Cigar Review: Davidoff Master Selection 2012

According to the press kit from Davidoff, “Every year our highly skilled members of the Davidoff Master Blending Team get together to commemorate a year time beautifully filled of the Davidoff White Band collection. They do so by drawing from their combined knowledge and expertise to create a special blend they can gift to themselves. We have now made a limited number of these very personal cigars available to you, providing the opportunity to taste a uniquely crafted blend.”

The press kit goes on to say, “Created as a blend for our Master Blenders to enjoy themselves in 2012, these cigars were rolled two years ago and have been aging under careful supervision ever since. Each cabinet box carries a numbered label showing the creation date of the blend as well as one of the experts’ signature.”

With the cigar rolled two years ago, that would make this a recreation of the original blend.

Cigar Review: Davidoff Master Selection 2012
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Dominican Hybrid 192 Seco
Filler: Yamasá visus (aged in Bourbon barrels), San Vicente Mejorado Visus, Piloto Seco, Hybrid Corojo/Olor Ligero and Criollo Visus
Size: 6 x 52
Vitola: Toro

The Look: Packaged in basic 10 count boxes, the cigar features the classic Davidoff white label band with accents of gold. Additionally there is a secondary band denoting, “The Master Selection 2012”. In the hand he cigar considerably heavier than most Toro smokes with a coarse feeling wrapper under the fingers. When cutting the cigar the wrapper/binder is quite thick so it is important to make sure you got all the binder in your snip.

The Notes: The cold draw serves up that quintessential Davidoff profile which is barnyard in nature consisting of hay, cedar, and earth. The foot of the cigar sees that intensified. Once the cigar is lit that earthy  profile fades away as the bourbon barrel aging of the Yamasa tobacco really shines through the blend. At first it seems overpowering but it quickly balances out over the first few puffs. The intial notes are salty with a touch of roasted almonds. As the cigar progresses notes of espresso and oak join the fray with he oak especially enjoyed on the finish.

The Finish: While the cold draw was very much Davidoff the cigar was different then the cold draw alluded to. The Davidoff Master Selection 2012 has a familiarity to it, but it also comes off as unique in the Davidoff profile despite coming off as very Dominican. This isn’t a bad thing as it was a return to my roots of cigar smoke where I developed my passion on Dominican cigars. It’s robust, medium-full in perceived strength and wonderfully complex.

Score: 94
Price: $35.00 / $350.00