Tampa, FL – This week, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. is shipping the first release of the year of its famous Yagua cigars. A total of 1,250 boxes of Yagua are being shipped to 396 premium cigar retailers in 46 states. The second and final release of Yagua in 2023 will ship in November.
“It continues to shock me that Yagua has developed a cult-like following,” said fourth-generation owner Drew Newman. “I didn’t make Yagua to sell. In fact, I didn’t think that cigar enthusiasts would like Yagua because it breaks all of the cigar-making rules. Yagua is misshapen and unattractive. We roll it with underfermented tobacco, and no two Yagua are alike.”
Yagua is a recreation of a farm-rolled cigar that Lazaro Lopez, general manager of the J.C. Newman PENSA cigar factory in Nicaragua, remembers his grandfather making at his family’s tobacco farm in Cuba in the 1940s. Over dinner in 2019, Lopez shared this story with Newman:
“At our family farm, my grandfather would take fresh tobacco leaves from the curing barns and roll cigars without any molds or presses,” said Lopez. “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.”
Shortly after being rolled, 20 Yagua cigars are bound together while still wet using a Yagua palmiche palm leaf. Each box of Yagua contains a bundle of 20 cigars still wrapped in the palm leaf. Yagua cigars measure 6×54.
“Yagua is a difficult cigar to roll because we use an under fermented Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, blend the filler tobaccos differently, and do not use the usual tools and techniques of a cigar factory,” said Newman. “As the wrapper is not fully fermented, we have age the cigars for a full year after they are rolled.”
Find a Yagua Retailer Near You:
https://www.jcnewman.com/yagua-cigars/
If you heard the show this weekend, you heard us make and test the Pineapple Fluff with the sweet pretzel topping.
Here's the recipe, and some video to boot!
Link: https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/pineapple-pretzel-fluff/
Recipe:
1 cup coarsely crushed pretzels
1⁄2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar, divided
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened crushed pineapple
1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius).
Mix the crushed pretzels, melted butter, and 1/2 cup of sugar in a medium bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Bake the pretzel mixture in the oven for 7 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the pineapple and whipped topping and mix until well combined.
Refrigerate the cream cheese mixture for at least an ...
It's the Casa Fernandez Miami Arsenio Oro, this week on Eat Drink Smoke!
Pick one up from your local tobacconist and smoke along with us.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-its-your-funeral-potatoes/id1439697678?i=1000703446167
This week on Eat Drink Smoke, it's the Illusione Original Documents Corojo Corona Gorda.
Pick one up from your local tobacconist and smoke along with us!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eat-drink-smoke/id1439697678
Some segments of the Eat Drink Smoke radio show don't make it onto the podcast. Get those HERE at the Eat Drink Smoke lounge.
Fingers has solved the equation for a perfect diet and you won't believe how he did it!
Plus, is the Kristoff Veinte in your humidor?
Colorado is trying to place a ban on outdoor gas grills to prevent house fires.
What is this really all about?
Some segments of the Eat Drink Smoke radio show don't make it onto the podcast. Get those HERE at the Eat Drink Smoke Lounge.
If the restaurant closes at 11:00 and you show up at 10:50, is it too late to order?
We discuss restaurant hours etiquette and the epidemic of laziness in the restaurant industry.
Read the full story from the Dallas Observer here:
https://www.dallasobserver.com/restaurants/is-it-rude-to-show-up-to-a-restaurant-last-minute-19136687
From Tony:
I’m a big fan of cooking from a scratch, as you probably are. But there are times where making something easy is just preferable.
The dessert hacks on social media have been interesting. This one is a way to dress up a box cake mix.
Quick dessert for the family or friends. This one is really sweet, but worth a shot.
Fingers and I tried this on the latest episode of EDS. Let us know what you think.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7869/neiman-marcus-cake-ii/
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Get ready for a lively discussion on bourbon trends, cigar pairings, and generational differences - all with a heavy dose of humor.
We dive right in, analyzing the latest news about major shifts in the bourbon industry. Are younger generations turning away from whiskey? We debate the implications. Tony and I also review standout cigars and bourbons, including the hard-to-find Arturo Fuente Shark and Costco's Kirkland Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon. Along the way, we ponder whether meatballs make any sense -- and rant about modern influencer culture.
Don't miss this fun and fiery episode - click play now to dive in! And be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.
https://omny.fm/shows/eat-drink-smoke/who-wants-meatballs?in_playlist=podcast
From Tony -
This is the recipe we featured on the show. Yes, I make these meatballs because my kids are kosher. This means no cheese (which I personally love in a meatball!)
The ground beef has to be 80/20. otherwise it's too lean and things can get really dry.
4lbs ground beef (80/20)
1/2 cup chopped dried onions
1 TBSP Garlic Powder
4 Eggs
3/4 cup ketchup
4 TSP salt
1 TSP pepper
4 TBSP parsley dried
2 TBSP basil dried (We grow our own basil, so more often than not I use fresh basil in this recipe....and everything else I do.)
2-3 cups of bread (something on the soft side. Shred and then soak in seltzer water. You want it wet, but not to the point of being mush.)
Mix everything together (by hand or using a mixer, your choice.)
Make in to balls (I am usually 1 1/2" to 2" )
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. You can choose bring down the cooking time by 5 minutes, then turn on your broiler for extra crispness. Again, your choice.
Serve with side of your favorite marinara sauce.
Enjoy!
