Cigar Review: Winston Churchill

Vitola: The Artist (petite corona)
Size: 4.5″ x 41 ring gauge
Price $9.99
Purchased at Maxamar’s

Background

I really wasn’t a fan of the original blend of the Winston Churchill cigar from Davidoff.  It was too mild and I didn’t care for the price.  I was curious to see what the new blend was like when I heard about it being a completely different blend.  I don’t remember what the old blend was, but the new one is a blend of tobaccos from Nicaragua, Mexico, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.  Davidoff’s website doesn’t really say what the blend is though.  It also look like it is slightly different in each of the four sizes; petite corona, robusto, toro, and Churchill, since they all are have slightly different strengths.  At Maxamar’s they range from $9.99 – $18.99.  They come packed in boxes of 20.  This was my third time smoking this cigar, but only the first time with this size.

Prelight

The first thing I notice is the band is completely different.  Gone is the red and gold band with the crest on it.  In it’s place is a standard Davidoff band of white and gold with the iconic profile of the man the cigar is named after.  The wrapper on this cigar is definitely a lot darker than the old blend too.  It is a nice dark chocolate brown with hints of red and lots of oils to it.  There are some veins and a good amount of tooth to it as well.  When I gave the cigar a squeeze there was a slight amount of give but without any soft spots.  When I put my nose to the wrapper I noted the aroma of leather and barnyard from the foot.  After clipping it and taking a cold draw on it I got a light taste of wood with a good draw.

Flavor

It starts off with a good amount of spice with the flavors of wood and leather with a sweet finish.  Towards the end of the first third I noted some light curry with some creamy notes on the finish.  The cigar started off at medium-full in regards to strength.  As I moved into the second third the spice mellowed out on the retrohale but was still present on the tongue.  The flavors were the same in this third, but the sweet finish was more pronounced.  Once I got into the final third the spice did start to ramp back up and I did get a slight nicotine hit from it.  The flavor were pretty similar to the other third but I did note a bit of cinnamon.

Construction

As to be expected from Davidoff this cigar had a perfect draw and a pretty straight burn line.

Value

While $10 for a small cigar is a bit expensive I could definitely see myself treating myself to one of these on occasion.

Conclusions

This cigar was definitely different than the original blend.  It was much more interesting and had a lot more flavor.  I think this cigar and size would go great with a cup of coffee in the morning, or any time of the day.  I will also mention that I did smoke the Churchill size and it is a trade off between the two sizes which one is my favorite.  I’ll have to investigate some more.

By-The-Numbers

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