68 TOBACCO BUSINESS | JULY / AUGUST | 22 was also an effort to modernize some of the building’s features and to make it welcoming to all who take advantage of the opportunity to visit it today. There’s a lot to discover within El Reloj, including some of the factory’s original wooden cigar molds that have been turned into wall art, old doors and flooring that was saved and reused in the bathroom remodel, and the factory’s original clock face from 1910 on display in the lobby. The museum includes old cigar boxes, marketing tools and exhibits that detail the factory’s history, from its early beginnings in Cleveland, Ohio, to the company’s cigar factory expansion in Nicaragua. On the second floor, visitors can learnmoreaboutYborCityanditssignificance to the Tampa cigar industry. There are plenty of video presentations featuring members of different generations of the Newman family speaking about cigars and the family’s history. The third floor showcases the art of cigar making and is where the handrolling factory is located. Referred to as the “factory within a factory,” it’s here where almost all processes of the cigar making process—from sorting to stripping and the actual rolling of the cigars— takes place. “J.C. Newman’s historic El Reloj cigar factory is the premier destination for cigar enthusiasts in the United States,” Newman states. “It is our privilege to continue our family’s four-generation legacy of handcrafting fine cigars since 1895. Our family’s one goal is to continue our family business for another four generations and 100 years. We hope that cigar enthusiasts from around the world will visit our historic El Reloj cigar factory in Tampa to experience the American cigar tradition.” El Reloj is open to the public on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern. TB Top: The historical museum that shares the story of J.C. Newman Cigar Company from 1895 to present day with milestone snapshots. Bottom: The third floor of El Reloj, where visitors have the opportunity to handroll cigars as part of the tour. On May 5, 2022, J.C. Newman Cigar Company celebrated its 127th anniversary. In celebration of this occasion, J.C. Newman Cigar Company announced that it would be releasing a new Cuesta-Rey No. 95 Cameroon cigar. This cigar will be an exclusive available at the historic El Reloj cigar factory located in Tampa, Florida. “After the Cuban Embargo was imposed in 1962, my grandfather, Stanford J. Newman, scoured the world for new types of tobacco. He discovered an exquisite African Cameroon wrapper (ACW) and was the first premium cigar maker to use it in the United States,” explains Drew Newman, fourth-generation cigar maker and general counsel for J.C. Newman Cigar Company. “Stanford wrapped ACW with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and long filler tobaccos grown in the Dominican Republic to create the Cuesta-Rey No. 95. It was smooth, elegant and flavorful, and became the top-selling premium cigar in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. Sixty years later, we are proud to have recreated the original blend of my grandfather’s most famous cigar, the Cuesta-Rey No. 95.” Cuesta-Rey No. 95 is handmade at J.C. Newman’s historic El Reloj cigar factory in Tampa. It measures 6 1/4 x 42 and retails for $15. J.C. Newman Cigar Company will be selling this special cigar in limited edition five-count packs as a factory exclusive that is available to those that visit the company’s museum and take a factory tour or attend a special event at its El Reloj factory. CUESTA-REY NO. 95 CAMEROON
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