J.C. Newman Cigar Company is bring back one of its most difficult to roll cigars in a very limited run. Yagua first hit store shelves last year and is a cigar whose shape comes from how it’s tied together by a Cuban royal palm tree called a yagua.
Drew Newman, fourth generation owner of J.C. Newman Cigar Company, was told the following story back in 2019 by Lazaro Lopez, the general manager of J.C. Newman PENSA:
“At our family farm, my grandfather would take fresh tobacco leaves from the curing barns and roll cigars without any molds or presses. In an attempt to give his cigars a traditional shape, he would tie a handful of them together using pieces of the Cuban royal palm tree, known as the yagua. When he was ready to enjoy his personal cigars, he untied the bundle. He loved how every cigar had its own unique shape. I still remember the rich aroma and taste of my grandfather’s cigars. Today, I’ve recreated Yagua, rolling them exactly how my grandfather did a century ago.”
After hearing this story, Drew Newman asked Lazaro if he could possibly remake this special cigar in the company’s Nicaraguan factory. Lazaro did just that and the cigar became known as Yagua, named after the palm leaves that give the cigar their unique shape.
“Because the cigars are pressed together and bound while they are still wet, each one has a slightly different shape. Each cigar is truly unique,” Newman explains.
Because of how this cigar’s Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper is under fermented and how the filler tobaccos are blended, Yagua is one of J.C. Newman’s most challenging cigars to roll. None of the usual tools and techniques used in most cigar factories are used to make Yagua, making it a cigar that’s a must try for those cigar enthusiasts interested in both what’s new and what’s different from anything in the market right now.
J.C. Newman is only releasing 1,000 20-count boxes of Yagua this year. Each cigar will measure around 6 x 54.
For more news from J.C. Newman Cigar Company, visit jcnewman.com.
