For the last five years, J.C. Newman has kicked off the new year with a release of its José Gaspar cigar, created for Tampa’s Gasparilla festival.
This year’s release is a 6 x 54 toro, the same vitola used for the last two years, but the blend is different. The José Gaspar 2026 gets a Cuban-seed Ecuadorian wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers. It is made at the company’s J.C. Newman PENSA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
Each cigar has an MSRP of $8.
As with previous José Gaspar cigars, it will only be sold at stores around J.C. Newman’s home city of Tampa:
Bruton’s Cigar Shop
Casa de Montecristo Cigar Lounge & Bar – South Tampa
Central Cigars
Cigar Castle
Cigar City Brewery Co.
Cigars International Superstore – Brandon
Corona Cigar Company-Tampa
Edwards Pipe and Tobacco
Grand Cathedral Cigars
Hotel Haya
J.C. Newman Cigar Museum and Factory Store
J.R. Cigars Outlet-Tampa
King Corona Cigar Bar & Cafe – Ybor
Sterling Cigar Lounge & Bar
Tampero Cigars Ybor City
The Columbia Restaurant- Ybor
Tobacco Depot- Carrollwood
Visit Tampa Bay Visitor Center
“José Gaspar was one of most feared pirates in the Americas,” said Drew Newman, fourth-generation owner of J.C. Newman, in a previous press release. “Sailing from his base near Tampa Bay in the late 1700s, he terrorized the Gulf of Mexico and amassed a great fortune. Gaspar celebrated victories with a bold and flavorful cigar. This cigar honors his legacy and the tradition of Gasparilla.”
The name, José Gaspar, is a reference to the legendary pirate who inspired the Gasparilla Pirate Festival, which is celebrated each year in late January. While he might be one of the most famous pirates in history—and has his own Wikipedia page—there’s little to no evidence that there was a real pirate named José Gaspar. Each year, Tampa plays host to a festival that begins each January and lasts into March, during which three major parades and other smaller events take place.
I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.