Tag Archives: J.C.Newman

by Craig Vanderslice | December 26, 2021 · 10:35 am

A Neanderthal, a Diamond Crown and Boxing Day Cigars?

It’s the day after Christmas, so I don’t have a great deal to write about, since the last few days have been busy with family and the whole build up to the holiday and all. I have just been smoking good cigars, and whatnot. I started off the long weekend with a Paladin de Saka after a private discussion amongst some bloggers about how this yet to be released cigar might end up on the Halfwheel Consensus. A little insider info for you there. I toyed with the idea of doing a top whatever list myself, just to see if I make the consensus again, but it would be a vanity project, and I think I’ll just discuss my favorites of the year in a different way. There were some new cigars that impressed me, and I want to give credit where credit is due, but my ego doesn’t need to be stroked. One of the cigars I treated myself to was a Christmas Eve Romacraft Neanderthal Gran Perfecto. I had purchased a collection of Gran Perfectos from Son’s Cigars a while ago and have been working my way through them. I have to say, the Whiskey Rebellion has been my least favorite, there’s something I don’t like about it. Of course, the Cromagnon was excellent, as was the Neanderthal. This format, the 5 5/8″ x 60 perfecto, changes the flavors ever so slightly. In the cases of the latter two, the flavors seemed stronger, or more focused, which makes sense considering the tapered format. I’m a fan of the brand, of course, I’ve known Skip and Mike for over a decade, they are one of the brands that I’ve purchased 99% of the cigars of theirs that I’ve smoked!

Christmas day, after all the kids and grandkids have gone and our big brunch was cleaned up, I hit the porch with a Diamond Crown No. 7. It has been my tradition over the years to smoke a classic cigar on Christmas day, usually something Fuente or Padron, something I love that I can just enjoy. This is such a cigar and brings with it a lot of memories. I always think of a cigar party in Vegas in 1998 when I smoked a Diamond Crown for the first time. My wife smoked one too, and Saka was there as well as a few other folks I’m still in touch with (Ed Sullivan of The Cigar Authority and The Ashholes podasts, for instance). It’s a quintessential Connecticut shade cigar, mild, bready, a hint of sweetness, and just an all around pleasant cigar. When they came out in the mid-90s, available only west of the Mississippi, oddly, enough, they were absurdly large 54 ring gauge. This pyramid is a 6 ¾” x 54, and manufactured at Tabacalera Fuente. My preference is generally for the maduro, or the Maximus, but the original version is always a treat for me.

Today is Boxing Day in the British Commonwealth countries, and I don’t quite know the intricacies of that holiday, but I know it doesn’t have anything to do with pugilism. There goes my plans to watch Rocky movies all day. That saves me hours of going frame by frame looking for myself in the fight scene in Rocky 5 (we were extras ringside). Anyway, whatever Boxing Day is, for me it’ll mean finding a box of cigars and taking a cigar out and smoking it, maybe doing it more than once. It’s supposed to be a nice day too. I’m certainly not going shopping. Anyway, I only mentioned Boxing Day because I couldn’t think of anything else. Didn’t Rocky Patel make a cigar for a boxer? So, that’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Diamond Crown, J.C.Newman, Neanderthal, RoMaCraft

by Craig Vanderslice | August 11, 2021 · 9:35 pm

The American Double Robusto by J.C. Newman

I recently had the opportunity to smoke the newest vitola of the American by J.C.Newman. This is a cigar made in the U.S. from all American tobaccos, here’s the information from J.C.Newman:

Handcrafted in J.C. Newman’s historic El Reloj cigar factory in the “Cigar City” of Tampa, Florida, The American is the first 100% all-American cigar. This new vitola (5.5” x 56) is the thickest The American cigar to date. It is packed in boxes of 20 with a suggested retail price of $17.50.

“The United States has a rich tradition of cigar making dating back to the first crop of tobacco planted in Virginia in 1612,” said Drew Newman, fourth generation owner of J.C. Newman. “Cigar tobacco was grown in every American Colony and many Founding Fathers, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, were tobacco farmers.”

The American is rolled with an exclusive Florida Sungrown wrapper, a Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and a blend of Connecticut Havana and Pennsylvania Mennonite filler tobaccos. With a thicker ring gauge, the Double Robusto has an extra leaf of Pennsylvania ligero tobaccos, making it the strongest The American cigar. All of the packaging, from the wood in the cigar boxes, to the paper for cigar labels, to the cellophane that protects each cigar, is made in the United States as well.

Cigar enthusiasts who visit J.C. Newman’s 111-year-old El Reloj cigar factory in Tampa can see The American being rolled and learn about the history of American cigar making in the J.C. Newman Cigar Museum.

This is not only a cool project by J.C. Newman, but I have a personal attachment to it because some of the tobaccos are grown not twenty-five miles from where I live now, and only a few mile from where I used to live. I can remember driving past the fields of tobacco 20 years ago. Of course I’m a big fan of Connecticut Broadleaf, and I have an affinity for the PA leaf, it has a special flavor. I smoked a couple of the Double Robustos, which are a really good size for me. The Florida Sungrown wrapper has a mottled appearance, and the cigar starts with a bit of a sourness, but sweetens and has an earthiness throughout. the construction was very good. I only have one robusto to compare to, but I do think this was stronger, owing to the extra ligero, although it wasn’t excessively strong, it was very well balanced. Pennsylvania ligero can be very strong in my experience. This was an excellent cigar, many thanks to J.C.Newman for sharing these with me.

