J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has begun shipping the fourth installment of its LeRoy Neiman Collector’s Edition, a limited release built around the work of the late artist and cigar enthusiast. The 2026 edition reproduces Neiman’s painting The President’s Birthday Party, which depicts Marilyn Monroe’s 1962 performance for President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden. Fourth-generation owner Drew Newman said the patriotic image was selected to mark the 250th birthday of the United States, noting that figures including Bobby Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson also appear in the work.
The cigar is offered in a single size, a Toro Grande measuring 6 1/2 inches by 56 ring gauge, and priced at $24. The blend pairs an Ecuador Habano wrapper with a Florida sun-grown binder and a filler of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobacco. Each cigar arrives in a sleeve bearing the painting, which is also reproduced as a lithograph on the inner lid of the box, giving the packaging the character of a small gallery exhibition. The cigars are made in Tampa at the El Reloj factory atop J.C. Newman’s headquarters.
Production is limited to 750 boxes of 20 cigars each. The release date coincides with what would have been President Kennedy’s 109th birthday, and the company says all profits from sales will support arts education in public schools.
