PCA 2025: J.C. Newman Cigar Company - 130th Anniversary

The 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show was a very important one for J.C. Newman Cigar Company. This year, the company is celebrating its 130th anniversary in grand style. Therefore, the company showcased five new offerings at the Trade Show. J.C. Newman is very proud of its heritage, and perhaps there is no better storyteller and visionary than Drew Newman, who sat down to talk with our team and go through the lineup of products for 2025.

As in previous years, J.C. Newman brought along a replica of its El Reloj factory located in Tampa, Florida. Interestingly, J.C. Newman produces cigars in three countries: the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and the United States. This year, each of these locations unveiled a new release from J.C. Newman, all of which pay tribute to the brand’s rich heritage.

Angel Cuesta Shade

Angel Cuesta is named for Angel LaMadrid Cuesta, one of the co-founders of the iconic Cuesta-Rey line. Cuesta arrived in the U.S. in 1884 and established a cigar factory. Eventually, Cuesta joined forces with Peregrino Rey, and the Cuesta-Rey partnership was formed. Cuesta was friends with Spain’s King Alfonso XIII, leading to Cuesta-Rey becoming the king’s official cigar. In 2023, J.C. Newman launched the Angel Cuesta line in a Rosado wrapper. That Angel Cuesta cigar became J.C. Newman’s second hand-rolled cigar out of its Tampa El Reloj factory.

The Angel Cuesta Shade becomes the second blend under the Angel Cuesta line. Like its Rosado counterpart, it is handmade at El Reloj. It features a Nicaraguan Shade wrapper over undisclosed binder and filler tobaccos from three continents. It comes in three sizes: Doble Robusto, Toro, and Salomones. Each cigar has a pig-tail cap and is packed in 20-count boxes.

Sarzedas

According to U.S. patent records, this brand was once sold by J.C. Newman and could be traced back to 1900. Sarzedas was once known as the Aromatic cigar, although the company isn’t saying exactly what this means.

Sarzedas features an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over binder and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. Rich Dolan, the Vice President of Operations for J.C. Newman, blended the line. The cigars come in four sizes: Toro (6 x 50), Robusto (4 3/4 x 52), Churchill (7 x 48), and Corona (5 1/2 x 43). Production comes from J.C. Newman’s PENSA cigar factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

LeRoy Neiman Collector’s Edition 2025

The J.C. Newman’s LeRoy Neiman Collector’s Edition series is an annual limited edition series that pays homage to the artworks of LeRoy Neiman (a cigar enthusiast). The Collector’s Edition project is being done in collaboration with the Neiman family and the LeRoy and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation. J.C. Newman and the foundation donate all profits from this collaboration to support arts education in Tampa’s public schools.

This year’s artwork theme for the 2025 LeRoy Neiman Collector’s Edition is “Jazz Horns.” This selection was inspired by the fact that the 2025 PCA Trade Show is in New Orleans. The Collector’s Edition 2025 comes in a 6 1/4 x 52 torpedo. The blend is identical to the 2023 blend, featuring an Ecuadorian Havana wrapper, a U.S. Florida-grown binder, and a combination of Nicaraguan and U.S. tobaccos. It’s also produced out of El Reloj in Tampa, Florida. Production is limited to 750 boxes of 20.

130th Anniversary Diamond Crown Humidor

Diamond Crown holds a significant place in J.C. Newman’s history, as it was one of J.C. Newman’s original brands from the 1900s. However, the brand faded away before World War II. In 1995, Stanford Newman reintroduced Diamond Crown to celebrate the company’s centennial. Recently, Diamond Crown went through a packaging refresh. J.C. Newman marked the brand’s 130th anniversary at the Trade Show with a special humidor containing the new Diamond Crown No. 9 Belicoso size.

Home Run Humidor

The Home Run Humidor was initially previewed at the 2024 PCA Trade Show. It features a series of 50 unique humidors made from game-used professional baseball bats. The humidors are shaped like a home plate and are in five sizes.

The Home Run Humidor has a capacity of 100 to 125 cigars and will include 25 Tampa Smokers cigars. Pricing comes in at $2,000.00 SRP with shipping later this year. Tampa Smokers is a line of cigars that J.C. Newman unveiled earlier this year that pays homage to the former minor league baseball team with the same name that played in Tampa.