LA UNICA

Since 1986, La Unica cigars have been offering an outstanding premium cigar value unparalleled in the industry. As with many classics, La Unica Dominican Primeros came from humble beginnings. More than twenty years ago, before the cigar boom, J.C. Newman Cigar Company patriarch Stanford J. Newman, challenged his good friend Carlos Fuente, Sr. with an idea that had never been tried in the cigar industry – to develop a rich, flavorful, superb-tasting premium cigar and package it in an inexpensive cellophane bundle, without costly boxes and trimmings found with other premium cigars. Until that time, factories only packaged their “seconds” in bundles.

Bobby and Eric Newman with Carlos Fuente Jr.

Carlos selected the sizes and Stanford approved the blend – a combination of Cuban seed Dominican long filler tobaccos specially aged for maximum flavor and smoothness. When skillfully hand-rolled with a delicate Connecticut shade (light natural) wrapper or a dark rich (maduro) Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Carlos fulfilled Stanford’s vision. Within six months La Unica became the #1 selling premium bundle cigar in America.

Today La Unica – with the original 1986 blend and smooth rich flavor – preserves the history of the brand. These superb cigars have now grown up from their bundle days and are elegantly packaged in custom cedar cabinets of 20. Despite the maturity of the packaging, we have not strayed from our roots and the original hand selected, perfectly aged blend of tobaccos that make La Unica a favorite. Imagine a velvety, sultry beginning with hints of sweetness and fruit. As each perfectly blended leaf burns, the complexities of fine Dominican filler in La Unica blossom into a nutty, creamy, rich flavor. La Unica cigars are smooth enough for every day but far from ordinary. Handmade by Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic, La Unica continues to be one of the finest cigars on the market.

No. 100
8 1/2″ x 52

No. 200
7″ x 49

No. 300
6 7/10″ x 44

No. 600
6″ x 50

No. 500
5 1/2″ x 42

No. 400
4 1/2″ x 50

WRAPPER: Ecuador Shade (Natural) Connecticut Broadleaf (Maduro) BINDER: Dominican
FILLER: Dominican
FACTORY: Tabacalera A. Fuente
AGE: 5 Years

RATINGS:
Cigar Aficionado: 90
Smoke Magazine: 92
Cigar Insider: 98

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A Leader in the Cigar Industry

A century ago, Angel Cuesta was one of the leaders of the cigar industry in Tampa. Inside each box of Angel Cuesta cigars is the following excerpt of a story by Angel Cuesta on why Tampa was the Fine Cigar Capital of the World:

“If you are a man who enjoys a really fine cigar, you have probably long since discovered the hand-made Tampa cigar with its superb smoking qualities – choice, clear Havana tobacco at its best! If you haven’t made this discovery, we believe it is time you did. And so we tell you how these cigars are created, and about Tampa, too – for the story of fine cigars is inseparable from the story of Tampa.

“Tampa today is the bustling metropolis of Florida’s West Coast, center of the most populous – and prosperous area of Florida. Despite the fact that it is the State’s leading industrial city, it is also a resort city – equally a fine place to work, to live, and to play. It is a city of color and contrasts; of carnival gaiety and progressive modern enterprise. Its Latin Quarter is a carry-over from the Old World into the new. In this Latin Quarter, center of life for some 40,000 persons of Spanish and Cuban descent, are located the majority of the cigar factories that produce these fine cigars.

“The story of these cigars begins long ago. It begins in the mild, tropical climes of Cuban’s picturesque tobacco plantations. It begins in the skilled fingers of the cigarmaker, whose art is a heritage from the Old World. Yes, and it begins in the minds of a few enterprising men who had the foresight to recognize Tampa’s advantages as a potential cigar center.

It was Senor V. Martinez Ybor who pioneered the movement which made Tampa the cigar capital of America. In 1869 Ybor had transferred his factory from Havana to Key West, to escape the depredations of the Spanish volunteer troops. As others followed, Key West became the center of America’s clear Havana industry of America’s clear Havana industry.

“Seventeen years later, Ybor and Eduardo Manrara, his partner, were impressed by the climatic and geographical possibilities of Tampa as a manufacturing site, when seeking a more favorable location for their operation. Tampa, then but a sprawling, lusty frontier hamlet, offered a large area of local hands to the cigar men, thus laying the cornerstone for one of the city’s principal industries. Other alert cigar men followed. Ybor’s example, and Tampa’s emergence as the manufacturing hub of Florida became an accomplished fact.

“Today, the finest cigars in the world are made in Tampa."

Angel LaMadrid Cuesta

April 1948

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