Co-hosting The Great Cigar & Pipe Show has its perks. The blue crew of Chooches, Ronnie Pecorini, ‘Cousin Frank’ Minutillo, ‘Retired Bob’ Pecorini, and Kyle ‘Lancero’ Jesso, visit the J.C. Newman Cigar Factory in Ybor City, Florida annually. This year, I was lucky to tag along and experience the history of this incredible and last-standing cigar factory on American soil.
“Founded in 1895 by Julius Caeser Newman, J.C. Newman Cigar Company is the oldest family-owned premium cigar maker in America. For four generations and 129 years, J.C. Newman has been handcrafting many of the world’s finest cigars. J.C. Newman is headquartered in an iconic 114-year-old cigar factory in the Ybor City National Historic Landmark District in Tampa, Florida. At this factory, known as “El Reloj,” J.C. Newman rolls premium cigars both by hand and by hand-operated, antique cigar machines.” ~ jcnewman.com
Our amazing tour guide, Sydney Elliot, showed us the incredible cigar museum in the basement, which contains the last bundle of pre-embargo Cuban tobacco, among hundreds of cigar artifacts and old boxes of cigars.
The American Room Manager, Gene Haines, gave us a mini rolling class and helped us roll our own cigars, a cigar enthusiast’s dream come true. They even banded the cigars for us. Amazing!
The Factory Museum Educator, Holden Rasmussen, took us on a journey of smoking fumas, or different tobacco leaves, by themselves. We may be Chooches, but our selection of Brazilian Arapiraca, Mexican San Andres, Nicaraguan Jalapa, and filler from Paraguay would undoubtedly make for an incredible blend. Thank you Holden for sharing your knowledge and providing this amazing blending experience.
Be sure to check out our interviews with Drew Newman and Gene Haines, right from the historic American Room. Drew expressed his appreciation for all of the factory’s continued success, while Gene provided information on their new Personal Reserve Program, which allows the public to personally blend cigars for boxing.
You can check these interviews out here:
Thank you to the J.C. Newman factory staff for all your hospitality during our visit. This place is a must see for all cigar lovers. Do yourself a favor and get down to Tampa sooner than later.
Thank you to the Great Cigar & Pipe Show crew. This was an incredible experience and I owe it all to you guys.
I look forward to our 2025 season of live pairing episodes.
Cheers!
