Joseph Gro 4/7/25 Joseph Gro 4/7/25

E.P. Carrillo Cigar Company is Proud to Announce its fourth Pledge98 Campaign to Benefit Els for Autism Foundation®.

E.P. Carrillo Cigar Company announces its fourth "Pledge98" campaign benefitting the Els for Autism Foundation. This campaign is set to raise awareness and funds for the non-profit organization dedicated to transforming the lives of people with autism and those who care for them through lifetime services and collaborative partnerships. This is the fourth year in a row for Pledge98, the first few years included several campaigns, events and in-kind donations that raised over $150,000 for the foundation.

In the spirit of the Pledge Prequel earning a 98 rating when it was selected as the Cigar of the Year in 2020, E.P. Carrillo is donating $9.80 per every Pledge Prequel (5x50) box sold in April 2025 which is World Autism Month and as part of the Carrillo Cares initiative. E.P. Carrillo will also be hosting Pledge98 events throughout the country and participating in Els for Autism golf tournaments throughout the year. "Our first three Pledge98 campaigns with Els for Autism surpassed all of our expectations," said Lissette Perez-Carrillo, Co-Owner of E.P. Carrillo Cigar Company. "We hope our fourth campaign will continue to engage the retailers and consumers just as much.”

Joseph Gro 4/2/25 Joseph Gro 4/2/25

JC Newman Begins Shipping Tampa Smokers Cigars

Today J.C. Newman Cigar Co. began shipping its new Tampa Smokers cigars to more than 100 cigar retailers around the country. This first release includes boxes of Tampa Smokers cigars handmade by J.C. Newman in Tampa and a baseball-inspired cigar case handcrafted by Brizard in California along with a retro Tampa Smokers cap and a 1947 vintage Tampa Smokers program.

“Baseball and cigars are two of America’s historic pastimes,” said fourth-generation owner Drew Newman. “It is only fitting to celebrate the new baseball season with a special cigar that honors Tampa’s first professional baseball team, the Tampa Smokers.”

A century ago, Tampa was known as the Fine Cigar Capital of the World. The 200 cigar factories in Tampa handcrafted more than 700 million cigars per year. In 1919, Tampa’s first baseball team was named the Tampa Smokers to celebrate its place as Cigar City. Many famous athletes played for the Tampa Smokers, including Al Lopez, who was the son of cigar workers and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Tampa Smokers cigars are handmade in J.C. Newman’s iconic El Reloj cigar factory in Tampa with Ecuadorian Shade wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and filler tobaccos from Latin America where baseball continues to be a favorite pastime. This release includes 500 boxes of 11 Tampa Smokers cigars: ten 6" x 52 toros ($20 SRP) and a 7" baseball bat ($40 SRP). This release also includes 250 limited edition and numbered Tampa Smokers case handcrafted by Brizard in California with authentic leather used on vintage baseball gloves and ash wood that is used in baseball bats. Each case includes three Tampa Smokers toro cigars.