shade wrapped cigar is really quite good.  It’s smooth and creamy, and actually burns a little bit faster than one might think, sadly, I clocked in around two and a quarter hours with it, which worked fine for my schedule.  It was creamy and nutty, and I enjoyed it. These are also available in a Connecticut Broadleaf, which are also very good, and something I want to revisit, it’s been years!

 

I was surprised with a package of samples from STG this week and felt compelled to smoke one of the Partagas Valle Verde Toros right out of the box.  Of course, this can be a risky proposition, but that’s what the Cigarmedics Humidimeter is for!  This Partagas is a bit of an odd duck, it has a green band, a San Andrés wrapper, some San Andrés in the filler along with Nicaraguan, and a Cameroon binder.  It’s also made in the HATSA factory, which is in Honduras, which seems to be another oddity for a Partagas, which is normally made in the DR. I’ve long been a fan of the Partagas line, they have been second only to Fuente in their mastery of Cameroon, and their Broadleaf Partagas Black ain’t bad either. This Valle Verde was really quite good in my estimation.  It hit all my preferred flavor receptors. I got the earthy black coffee from the Mexican, the sweet nuts from the Cameroon and some sweet spice from the Esteli Ligero.  I’ll be shocked and amazed of this isn’t my favorite out of the batch of samples, I hope I’m not disappointed! More on those in future posts.  I would urge sampling the Partagas Valle Verde if you enjoy the same kinds of cigars I enjoy!

 

Remember last week (I think, maybe the week before) when I said that I really like Black Label Trading Company‘s cigars, but I find that they all kind of hit me the same?  I clearly haven’t smoked enough of them, because I smoked the new Black Works Studio Poison Dart Corona Gorda yesterday and it was clearly on another level.  Now, I get that the Studio does some different stuff than the regular line.  The Poison Dart just came out at the July trade show, and Famous Smoke Shop had them when I was there recently so I grabbed one.  This is a 5½” x 46 corona gorda with a pointy cap, a Brazilian Matafina wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers.  This cigar had a rich, mouth-coating kinda thing going on, almost licoricy, or maybe meaty, or some weird combo of the two.  It was delicious and was good for ninety minutes or so of afternoon enjoyment.  Lots of cocoa, coffee and spice, not unlike a lot of the BLTC cigars, but more intense.  I liked it a lot. 

 

That’s  about it for today. I am smoking a Buffalo Ten Connecticut while writing, a perfectly acceptable cigar with coffee, actually quite good.  I keep saying I don’t lean toward shade cigars, but I really quite enjoy them when I smoke them. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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