The old saying is, “The third time is a charm.” JC Newman’s grandsons said in a zoom interview. “We are kind of counting on it this time.” In response to our questions regarding them beating us about the head with the El Baton, which I believe is Spanish for “The Baton.”
The first iteration of El Baton debuted in 1914 and only cost a nickel. It had a good run, slowly disappearing just before World War II.
JC Newman’s second swing was in 2008 and was their first shot at a hand-rolled Nicaraguan cigar. “The El Baton has languished for the last 14 years, an underrated and undersold smoke; if we want to keep the name alive, we obviously needed to make a change. We discussed pulling the plug on the centenarian, but in the end, we just could not do it.”
Here we are in 2022, taking what will probably be a third and final swing. Its been 108 years since old man Julius Caesar brought the first El Baton to market. “We decided to opt for a heart transplant instead of pulling the plug. Let’s just re-blend the whole thing and try it again.”
CNTs economist crunched the numbers, a 5-cent cigar in 1914 should sell for $1.48 today with the inflation rate of 2,862.8%. But the new/old cigar will be available in four sizes ranging in price from $7.70 to $8.70.
“Give it a try; even if we sell a quarter of our initial production run, that’s more than we have sold in the last 14 years.” JCs grandkids pleaded.