Room101 The Big Payback Makes a Comeback
A Room101 brand from the past is getting a second life. Brand owner this weekend’s cigar trade show in Las Vegas.
The idea behind the original Big Payback was to make a cigar at an affordable price point for Room101 fans—a big thank you, or “payback,” to his most loyal ers.
“The Big Payback was originally developed to reward fans of our brand for their years of ing the side of our business with a cigar at a value price point,” Booth told Cigar Aficionado. “We wanted to continue to offer our ers the same value—into perpetuity.”
The original version of Big Payback was a Nicaraguan puro made at Davidoff’s Camacho factory in Honduras. The new version is made at made at General Cigar’s Honduras American Tobacco S.A. (HATSA), and rolled with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, Connecticut shade binder leaf with filler tobaccos from Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Room101 The Big Payback Maduro will come in three sizes: Robusto, at 5 1/4 inches by 50 ring gauge ($6.50); Toro, at 6 by 54 ($7.00); and Gordo, 6 by 60 ($7.50). The cigars come packaged in 20-count bundles and are also available in 40-count display boxes.
Fans of the original Big Payback may recall ultra-thick, 7 by 70 ring gauge and 8 by 80 sizes in the brand's lineup. Those sizes are not included in the launch of Big Payback Maduro.
Room101 also released a lightly-hued, Connecticut-seed offshoot of Big Payback in 2016. While there’s no official release date for a new Connecticut version just yet, Booth says more Big Payback blends are planned for the future.
“I will focus on the launch of the Maduro at the show,” Booth said. “I want to afford the necessary breathing room for the Maduro to take its place in the market—with extensions and additional blends coming on its heels.
“There are plans to develop the Big Payback brand franchise—Maduro, Connecticut, etc.—to include size and blend extensions that will ultimately round the brand into the full-bore value collection it is meant to be.”
In addition, Booth hinted that he might revisit other vintage Room101 brands in the future.
“I intend to revisit several staple sub-brand collections that have struck a chord with our fans and ers over the years,” he said.
