It’s not every day that I intentionally get up at 3:30 in the morning. It’s not every day that I get my feet on a trail by 5:00 a.m. And it’s not every day that I undertake to walk the length of a marathon just because I’m turning 55 years old. As a matter of fact, that’s really only happened once…today. After several months of training and building my ability to walk longer and longer distances (and starting to run, too, for that matter…but not epic distances) today, October 4, 2025…5 days before I turn 55. Over the course of nearly 8 hours, I walked 27.11 miles, at a 17:39/mile pace, burning 2883 calories. I saw Chattanooga’s Riverwalk twice in its entirety today, plus a little bit of the St. Elmo neighborhood beyond the end of Riverwalk. While I’m thinking of it, I want to mention my wonderful wife, Kristine, who served as my cheerlead and coach throughout the process of building to this day, plus my support team at various stops during my long walk. And I would be remiss to not mention my good friend, Danny, who joined me with about 8 miles left and kept me moving through that last hard stretch. I thought I should celebrate this achievement (and turning old…er) with a special cigar. Enter the Davidoff Chefs Edition 2025.
The latest release of the Chefs Edition is a collaboration between the famed cigar company and five world-class chefs with a combined 11 Michelin Stars. They started with an Ecuadorian wrapper and a Mexican binder, then put those around some very special fillers…a Dominican Hybrid 98 aged for 15 years and Dominican Piloto seco aged for 5 years wrapped in Yagua palm leaves, a first for Davidoff. There are apparently other Dominican fillers employed, as well, but those are not specified. This release is limited to 17,500 boxes of 10 cigars…so 175,000 sticks…which really doesn’t sound all that limited when you are topping out at over $50 apiece. On the plus side, if I really like this one, it’s likely to be available for a while.
The Ecuadorian wrapper was smooth and silky, the color of milk chocolate with an aroma that mixed light earthiness, cocoa powder, and cedar. By comparison, the footer didn’t have nearly as rich of an aroma, which is always a surprising occurrence, but doesn’t really mean anything in terms of flavor. The prelight draw was slightly tight, but had a great mix of hay and earth, sweet and savory, hints of coffee, chocolate, and floral notes.
That rich and complex mix of flavors continued when I fired up the Davidoff Chefs Edition 2025. Semisweet dark chocolate, red pepper flake, hay, cedar, and earth all played a role in early puffs, with just a hint of the signature Davidoff “funk” riding on a medium-plus bodied smoke that delivered a punchy retrohale. I paired it with a recent bourbon discovery that carried its own “funk”…Frey Ranch’s Uncut “Farm Strength” four-grain bourbon. At full-strength (123.88 proof) it’s a little hot, but definitely carries that same air of “luxury” and “exclusivity” that this amazing Davidoff cigar did.
This may be among the best Davidoff special edition cigars in the last four or five years. The collaboration with the chefs definitely yielded an exemplary product…one well worth toasting your big celebrations!
