J.C. Newman Cigar Co. Ships Final 2024  Release of Yagua

1,850 boxes are being shipped to premium cigar retailers.

Tampa, FL – J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has announced the final release of its legendary Yagua cigars for 2024. This eagerly awaited batch includes 1,850 boxes shipped to nearly 500 premium cigar retailers across 46 states.

Since its initial release, the Yagua cigar has attracted a dedicated following, with fans drawn to its unique history and unconventional design. “It continues to shock me that Yagua has developed a cult-like following,” says Drew Newman, the company’s fourth-generation owner. “I didn’t make Yagua to sell. I actually thought cigar enthusiasts wouldn’t appreciate it because Yagua breaks all the traditional cigar-making rules. Yagua is misshapen and unattractive, rolled with under fermented tobacco, and no two Yagua cigars are alike.”

The Story Behind Yagua’s Unique Design and Tradition

Yagua is more than just a cigar; it’s a homage to the craft and tradition of a bygone era. Lazaro Lopez, general manager at J.C. Newman’s PENSA factory in Nicaragua, shared the origins of Yagua with Newman over dinner in 2019. Lopez recounted how his grandfather, a tobacco farmer in Cuba during the 1940s, would roll cigars directly from fresh tobacco leaves without molds or presses. To give the cigars a somewhat traditional shape, he would bind them using the Cuban royal palm tree leaf, known as the “yagua.” When he was ready to smoke them, he’d untie the bundle, revealing uniquely shaped cigars with a rich aroma and taste.

The Yagua Rolling Process: A Labor of Love

Crafting Yagua is a delicate process that mirrors this traditional method. Twenty Yagua cigars are bound together in a palm leaf while still wet. Each box holds a bundle of these 6×54 cigars, wrapped as they were in Cuba, giving Yagua its distinctive rustic appearance and flavor profile. As Newman explains, “Yagua is difficult to roll because we use an under fermented Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, blend the filler tobaccos differently, and skip many of the typical tools and techniques found in a cigar factory.”

In order to fully develop the flavor, J.C. Newman ages each batch of Yagua cigars for an entire year. This unique combination of materials, time, and craftsmanship creates a complex, rich cigar experience that can’t be replicated with modern manufacturing techniques.

Where to Find Yagua

This final 2024 batch of Yagua is on its way to select retailers nationwide.

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.