A Diamond Crown With Florida Tobacco Made Just For Tampa
Tomorrow, the cigarmaking city of Tampa turns 138, and Tampa’s oldest cigarmaker—J.C. Newman Cigar Co.—wanted to do something special for the occasion. As you may have guessed, it’s a cigar, but a few things make this upcoming release unusual. Called Diamond Crown Tampa, it’s made with some Florida tobacco and it will only be available in Tampa.
Diamond Crown Tampa comes in one size, a Toro, measuring 6 1/2 inches by 52 ring gauge. Like other Diamond Crowns, it’s made in the Dominican Republic by Arturo Fuente Cigar Co. What makes it unique is the Florida tobacco, as this is the first cigar ever rolled at the Fuente factory with Floridian leaf. The tobacco was grown by retailer (and farmer) Jeff Borysiewicz, who started his Florida Sun Grown project 13 years ago in Clermont, where he cultivates Cuban-seed tobaccos.
The cigar is composed of a Connecticut shade wrapper, Dominican binder and all-Dominican filler, save for a ligero leaf of Florida Sun Grown tobacco. Despite the Connecticut shade wrapper, The company says that Diamond Crown Tampa is a medium-bodied cigar, stronger than the milder Diamond Crown Classic, but not as strong as the Diamond Crown Black Diamond.
At $30 per cigar, it’s also the most expensive Diamond Crown that J.C. Newman sells, but you’ll have to go to Tampa of you want to try one. It’s being launched tomorrow at Borysiewicz’s Diamond Crown lounge located within his Corona Cigar Co. (Tampa location). After the initial launch, the cigar will also be available at other Tampa retailers, as well as the Hotel Haya in Ybor City, the visitor center in downtown Tampa, the cigar store at the Tampa International airport and at J.C. Newman headquarters.
“The packaging features famous Tampa landmarks, including the Tampa Theatre, H.B. Plant Hall, the José Gasparilla ship, Bayshore Boulevard, the Tampa Streetcar and Ybor City chickens,” says Drew Newman, fourth-generation owner of J. C. Newman.
If 138 years sounds rather young for a city such as Tampa, it is. While the city was officially incorporated in 1887 (138 years ago) and this is the landmark that’s celebrated, the history of the area is older. The United States acquired the area from Spain in 1821, and the U.S. Army established a fort in the area in 1824. The city was first incorporated as a town in 1849, but it struggled. It wasn’t until July 15, 1887 that Tampa was officially incorporated as a city, later becoming the cigarmaking capital of the United States. Cigars remain an important part of the local culture.
Newman isn’t ruling out the possibility of a national rollout of this commemorative cigar in the future, but for now, this will be a Tampa exclusive. Because the Florida Sun Grown tobacco is so limited, only 500 boxes of 20 are being produced for the initial release.
