Cigar Review: Davidoff Nicaragua

Vitola: Toro
Size: 5.5” x 54 ring gauge
Price $17.49
Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

One of the surprises at last year’s IPCPR show was the fact that Davidoff–a brand not just known, but renowned for their Dominican cigars–had developed a Nicaraguan blend. And not just a blend that uses Nicaraguan leaf, but a Nicaraguan puro. Would it be a powerhouse? How would this fit in with the Davidoff reputation? From what I’ve heard form quite a few people, the answers are “no” and “quite well.” Davidoff released this in 3 sizes to begin with. I first took up the Short Corona and simply put: I didn’t get it. Not a bad smoke, but I just didn’t see any appeal. And this after I had already learned to enjoy Davidoff Cigars (it took a while…and working at a cigar store so I could get the employee discount). At the Chattanooga Tweet-Up last year, we got Robustos as part of Davidoff’s cigar donation; I enjoyed the Robusto more than the smaller vitola. Then at the grand opening of the Davidoff Lounge at Burns Downtown late last year, Davidoff Master Blend, Henke Kelner, stated that he had specifically tailored each size with its own blend…not just a tweak here or there, but purposely making the Toro the strongest of the 3. Well…maybe that’s what I needed to smoke! I intended to get to this before now, but I’ve had a lot going on…on this here website, you are looking at one of those things!

Here’s what the company has to say about this line of cigars on their website:

Inspired by Zino Davidoff’s pioneering spirit, Davidoff master blenders went on an exploration for a new type of blend that would stimulate both the bitter and sweet taste buds.

Finally, they found it in the earth infused by the fiery activity of some of Nicaragua’s forty volcanoes.

It took patience, perseverance and time to create these unique cigars. 10 years were needed for the preparation, curing and aging to tame the wilder tendencies of Nicaraguan tobacco.

The elegant Toro shape format is spicy and peppery at the beginning. Then it evolves into a pleasant smoke, with sweet and dark bitter chocolate notes and the typical Davidoff Nicaragua sweet-bitter stimulation.

I will add that the website shows this as a a 4/5 on the strength meter. My question on that is: Relative to what? Is it “strong for a Davidoff” or just a fairly strong cigar (period, end of story)? As noted before all the tobacco in this cigar is Nicaraguan. The website notes that the wrapper is a Habano Seed Rosado leaf. A news piece on halfwheel notes that the wrapper is aged 10 years, the binder comes from Jalapa, and the fillers come from Estelí, Condega, and Ometepe. I’ve had several Davidoff Nicaraguas before, but this is my first Toro.

Prelight

As is typical with Davidoff products, the appearance of the cigar, as well as the marketing materials, box, band, and all, is just great. It all exudes simple elegance and class. The familiar shaped oval label is black with gold foil here, instead of white and gold. It is joined by a second band, a bronze color with black type and borders. It simply states “Nicaragua” and the word is framed on each side by the logo for this line, 3 triangles arranged artfully, representing (I am guessing) the volcanoes that give Nicaragua the richness in the soil.

The wrapper leaf is darker than what is used on many other Davidoff lines, but really not that dark as Nicaraguan leaves go. I would call it a dark gold with a reddish blush to it. It was smooth and slightly oily to the touch, and smelled of clean earth and wood. The foot had a richer earthiness, with a touch of barnyard and ripe, aging tobacco. I would note also, that while this is a Nicaraguan puro, it is actually rolled in Davidoff’s Dominican factory. I don’t know if this leaf is harder to work with than what they are normally used to, but the cap of this sample (as well as a couple others I’ve had) seems a bit sloppy by Davidoff standards. The cut lines in the wrapper and cap were not even and straight but more jagged. It could just be the shade of this leaf makes it more noticeable. Hard to say. Overall, it still looks good…just not quite as impressive and perfect as most of their other products.

I used my regular Xikar Xi cutter and got an excellent draw after clipping. The cold flavor had some dried fruit sweetness, a touch of earth, and just the barest hint of pepper spice.

Flavor

I opted for my soft flame Xikar EX lighter for this cigar, hoping to control the amount of heat created during ignition and keep scorched and harsh flavors at bay. It took some more time as the soft flame flickers about even in the slightest breeze, but once it got going, there was a earthy base to the flavor profile, along with touches of cedar, black coffee and dried berries. A note of red pepper ebbed and flowed on the palate, but burned strongly on the retrohale. About halfway through the first third, I noted that the pepper had mostly gone away; the flavor on the palate was mildly earthy, a bit salty, cedary, and a touch sweet. While it started off with a bit of Nicaraguan spice, it was quickly evolving into a nuanced, elegant smoke with a short finish…in other words, a Davidoff.

That’s where the second third began as well…a mellow cigar with a bit more body than your typical White Label stick. As I noted before…nuanced…and the notes were well-balanced, with more of the sweet berry notes coming out here, more of the smooth, black coffee there.

As the final third began, the earthiness built up fairly quickly, and the pepper spice returned on the palate. The body had been straight ahead medium until this point, but it started building, as well.

Construction

If I had anything to say negative here it would be a complete surprise. Very well made.

Value

This is a tough proposition. Are there other Nicaraguan smokes I enjoy just as much for less money? Yes. But none of them hits the same flavor profile as this one. None of them have that mellow elegance. When I’m in the mood for something like this, nothing else is going to come close, so I say it’s worth the money…but I’ll only buy them occasionally.

Conclusions

In the end, is the Davidoff Nicaragua a very fine cigar? Yes, absolutely. Is it worthy of the Davidoff name? Yes…I have to say that the Toro truly is. I still am not as impressed with the Short Corona or Robusto, but perhaps that’s more of a function of where I smoked them. These are meant to be enjoyed slowly…savored…I had most of my other encounters with the Davidoff Nicaragua in the cigar shop, either while I was working or while hanging out. The problem with either of those is that they don’t allow time to reflect and appreciate what you’re smoking…not such a big deal with cigars whose flavors are up-front, bold, and in-your-face…not easy when the flavors are more nuanced.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10