Stogie Guys Friday Sampler No. 494

As we have since July 2006, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. Below is our latest Friday Sampler.

1) In a press release distributed on Monday, J.C. Newman—the oldest family-owned cigar maker in the U.S.—announced its new boutique cigar division. The J.C. Newman Fourth Generation Cigar Company, as it is called, began shipping three lines to retailers last week: The American, Admiration, and The 1954. All of the cigars are handmade at J.C. Newman’s El Reloj factory in Ybor City (pictured above). The American has a Florida sun-grown wrapper and is available in four sizes. Admiration is a “bright, bold cigar that marries classic American and New World Nicaraguan tobaccos.” Both will be sold in the ultra-premium $16 to $18 price range. The 1954, which commemorates the year company founder Julius Caeser Newman moved operations to Tampa, will be sold in one size (6.25 x 42). “Our family and so many others make wonderful cigars overseas,” said Drew Newman. “With the J.C. Newman Fourth Generation Cigar Company, our goal is to prove that world-class cigars with unique, heirloom American tobaccos can be hand-rolled in America once again.”

2) Officials in Dallas will soon vote on whether to ban outdoor smoking at all of the city’s parks. “The park board has been working on this ban proposal since November 2014. The proposal will go to the council for a full vote within the next 30 days, at which point exceptions could be added back to the proposed amendment by council members opposed to the outright ban,” reports the Dallas Morning News. While the Park and Recreation Board moved to push forward the proposal with no exemptions, “several council members said they weren’t on board with the ban, calling it unenforceable and nothing more than the nanny state in action.”

3) Although Americans can now legally purchase Cuban cigars while abroad, and can even import up to $100 worth of Cuban cigars when returning from traveling on a visa to Cuba, not everyone has updated their policies. Forbes contributor Nathaniel Parish Flannery found his PayPal account frozen when he reimbursed a friend for a cigar purchased and smoked in Mexico. While PayPal should surely update their policies so as not to flag perfectly legal purchases, it would be wise to not mention cigars at all when transferring funds via PayPal.

4) Inside the Industry: Prometheus has announced the fall 2016 Fuente Aged Selection. In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Fuente Fuente OpusX, an interview book with Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. and 20 Years of Fuente Fuente OpusX will be released. The book will be presented with four Fuente Fuente Forbidden X cigars and six rare vintage Fuente Aged Selection cigars. The price, which will be substantial, has not yet been announced.

5) From the Archives: Last year Steve Saka’s long-anticipated Sobremesa debuted. This year he has a host of new offerings. If you want some insight into those new blends, check out this interview with Saka last year.

6) Deal of the Week: Over the years, West Palm Beach retailer Smoke Inn has partnered with some of the biggest names in the cigar industry to create exclusive cigars for its Microblend collection. If you missed any of those cigars, some of which haven’t been sold for years, you can now obtain the entire collection. Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Tampa Bay Times