The Davidoff Grand Cru No. 3 is part of a line that at one time defined luxury in the cigar industry. It was also during an era of when Dominican Republic made cigars ruled the cigar industry. However, over time the Dominican Republic lost the strong hold they had on the cigar industry and people began venturing to other tobacco producing nations.
Today, Davidoff is probably not the first name you think of when you talk high end, luxury cigars. Outside of Padron (1964, 1926, Family Reserve) brands like El Septimo, Plasencia, Meerapfel have to dominate the conversation and you could even give an honorable mention to Selected Tobacco.
So the question is, is it still a good cigar or has the palate of the cigar smoking population changed.
Cigar Review: Davidoff Grand Cru
Size: 5 x 43 (No. 3 / Corona)
Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut
Binder: Dominican Republic
Fillers: Dominican Repiblic
Factory: Davidoff
Release Date: Originally a Cuban in 1946
Box Count: 25
The Cigar: The Davidoff Grand Cru No. 3 features a blonde looking wrapper with a few noteworthy veins. The white and gold band is synonymous with Davidoff White Label cigars and a secondary band denotes Grand Cru. The primary band is made to size which not many company do and as a result it says Grand Cru No. 3. In the hand the cigar is light with no voids of tobacco and a velvet like feel.
The Taste: The prelight draw is loaded with notes of hay, cedar and earth while the aroma off the foot is dry hay and earth. It’s everything you expect from Davidoff and once you light the cigar it is obvious how mild of an experience this will be.
The first third has definitive notes of oak with a base of earth. It’s smooth and balanced but there isn’t much depth to the flavors. There retrohale adds a subtle milk chocolate to it with a bit of licorice helping give it more complexity.
Moving into the second third the licorice notes become domianny as oak slides to the background with the earthy base notes. The retrohale increases the licorice but also introduces nuances of brown sugar.In terms of strength the cigar is about 2 on on scale of ten while the flavor density is about a 4 on the same scale.
The final third sees notes of earth take control of the palate with a subtle nutmeg component with a bit of licorice that tries to hold on but loses out to a developing bitterness. The retrohale helps keep the licorice as an afterthought before we put down this quick smoke.
Conclusion: We all have people who molded us on our cigar smoking journey. One of those people for me was Michael Herklots who worked for Davidoff. I first met him at their flagship store in NYC on Madison Ave. I was not what you would call the typical Davidoff client. But every time I went there Michael would roll out the carpet. Talk to me about cigars, and treat me no different then the CEOs of multi million dollar companies. It was here I started referring to cigars as the great equalizer, though I don’t think I was the first. Even though Michael’s journey took him to his own brand Ferio Tego I can’t help but think of Michael when I light up a Davidoff. While my palate has dramatically changed since the early 2000s, the cigar is still an enjoyable smoke but is no longer something I smoke on the regular. It’s mild and to a degree a status symbol do to the high price which is getting closer to normal pricing these days. I do however pick some up to take a walk down memory lane which is always enjoyable.
Score: 87
Price: $19.80
Site sponsor Small Batch Cigar has a full line of Davidoff smokes. Mild in nature, they are a quintessential part of the cigar culture. Use coupon code BARRELLBURNER to save 10%.
