Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour Churchill Cigar Review

It’s been often said that Sir Winston Churchill would spend time in the Late Hours behind closed doors working in solitude or with trusted colleagues. During these Late Hour moments he was never without a cigar and often he was with an exceptional scotch as well. Davidoff brings together that moment with the Winston Churchill Late Hour. The Late Hour cigar is meant to be enjoyed when the end of the evening is the start of something more; when thoughts and discussions weave interesting paths into the night.

To reflect the darkness during which Sir Winston was at his most creative, Davidoff has selected an oily Habano Ecuador wrapper. There are two Nicaraguan filler tobaccos grown in the rich volcanic soils of Condega and Esteli that add spiciness and depth of character to the cigar. In particular, the Nicaraguan Condega Visus tobacco is cask aged in barrels once used for Single Malt Scotch to bring a mysterious sweetness and fervency of flavour. Together with two different Dominican Visus filler tobaccos and a dark Mexican binder, the complexity of the full-bodied blend manifests in many, beautiful, robust flavours and aromas which capture the character of Sir Winston Churchill.

Cigar: Winston Churchill Late Hour
Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Binder: San Andres Negro (Mexico)
Filler: : Dominican (Olor Viso, Piloto Seco and San Vicente Mejorado Viso), Nicaraguan (Condega Viso aged in Single Malt Scotch Barrels, Estelí Viso)
Length: 7″
Ring Gauge: 48
Size: Churchill

The Look: The cigars come packaged in beautiful black boxes that are reminiscent of the Davidoff Nicaragua line, with a slide top. Inside, the cigars are featured in two rows of 10. The Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour has two bands with the primary band featuring the silhouette of Winston Churchill in gold on a black background with Davidoff in italic cursive. The secondary band has block letters in gold on black denoting The Late Hour. The wrapper has a beautiful milk chocolate hue to it, with a network of relatively thin veins. The wrapper has a nice amount of oils to it and is fairly light in the hand with a nicely packed foot.

The Notes: The cold draw of the Late Hour has that classic Davidoff profile of earth and barnyard notes, and it is most noticeable on the Churchill size. There is also a hint of Speyside scotch that is more dominant on the aroma of the foot. Once the cigar is lit, the notes from the single malt barrel aging is noticeable from the get go.

As we smoke the first third of the cigar the dominant notes have that classic Davidoff profile of earth and hay that slowly begins to fade away revealing citrus notes, a touch of sour apple and some toffee. The retrohale of the cigar offers up some wood and a touch of hay.

The second third sees notes that are reminiscent of Glenfiddich, specifically their new India Pale Ale cask aged release that has quickly become my favorite scotch. I paired the two this past weekend and they really complimented each other. The notes of the cigar at this point are a subtle vanilla, with elements of toffee and citrus. The sour apple experienced on the first third still appears on the retrohale and the finish after pushing the smoke through the nose.

As the cigar closes out notes of vanilla begins to intensify while the cigar holds on to the scotch elements as well. There is continued citrus, touches of toffee while the retrohale changes things up with traces of wheat and earth.

The Finish: I’ve smoked all three sizes of the Winston Churchill Late Hour, and while the original release has me leaning toward the Churchill this isn’t the case with this line. The caveat of this is if you love the classic Davidoff profile, then maybe you’ll prefer the Churchill, but on the other two sizes the whiskey barrel aging really shines through. Whereas, the Churchill it took the first third of the cigar to get to that point. In terms of the score, I would give the Robusto an extra 2 points and the Toro one point more. The reason is totally subjective though, as I like where those cigars got quicker versus the slow ride of the Churchill.

Score: 91
Price: $20.19