The Davidoff Limited Edition 2025 Year of the Snake celebrates the 2025 Chinese New Year.
Since 2012 Davidoff has released a yearly limited edition cigar celebrating the Chinese New Year. That year the company released Davidoff Cuvee Selection 2012 Year of the Dragon a 6 x 52 Toro that carried an MSRP of $35.00. The following year the cigar was branded as a Davidoff Limited Edition 2013 Year of the Snake which measured 7 x 48 and had an MSRP of $29.00
This Year the company has released 3 versions of the Davidoff Year of the Snake.
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2025 Year of the Snake Lancero (7 x 43 / $62.00 MSRP )
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2025 Year of the Snake Flagship Exclusive Toro (6 x 52 / $89.00 MSRP)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2025 Year of the Snake Masterpiece Toro (6 x 56 / $550.00 MSRP)
2025 it marks the first time that Davidoff has released a Lancero for their annual zodiac release.
Cigar Review: Davidoff Limited Edition 2025 Year of the Snake
Size: 7 x 43 (Lancero)
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Ecuador
Fillers: Dominican Republic (San Vicente, Hybrid Seed 98), Mexico (San Andres)
Factory: Aganorsa
Release Date: November 2024
Box Count: 10
The Cigar: The Davidoff Year of the Snake sees a smaller Davidoff white and gold band that has been adjusted in size for the lancero. While I like how the band sits on the thin cigar, it feels to small in comparison the traditional white label band. A secondary band of red and gold showcases as expected, a snake. The Ecuador wrapper has a bit of a reddish hue to it and a significant amount of small veins. There is a nice amount of oil present and the cigar is heavy in the hand with no voids of tobacco.
The Taste: The cold draw has notes of clay, earth and lemon rind to it which is different then normal barnyard I’ve come to expect from Davidoff. The aroma from the foot and wrapper has a ample amount of cocoa that I hope carries over to the cigar once it is lit.
Once we quickly toast the thin ring gauge Davidoff Limited Edition 2025 Year of the Snake there is a nice amount of chocolate to start that quickly fades revealing notes of lemon zest and leather with a touch of oak. The retrohale enhances the oak while adding a subtle floral component.
The second third sees some red pepper develop especially on the retrohale. However the primary flavor profile is an abundance of leather with toasted almonds and continued oak. As we approach the halfway point of the cigar the leather begins to pull back as notes of oak become dominant with a subtle licorice that lingers in the background. As the second third comes a close the toasted almonds become more a roasted peanut with the retrohale adding some red pepper alongside the floral aspect.
The final third sees the addition of black coffee with continued leather and the return of oak. After we remove the secondary band the oak note becomes dominant with coffee on the finish while the cigar has a leather mouthfeel to it. As we remove the primary band the cigar sees toasted almonds return over a canvas of oak. Just before we put the cigar down the retrohale adds a hint of caramel.
Conclusion: Pricing. Since the standard release of the lancero at $62.00 let’s look at inflation. While the sizes are different the 2013 Churchill at $29.00 would cost $39.37 in 2025 which takes into account inflation which comes in at 35.4%. over the last 12 years. However the lancero at $62.00 comes in at 113.8% more then the 2013 release. I get Davidoff is considered a luxury brand but this pricing seems artificially inflated. However despite the crazy pricing the cigar world is going through cigar imports are up. Pricing never comes into play when we score our cigars but that is becoming a hard stance to continue.
The Davidoff Limited Edition 2025 Year of the Snake is a very good cigar and despite being a lancero fan I rather smoke this cigar in a Toro format. It’s good, but I am not sure I will open my wallet up for another one. If it was closer to the $40 range of normal inflation I might have ordered some more, but I just can’t justify the spend when there are other cigars at a fraction of the price I enjoy much more.
Score: 91
Price: $62.00 (Before any local or state taxes)
You can find these at site sponsor Small Batch Cigar. However, no discount code is applicable on these. You can however add other items to your cart and save 10% on those by using the code BARRELBURNER.
