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.
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€.