PCA Magazine Winter 2020

30 PCA The Magazine | WINTER 2020 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG N THE ANNALS of the modern cigar- making era, there have been many commemorative issues. These would typically celebrate an anniversary of a company’s founding, the year of the founder’s birth, or a milestone achievement, such as 10th Anniversary or Cigar of The Year honors. But none has been quite like The American from J.C. Newman Cigar Co. The American celebrates 125 years of continuous production by the four-generation Newman family, as well as the re- release of the first brand ever produced in their historic El Reloj factory in Tampa, Florida. The American is the brainchild of fourth-generation manufacturer DrewNewman, who serves as the General Counsel to the cigar manufacturing family. Newman credits the concept for creating an all-American cigar, which would honor the company’s 125th anniversary, to his wife, Ariel. He took the project to heart, and exceeded expectations by not only creating a cigar made entirely fromAmerican- grown tobacco, but a product in which every element of the packaging, from the wood for the boxes, the ink and paper for the labels, the cellophane tubes and even the box hinges, is manufactured in the United States. Once the concept for an all-American cigar was incubated, the Newman family began the search for an appropriate name for such a unique product. That came about as DrewNewman was researching the family’s records and photographs. There he discovered that “the oldest photo we have of our factory, from the University of Florida’s archives, had a flag flying atop of our famous clock tower that said ‘The American’ on it. I did some more research and found the story of The American as this historic cigar brand, the first brand of cigars rolled in our factory, when it opened in 1910.” He adds: “The American speaks to who we are as a company, which is a fourth-generation, 124-year-old family business, and the oldest family-owned cigar company in America. As an all-American cigar family, we wanted to create an all-American cigar.” Knowing the cigar was to include only U.S.-grown tobacco, BY LARRY WAGNER J.C. Newman The American The Blend I