El Baton (english)

Newman Cigars

El Baton

You probably know Julius Caeser, Brick House or Perla Del Mar which are manufactured by J.C. Newman Cigar Co. and distributed by Davidoff Belux.

Today I'm going to tell you about a brand that has been put in the spotlight: El Baton.

It is in 1914 that J.C. Newman launched the brand in his factory in Cleveland, Ohio, with Cuban tobacco. But both the Great Depression and the rise of machine-made cigars led to the end of its production.

Nearly 100 years later, J.C.'s grandchildren, Bobby and Eric Newman, are reviving the brand.

Before moving on to its description and tasting, those of you who were at the hairy smoking and/or cigar of the month will have noticed that there was a different band between the cigars. This is because after a while of marketing a cigar that was highly rated, Drew N. was not fully satisfied, he felt the El Baton remained too subdued. 

He made a very slight change in the composition and redesigned the entire packaging to make it more traditional for the long life of this brand.

The cigar is marketed in four modules which are the Robusto, the Belicoso, the Double Toro and the Double Torpedo; therefore you have the possibility to choose if you prefer this or that power.

The cigars are presented in a box with a blue-green interior lid and in the center of which the logo of the range is proudly displayed.

I have a dark brown wrapper that is adorned with a rather imposing ring.

On it we find that the cigar is handmade in Esteli Nicaragua, but also the brand El Baton this time inscribed on two rows with a larger font for Baton. To his left, a representation of a gold coin with We trust in God. On his right, another coin with in a triangle what could be taken for pyramids, but which are in fact the volcanoes of Nicaragua surmounted by the divine eye which watches over the Mother Earth. (For those who see signs and symbols everywhere I can certify you that this cigar has nothing to do with the Freemasonry)

Let's go back to our cape: it is quite oily and has a slight grain perceptible to the touch.

At first sight and touch, the construction seems very good.

So I decide to start tasting immediately (what was going to be the first of a long series, but I didn't know it yet), by doing a straight cut. The cold draw already gives me satisfaction as well as sensations of fat earth, white pepper, cinnamon and currants.

The ignition is perfect and the draw gives its full power of smoke from the start. I am in what I call the new way of rolling cigars; that is to say that the first centimeter gives strength with red pepper, chili, fat earth but also freshly tanned leather and at the end of mouth the grapes.

And after the first centimeter you tell me? Well no, no change in the intensity even if the flavors evolve; the pepper seems to return to black to give more room to the different spices that arrive with parsimony: clove, cinnamon, humus, cedar, raisins. One moment, the leather becomes wilder and I have a touch of oak.

Each puff reminds me to smoke slowly and gives me a nice amount of smoke with pleasant flavors.

The draw is perfect as well as the burn which does not require a single adjustment.

I did my different tastings with several drinks like gin, cocktail, coffee or water and I can dare to say that all were excellent mixes.

Here is still a beautiful discovery because even if we can say that we have a strong cigar, I think it is accessible to all by certain flavors as the tanned leather, the sweet raisins... which give a feeling of sweetness to our tasting.

But it is better to avoid surprises and to know what you are dealing with before you start because I do not recommend it on an empty stomach or as you sometimes smoke faster than your shadow.

The tastings were done on 5 cigars of different modules, I can't say that I had a great trip but I had a very nice time during each test.

My vitolas were for the Robusto: 12.7 cm for a cepo of 54, Belicoso: 12.7 cm for a cepo of 54, Double Toro: 15.24 cm for a cepo of 60 and the Double Torpedo: 15.87 for a cepo of 56

Beware there are quite a few mistakes on the web regarding the blend; here is the one Drew personally gave me:

Wrapper : Havana (Ecuador)

Binder : Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

In conclusion: Thank you Bobby & Drew for bringing this cigar back to the market, a cigar of great intensity but well wrapped in softer flavors. A moment of pleasure where the sweetness of the Ecuadorian wrapper is perfectly combined with the spiciness of Nicaraguan tobaccos. I invite you to make your own experience by going immediately to your favorite civet.

Price at the time of writing this article: Robusto and Belicoso: 10€ and the other 2: 12.5€.