Initial Thoughts
The El Baton Double Toro might be one of my favorite cigars, I’m gonna come out and say it up front. I have been smoking this cigar since my early smoking days. This cigar is what lead me to smoking the Brick House. I found them right next to each other at my local shop UPtown’s. So one day I reached for the Brick House instead of the El Baton and I’ve been hooked ever since. Anyway, back to the El Baton.
This cigar got it’s start quite awhile ago, back in 1914 to be exact. Originally it was produced in Cleveland, Ohio with Cuban tobacco. However, with the onset of machine rolled cigars this brand disappeared back in the 1920’s. That is until J.C. Newman’s grandsons brought it back to life in 2008. Now the cigar is a Nicaraguan puro, they were doing it back before it was cool! Originally the second was only offered in one vitola, the Double Torpedo (which is the size I used to always buy). Now it’s available in Robusto, Double Toro (6″x60) and Belicoso. For this review I smoked the Double Toro.
One thing that is consistent with this El Baton Double Toro is the fact that it’s a great value cigar. You know exactly what you’re going to get, every time you smoke it. And, it’s only $7! Hard to beat that combination.
Looks
Taking a look at the El Baton Double Toro you might just glance over it at the local shop. Most of the shops have them on the bottom shelf down in the dark or the ‘bargain bin’. The packaging is fairly straightforward though. A nice oval shaped band with some gold trimming with a nice blue gradient in middle. That section of the band also contains the brand name ‘El Baton’. Pretty simple, yet it gets the point across.
The wrapper is a nice dark oily chocolate wrapper. Very smooth overall some very small veins. There are a few seams that run up and down the barrels, but they’re barely noticeable. Like I said above, if you weren’t looking for this cigar, you might just miss it. Nothing really special stands out about it, except for the price.
Function
Taking a look at the cap, it only appears to be a single cap. I can only see one seam on it. I make quick work of it so that I can test the dry draw. It’s a nice easy draw, very open right off the bat. Feeling up and down the barrel I didn’t notice any soft spots in the filler. It has a nice bounce back to it.
Glancing at the foot it looks well packed and a few different shades of leaf in there. Particularly in the middle it’s a big dark thicker leaf. Probably a nice mix of ligero going on in there. Everything checked out from the pre light, so it’s time to get this El Baton Double Toro lit and see what happens.
Smoking
Once I put some fire to the foot this cigar takes right off. A good amount of smoke is flowing all over. The draw, which was a bit too open during the pre light is perfect now. Not letting too much smoke through, it’s just about perfect.
During the 1st third the ash on this cigar holds incredibly well. Right around an inch. It has some tight round burn curls and the ash overall is very solid. It continues this way all through the 2nd third as well. I only knock the ash off when I’m ready to, mainly because I don’t want it to fall on my lap.
The final third stays just as consistent. Burning fairly even all the way through. I never had to touch up the burn line. It wasn’t laser straight, but it’s good enough for me. So long as it’s not banana-ing (is that a word?) I’m happy! Now it’s time to hit the flavors.
Flavor
The foot offers up some very prominent sweet notes. Cocoa and molasses seem to be the most distinct that I pick up. On the dry draw that cocoa has transferred very well. It reminds me of sipping on a mocha latte. A little bit of that sweet and some of the coffee bean note as well.
Once I got the El Baton Double Toro going the spice started pouring in. It was backed with that sweetness and just a hint of citrus. I can only imagine how well this would go with a bourbon with those flavor characteristics.
Throughout the 2nd and final thirds the flavor stays very consistent. As I said up top, you always know what you’re going to get with this cigar. Some spice, sweet, and just a hint of citrus. It’s a balance that continues all throughout the stogie. For me, that’s one thing that I love, consistency that’s affordable. I would place this cigar in the Medium bodied range in terms of strength. It’s got a bit of ligero to give it some strength and spice, but not enough to overwhelm you.
Would I Buy It Again?
Over, and over and over again.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Yep.
Would I Buy a Box?
Sure would.
Conclusion
Seriously, if you haven’t tried the El Baton Double Toro by now you need to go get a 5 pack. For the price it’s hard to beat. Then when you add in the flavor and consistency, it’s a no brainer. If someone asks me about a great $7 stick, I always suggest the El Baton or the Brick House. It’s no coincidence that they are both blended by the same company. They must know what they’re doing down in Tampa.
