LeRoy Neiman 2025 Collector’s Edition

One year, I suppose it was in 2023, Drew Newman of J.C. Newman told me that his company was preparing to release a new cigar that was created in collaboration with the foundation of LeRoy Neiman, the famed American painter.

By now—either because this is the third consecutive year for the series or because you ended up on this webpage—you have probably heard of it. Since 2023, J.C. Newman has released a new, limited edition cigar each year. So far, every release has brought a new vitola, though the blend has been the same and many other details have been at least similar.

Perhaps the largest change outside of the different vitola is that each year, the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation and J.C. Newman pick a different piece of art to focus on. That artwork is prominently featured inside the box as well as on a tertiary band on the cigar. The printing inside the box is a licensed lithograph.

This year, the art is “Jazz Horns.”

“Jazz was always fuel for LeRoy Neiman’s creativity,” said Tara Zabor, executive director of the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, in a press release. “LeRoy spent many nights in clubs drawing live performances and hobnobbing with the greats like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. He had a passion for the improvisation unique to the genre which he mimicked in his own painting practice. Down the hall from his New York City studio, you could frequently hear jazz standards belting out of the speaker while the aromas of a freshly lit cigar wafted throughout the space. In Jazz Horns, one can sense we are in the midst of peak harmonization in the brass section or in full swing amid the musicians, where LeRoy felt right at home.”

As for the cigar, the 2025 release is a 6 1/2 x 52 torpedo, priced at $22 each and limited to 750 boxes of 20 cigars.

As with the first two releases in the series, J.C. Newman and the foundation donate all of their profits to benefit art programs in Tampa’s public schools.

• Cigar Reviewed: LeRoy Neiman 2025 Collector’s Edition
• Country of Origin: U.S.A.
• Factory: El Reloj
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano Rosado)
• Binder: U.S.A. (Florida Sun Grown)
• Filler: Undisclosed
• Length: 6 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $22 (Box of 20, $440)
• Release Date: October 2025
• Number of Cigars Released: 750 Boxes of 20 Cigars (15,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

I believe that this is the third year in a row when I have found the smell of the LeRoy Neiman Collector’s Edition box to be off-putting. I suspect the paint is to blame, but the inside of the box has some foul notes that remind me of a fish market. Despite being wrapped in cellophane, some of that smell makes it over to the cigars themselves. Fortunately, it’s not the leading scent as some chemical and pine flavors are stronger. Depending on the cigar, there’s either no barnyard or a lot of barnyard, really the only variable aroma-wise. Speaking of the cigars being covered, the majority of the LeRoy Neiman 2025 Collector’s Edition’s wrapper is covered by paper. And speaking of the wrapper, it looks like the first two releases: decidedly on the lighter side of habano and while it’s got some red, not as much red as what I typically think of as a “rosado.” The foot of the first smells very interesting with some moss and pine flavors, though on the other two cigars, I struggle to find much of a difference between the aromas of the wrapper and the foot. Cold draws have a flavor that reminds me of the smell of the box layered in between barnyard, raisin sweetness, milk chocolate and cinnamon. Each cigar is medium-full and a mixture of sweet and foul, the only difference is really the draw: great on the first cigar, tight for the second, and slightly tight for the third.

The first LeRoy Neiman 2025 Collector’s Edition starts with this methodical approach, where a deep wood note lasts for four or five seconds before being completely replaced by toastiness for a few seconds and then finishing with earthiness. The second cigar is similar in its approach: woodiness lasts for a few seconds, then it gives way to bitterness before finishing with some woodiness. The third cigar has a more standard approach to flavor, where multiple components are present at the same time: toastiness, a very processed cured meat, leather, dry fall leaves and saltiness. Each cigar is medium-full. The flavor settles into a mixture of woodiness and peanuts, leading toastiness, metallic harshness and some poultry. The finish consistently has hard pretzels leading black pepper, leather and toastiness, the latter of which lasts the longest. Retrohales are more vibrant and much more enjoyable than the flavors in the mouth. The woodiness has some extra chewiness, joined by saltiness, a butter creaminess, harshness and some caramel, the first bit of desperately needed sweetness. The finish of the second cigar really tingles the taste buds, but otherwise, the flavors are pretty familiar: dense earth, nuttiness, woodiness and leather. Flavor is full or right around it, body is medium-full, and strength is medium-plus. The first cigar, which has a great draw, needs a touch-up to help with combustion. After the first inch, the second cigar’s draw opens up a bit but that doesn’t happen with the third cigar, which is now the tightest of the bunch, though far from plugged.

