JC Newman

October 12, 2024

Room101 Big Payback 70s Maduro (7 x 70)








Video review HERE.


(Description provided by Forged Cigar Co.)

Room101 is bringing a popular — and hefty — size to The Big Payback Maduro line. The new cigar, Room101 The Big Payback 70s Maduro, is a 7 X 70 and the biggest size offering in the The Big Payback Maduro line.  

Room101 70s had been out of production since 2016, until last year when the brand launched a Sumatra version of the Big Payback 70s (produced at HATSA in Honduras).  

This release will be the second 7 x 70 cigar currently available under Room101.  

Room101 The Big Payback 70s Maduro features a US Broadleaf wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and filler tobacco from Honduras and the Dominican Republic. It was produced at the HATSA Factory in Honduras.  

The new cigar marks the return of a fan-favorite size, and it will emphasize the uniquely powerful yet refined flavor profile of The Big Payback Maduro.  

The Big Payback 70s Maduro showcases unique branding with blue-and-yellow bands and box art, distinct from the rest of the frontmarks in The Big Payback Maduro line. Each box will include 30 cigars. SRP per cigar is $8.99. It will ship to retailers on August 1, 2024.  


Other sizes of The Big Payback maduro include: 

Gordo (6 X 60) 

Robusto (5.25 X 50) 

Toro (6 X 54) 

Papi Chulo (4.5 X 50) 


The cigar is dark brown and huge! It has a hefty feel in the hand.




The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were apricot, lime, brown sugar, nutmeg, and dark chocolate. There was black pepper rated at 7. Not a bad start.



At the first third (50 minutes) I had more apricot notes, citrus peel, brown sugar, nutmeg, and dark chocolate. The dark chocolate seems to be morphing into more of a black coffee. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is black coffee with good lingering black pepper. The notes aren't too bad. I'm not a fan of the ring gauge but based on the notes I'd rate the first third 92.




As I moved through the second third (1 hour 31 minutes) the cigar developed a substantial amount of earthiness to go along with dark chocolate and black coffee. The sweet notes are very much downplayed. The cigar is still medium bodied. The finish is black coffee with very good lingering black pepper. The appealing sweetness of the first third has gone. I rated the second third 88.




The cigar lasted 2 hours 17 minutes. For a brief time early in the final third the cigar improved somewhat. But it was short lived. The cigar showed it's true colors and boiled down into light brown sugar with a lot of earthy black coffee and dark chocolate. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The black pepper is now rated at 7 1/2. Those are positives but that's about it. The finish is dark chocolate with hints of apricot with very good lingering black pepper. The cigar took a turn downward for me. I rated the final third 86. If you're interested, Smallbatchcigar.com has these in 5 packs for $45 and you get 10% off with code tinytim.




Overall Score: 88.67

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