Today, the J.C. Newman Cigar Company, America’s oldest family-owned cigar maker, introduced its long-awaited boutique cigar division, the J.C. Newman Fourth Generation Cigar Company, with the division’s first three cigar brands: The American, Admiration, and The 1954. The first cigars began shipping to select retailers last week.
Created in New York City by the great-grandson of the founder, Drew Newman, and Drew’s wife Ariel Peters, the J.C. Newman Fourth Generation Cigar Company seeks to honor and celebrate the centuries-old tradition of cigar making in America by hand rolling cigars in Tampa, Florida.
“Our family and so many others make wonderful cigars overseas. With the J.C. Newman Fourth Generation Cigar Company, our goal is to prove that world-class cigars with unique, heirloom American tobaccos can be hand rolled in America once again,” said Drew Newman.
“What is most important to us is quality and craftsmanship,” said Ariel Peters. “Like small-batch distilleries and craft breweries, we want to source in America as much as we can and be open and transparent about the entire supply chain and production process.”
J.C. Newman Fourth Generation Cigar Company’s first three brands are:
- The American, a 100% American cigar with an exclusive Florida Sun Grown wrapper. Born in New York City in the 1880s, The American was the first cigar brand rolled when El Reloj, J.C. Newman’s factory, opened in Tampa in 1910. From the tobacco to the finished wood boxes, The American is entirely made in America. Available in 4 sizes with an annual production of 25,000 cigars. It is expected to carry an MSRP of $16.00 – $18.00
- Admiration, a bright, bold cigar that marries classic American and New World Nicaraguan tobaccos. The second brand rolled in El Reloj a century ago, the name conveys the sense of admiration that J.C. Newman’s fourth generation has for the generations of cigar makers that came before them. Available in four sizes with an annual production of 25,000 cigars. It is expected to carry an MSRP of $16.00 – $18.00
- 1954. In 1954, at the age of 78, Julius Caeser Newman moved his eponymous cigar company to Tampa. There, in Ybor City’s famous “El Reloj” cigar factory, J.C.’s son Stanford created the Cuesta-Rey No. 95. It quickly became the most popular premium cigar in America in the 1950s and 1960s. The 1954, which has the same shape as the Cuesta-Rey No. 95, celebrates Stanford’s ingenuity. J.C. Newman’s fourth generation invites you to enjoy this cigar, rolled by hand in El Reloj and inspired by the era in which Stanford set a new standard of luxury in cigars. Available in one size, 6 1⁄4” x 42 which is the same as the Cuesta-Rey No. 95 it is limited to 1,954 cigars per year.
The American, Admiration, and The 1954 are hand rolled in J.C. Newman’s famous El Reloj cigar factory in Tampa’s Ybor City national historic cigar district. J.C. Newman is reconfiguring the factory’s first floor to create a factory-within-a-factory for handmade cigars as well as expanding its cigar museum. J.C. Newman’s goal is to open these spaces to the public and create a destination for cigar enthusiasts to visit beginning in early 2017.
“One hundred years ago, there were 150 cigar factories in Tampa that hand rolled 500,000 cigars a year,” said Eric Newman, President of J.C. Newman. “As the last cigar factory still operating in Tampa, we are thrilled that our company’s fourth generation, my son Drew and Bobby’s sons Dawson and Paxton, is keeping Ybor City’s cigar-making tradition alive.”
“We are a 121-year-old, four-generation, American family-owned and operated company, and we are very proud to be hand rolling cigars in America once again, just like our grandfather did a century ago,” said Bobby Newman, Executive Vice President of J.C. Newman.
About J.C Newman
Founded in 1895 by Julius Caeser Newman, J.C. Newman is America’s oldest family-owned cigar maker. In addition to its historic El Reloj cigar factory in Tampa, J.C. Newman owns and operates the second-largest cigar factory in Nicaragua and imports cigars from Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic. Its many leading brands include Diamond Crown, Julius Caeser, MAXIMUS, Black Diamond, Brick House, Perla del Mar, and Quorum.