In the second third, there are some signs of the LeRoy Neiman 2023 Collector’s Edition. That cigar was fantastic, one that delivered an easy-to-approach yet still complex flavor profile. It’s beginning to add more grains and nuts, which soften the drier earth and leather flavors. It’s a very balanced profile, with nothing really leading, though the black pepper and creaminess are decidedly secondary notes. The finish is largely the same group of flavors, on the third cigar, I find some Campari flavors, something I wish there was a lot more of. Retrohales are a lot more interesting. The first cigar is the best of the bunch, tons of leather over some butterscotch and melon sweetness. The second cigar’s retrohale is led by leather too, but there’s an almost as strong sunflower seed flavor over pink salt, black pepper and some creaminess. Retrohales of the third cigar are different: sharper with buttermilk creaminess, saltiness and earth, plus minor amounts of tart fruits. The finish is much thicker, with earthiness overwhelming all of the other flavors. Flavor is medium-full or full—definitely full in the retrohale—body is medium full, and strength is medium-plus or medium-full. Construction is mostly the same as it was in the first third, though it’s the second cigar that needs a touch-up, the only combustion issue for any of the three cigars. That said, my largest annoyance is that the second cigar’s cap is unraveling.

Each cigar gets sharper in the final third. It’s not overwhelming, but it’s the most noticeable flavor-related change. I find the sharpest of the three cigars—the first one—to be the best of the bunch because a chewy cashew flavor really helps to contrast the flavor. The second cigar is similar, but there’s more toastiness and bitterness. I’m tasting some tar-like sensations from the third cigar, though I don’t spot any visible signs of tar. It has a slightly different flavor profile, with a more generic nuttiness joined by earthiness, saltiness, and the tar. The finish tends to intensify whatever flavors were already present, generally becoming sharper, drier and saltier. I just wish there was some sort of sweetness or acidity to cut through it. The first cigar’s retrohale is much sharper thanks to some added green pepper. The other two LeRoy Neiman 2025 Collector’s Editions are similar: nuttiness and leather over black pepper, white pepper, saltiness and some minor amounts of red berries. The finish of the first cigar is the best: a mixture of toastiness, saltiness, barnyard and wood. That’s a similar mixture to the rest of the profile, but it hits my taste buds differently. The other cigars are more of the same: generally sharper and saltier. Flavor is full, body just shy of full, and strength ranges from medium-full to full. While the third cigar’s draw is opening up slightly, it’s still a tad tight for my liking. Otherwise, construction is great.

Final Notes

• A lot of companies will announce cigars with charitable tie-ins, however, very few companies will choose to donate all of their profits from a release to a charity. Kudos to both J.C. Newman and the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation for doing that here.
• If any of you know when the original art is from, I’d love to know. I spent about 20 minutes searching the internet and couldn’t figure it out. The foundation believes it dates back to 1958 or 1959, but its scan is apparently not clear enough to confirm.

• Like with the first two releases, the bottom of the box features a depiction of the paint-splattered floor from Neiman’s Manhattan studio. Brooks didn’t photograph the bottom of the box of this year’s release, but it looks identical to the other two boxes. Above is the 2023 box.
• It’s my favorite feature of the box and a big reason why this release finished #2 on our 2023 Packaging Awards.

• While lots of companies have started putting things on the back of the bands, I believe this is the first time that I’ve noticed a single cigar having three bands, each with something printed on the back.
• I think the first cigar was the best of the bunch, though perhaps the second cigar was better. The third cigar was the least enjoyable, just more monotone than the other two cigars.
• Regardless, these cigars suffered from the same problem: they were too monotone. A small amount of sweetness, acidity, and maybe even creaminess would have gone a long way to help contrast the existing flavors, which were generally operating from the same two or three sections of the flavor wheel.
• J.C. Newman advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• The LeRoy Neiman 2025 Collector’s Edition is listed at 6 1/2 x 52. The dimensions I found for the three cigars I smoked for this review are listed above.
• Final smoking time averaged two hours and 25 minutes.
• Site sponsors Corona Cigar Co. and Fox Cigar carry the LeRoy Neiman 2025 Collector’s Edition.

Charlie Minato

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.