The Legacy of J.C. Newman Cigars: 10 Things to Know!

1. J.C. Newman Cigars dates back to 1889 when 14 year-old Julius Caesar Newman immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio from Austria-Hungary. In 1890 he learned to roll cigars to sell in local grocery stores. By 1895 the fast-growing business was born as the J.C. Newman Cigar Company.
2. TAMPA – In 1954, J.C. Newman – at the age of 78 – became convinced that the future of the company required focusing on making premium cigars. He decided to move the company to Tampa which had become known as the “Fine Cigar Capital of the World.” It would be closer to its primary source of tobacco from Cuba. In the early part of the 20th century, more cigars were made in Tampa with Cuban tobacco than in Cuba!
3. EL RELOJ – Newman sent his oldest son Stanford to Tampa to find a factory and begin making cigars on a small scale. Stanford rented a floor in the iconic El Reloj cigar factory in Ybor City, Tampa’s historic cigar district.
4. YBOR CITY means “Cigar City” and was the home of more than 100 cigar factories. “El Reloj” means “the Clock” as the famous factory features a clock tower that can be seen from the surrounding area.
5. EL RELOJ The El Reloj factory opened in 1910 – it was the largest cigar factory in the world. It was built by E. Regensburg & Sons, a cigar company founded in New York City in 1875. J.C. Newman’s saw success in their early operations from a floor in the El Reloj and Stanford closed a deal to buy the whole factory. There the El Reloj still serves its original purpose of making cigars – the last working cigar factory in Tampa.
6. THE LAST – J.C. Newman Cigar Company is the oldest family-owned premium cigar maker in America. Here is a 7-minute video overview of the factory and history of J.C. Newman. https://youtu.be/fVjoXGCh7rw
7. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC In 1986 fellow Tampa cigar maker Carlos Fuente Sr. called Stanford with a proposal. Carlos wanted to close his factory in Tampa and relocate to the Dominican Republic to grow tobacco and build a cigar factory. He asked if Stanford would be interested in making Fuente’s Moya cigar brand. In return Stanford asked Carlos to make cigars for him in the Dominican Republic. They shook hands and this began the business relationship between the two cigar families. In 1990 Newman became the distributor of Carlos’s Arture Fuente and Montesino cigar brands.
8. FUENTE – Today, Fuente continues to make Newman’s Dominican Diamond Crown cigar line and the Cuesta Rey as well as the La Unica.
9. THE AMERICAN cigar by J.C. Newman is an historic cigar brand created in the late 1800s by E. Regensburg who originally owned El Reloj. More than a century later, Drew Newman recreated The American to commemorate the company’s 125th anniversary. Today, The American is rolled by hand in the El Reloj factory as a 100% American cigar. From cigar to box everything in The American is grown and made in the United States.
   – Wrapper: Florida Sun Grown, grown by Jeff Borysiewicz in Clermont, Florida
   – Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf, grown by John Foster in South Windsor, Connecticut
   – Filler: Pennsylvania Type 41, grown by Mennonite family farmers in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Connecticut Havana, grown John Foster in South Windsor, Connecticut

10. NICARAGUA – J.C. Newman’s Nicaraguan cigars are made in its PENSA factory in 2011. They began making in Nicaragua with the Quorum, a value brand made in an independent factory beginning in 2003. Their Nicaraguan brands are the Brickhouse, Perla del Mar and El Baton in addition to the Quorum.

Have a favorite Newman cigar? Ever been to Ybor City? Drop in the comments!