The first limited edition cigar of 2018 has been released, in 2017. Just like Christmas decorations seem to go up in our cities and towns early across America, Davidoff has jumped the gun by branding a cigar as a 2018 Limited Edition 2 months before the year ends. Yes, the cigar is for the celebration of the Chinese New Year which happens to be the Year of the Dog, so we will give them a pass.
Cigar: Davidoff Year of the Dog
Wrapper: Habano Ecuador Claro
Binder: San Vicente Seco
Filler: San Vicente Ligero, Piloto Visus, Pilotos Seco, Esteli Visus
Length: 7
Ring Gauge: 50
Size: Churchill
The Look: The packaging on the Davidoff Year of the Dog stands out like the other releases of the Chinese New Year celebratory cigars. Packaged inside a red lacquered box, the cigars feature a dual band with the customary white Davidoff label, and a secondary one of red and gold denoting a dog. Despite being labeled as a Habano Claro, this is one dark looking Habano wrapper. It feels coarse under the fingers with some notable veins present as well. The cigar is well bunched with no soft spots and a spongy foot.
The Notes: The cold draw has a chewy note that reminds me of the old candy, Charleston Chew (do they still make it?). There are notes of chocolate and caramel that are easily defined. After a 3rd pull on the cold draw some coconut shows itself as well. The aroma of the foot is sweet with touches hay and cedar.
After we torch the cigar I can’t help but smile as the cigar doesn’t have that typical barnyard Davidoff taste. Granted, this has been the case more often than not on a Davidoff limited release, but it is pleasing every time. The first note that is experienced on this cigar that has a huge smoke output is molasses.
Smoking our way into the first third, the Year of the Dog is wonderfully sweet with touches of cedar. The primary note continues to be molasses with a touch of nougat. As we progress further into the first third, the cedar notes begin to become the dominant profile as the sweetness moves into the background. The retrohale is slightly spicy and reminds me of fresh-baked bread on the aroma.
The second part of the tasty morsel sees the cedar continue to dominate until the halfway point where it begins to slide back some, revealing some of that sweetness that was so prevalent when we first lit up the cigar. However as we reach the end of the second third the sweetness is gone as predominant notes of cedar and earth come to the forefront. The moderate finish becomes lengthy once you retrohale which still has a bread like aroma.
As the Year of the Dog comes to a close, the notes continue to be cedar and earth while the finish of the cigar becomes slightly bitter. The retrohale is spicy, with an abundance of black pepper.
The Finish: If the Davidoff Year of the Dog continued down the road of the preflight draw and first third it could have been one of the most epic cigars Davidoff has ever created. However, as the cigar progressed my interest in the smoke began to wane mostly because I wanted the first third to reappear. According to the Chinese Zodiac, “2018 is the year of the Earth Dog and its characteristic word is ACTION! This is going to be a good year in all respects, but it will also be an exhausting year. You will be happy, yet frustrated, rested, yet tired, cheerful, yet dull.” That conflicting message was the Davidoff Year of the Dog for me, but I offer you to create your own opinion.
Score: 88
Price: $38.99 / $370.99
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