That’ all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as American, broadleaf, cigar, cigars, Connecticut Broadleaf, Connecticut Havana, Double Robusto, Florida Sun Grown, J.C.Newman, Pennsylvania Broadleaf

by Craig Vanderslice | July 7, 2021 · 8:00 pm

News: TAA 2021 Exclusive Cigar ‘Brick House Beginnings’ Ships

This looks interesting, I really like the Brick House cigars, and I have a TAA retailer nearby, so I’ll have to check them out. I still want to get to Tampa to visit the remodeled factory, I have a pretty good feeling I could get in…check out this news from J.C. Newman.

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

Mighty Mighty Natural (6 ¼” x 60)
10 cigars per box

Churchill Natural (7 ¼ x 50)
10 cigars per box

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 Brick House, cigar, cigars, J.C.Newman, TAA

by Craig Vanderslice | June 9, 2021 · 9:28 pm

Contest! Drew Estate Swag and Some Cigars From My Humidor

OK, I’ve been teasing a contest for too long, and it’s been way too long since I’ve had a giveaway! So it’s time! I’ve had some goodies here that My friends at Drew Estate were kind enough to provide for me, and I’ll scrape together some Drew Estate cigars from my humidor to add as well. I’m sure I’ll find some more to throw in as the week goes by too! As it stands, here’s the stuff!

There’s the Freestyle Live Travel Humidor, Xikar cutter and torch lighter! I’m also including a cool pair of cigar socks courtesy of Groovy Groomsmen Gifts! These are the “Sock it To ‘Em” style socks and are very nice socks! I’m also including a selection of cigars from my humidor, a bunch of my favorites, from La Sirena, Danli Honduras Tobacco, Joya de Nicaragua, General Cigar and J.C.Newman, as well as others to be added later, and at my whim.

As with all my giveaways, the rules are simple. First, you need to be of legal age in your jurisdiction, and willing to prove it if you win. To enter, simply leave a comment on this blog post, one per person. No Facebook or Twitter comments will count, just comments on this blog post! I’ll select a winner next Wednesday, June 16, 2021. That’s it, easy stuff. Good luck!

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Contest, Danli Honduras Tabacco, drew estate, General Cigar Co., Groovy Groomsmen Gifts, J.C.Newman, joya de nicaragua, La Sirena, Socks

by Craig Vanderslice | April 18, 2021 · 10:06 am

An Epic Habano Lancero, a Havana Q and Cigar Socks

Earlier in the week I was hunting around for something to smoke and I took a rummage through the lancero section of the humidor and came across a couple Epic Habano Lanceros. I have a handful of Epic Lanceros I’ve picked up over the years, and really enjoy them. They are made in the same factory in the DR that makes Kristoff cigars, who really isn’t known for that vitola, although I think they do have a few. Their Lanceros are 7½” x 40, and are loaded with flavor. It’s woody, spicy with some sweetness and overall a great smoke. I enjoy the Maduro the most in the Epic line, but this Habano is really nice. I have to look, I might have a Corojo too, I know I have some Maduro Lanceros (I have several different band designs as they changed over the years). I hope since Dean has sold the brand (but is still involved) that nothing changes, because the cigars have always been really good.

J.C.Newman sent me some of their Havana Q cigars to try recently, so I’ve smoked a few lately. This is a sub-$3 cigar made in Nicaragua. I’ll be right upfront in admitting that I have become a bit of a snob when it comes to cigars. I generally smoke one a day, and I want that one to be decent one. I have stayed away from “cheap” cigars unless I’m doing a task in the yard or something where having a cigar will reduce the profanities (I could have used one earlier in the day yesterday!). A cigar to me is a reward after a day’s work, usually, not something I need to get through the day. That being said, I’m atypical, and some people like to have cigars throughout the day, and inexpensive cigars like the Havana Q are a great option. I found this to be a fairly mild cigar, and slow burning for what I suspect to be mixed filler. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. The resealable “humidor” bag packaging is nice for the casual smoker, toss a Boveda pack in and you’re good, or smoke them up in a week or two, whatever your custom. Bottom line is, I’ve had far worse cigars for more cash.

Let’s talk about socks for a few minutes. I got another new item from my friends at Groovy Groomsmen Gifts, this time it’s some cigar themed socks. They have a couple styles actually, among their large sock selection. Back in 1987 when I got married, I got my groomsmen some beer mugs, because, believe it or not, I was more into beer then that cigars, although we did smoke some cigars at the wedding reception (don’t ask what, they weren’t premium). If I were doing it now, you’d better believe I’d be outfitting my groomsmen in these “Smoke Stacks” socks from Groovy Groomsmen Gifts! I’d be wearing them with my custom Vans, and probably a cigar themed bow tie and cumberbund (are they back in style yet?) Groovy Groomsmen Gifts, and Groovy Guy Gifts, have a lot of nice cigar related accessories, if you are in need of customized gifts, give them a look.