Wrapper: Ecuadorian ~ Aged 4 years
Binder: Brazilian ~ Aged 9 years
Filler: Brazilian ~ Aged 9 years, Dominican ~ Aged 8 years and 3 additional Dominican fillers aged 5 years and then aged another 6 months in bourbon casks
Size: 6 x 56 Gran Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $37.00
Quantity Released: 3,750 boxes of 12 in the U.S.
BACKGROUND:
From Cigar Aficionado:
“The Davidoff Escurio 10th Anniversary comes in a single Gran Toro size, measuring 6 inches by 56 ring gauge. Unlike regular-production Escurio cigars, this special release incorporates tobaccos with extra age and a filler leaf that spent six months resting in a spent Bourbon cask.
“The cigar is rolled with a four-year-old wrapper from Ecuador, a nine-year-old binder from Brazil and a mix of aged Dominican and Brazilian fillers. This includes a nine-year-old Brazilian filler, an eight-year-old Dominican filler, and three additional five-year-old Dominican fillers. One of the Dominican fillers was cask-aged for half a year to give the tobacco additional sweetness and depth.
“In total, Davidoff says the cigar’s tobacco has a combined age of 45 years.
“The company says the combination of these well-aged tobaccos gives the cigar a unique sweet-and-spicy character. Lighting up, it starts creamy and toasty, with notes of cappuccino, praline and vanilla bean. The smoke then transitions to show touches of leather, dried apricot and licorice. Near the end of its burn time, spicier intonations are balanced by hints of bittersweet chocolate, almond and acacia honey.”
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
I’m not like most reviewers. It certainly counts that I’m twice as old as most. What I refer to is that in my retirement years, I prefer to critique cigars I think I will enjoy…as well as blends I think that you will find purpose with. So, I pick from a much narrower guideline than others. I’m cool with that decision. If you want me to review a cigar you are interested in, email me at mygoditsstillalive@gorgonzola.com.
This vitola is shy by only 3/32”Ø from being a full gong Gordo. I’ve never been partial to cigars this large because intense flavor points are usually absent with zero intensity most of us crave. What a big cigar has going for it is that when a blender uses strong tobacco, a Rodan sized cigar can be tempered with additional tobacco to lessen the blow of a full swoon.
I saw that HW reviewed it and gave it a big thumbs up. I had planned on reviewing the same cigar only hours before they published their article. Great minds…
You’ve perused the leaf stats above. Your question is does this cigar really need extended humidor time? My erudite response is no. But if I knew anything about cigars, I wouldn’t have to work for a living. I’m not an oracle…just a passionate bystander.
Based upon Davidoff’s photo below, I don’t see much purpose in reviewing this blend…so, I will anyway.
I could only afford two sticks. $37 is a lot of dough for a bunch of dead leaves…that disappear in the heat of the moment in just two hours. I smoked one prior to this review and I have my thoughts. But let’s see if this stick is a match or something else entirely.
According to Davidoff, the first two inches possess flavors of vanilla, dark praline, and cappuccino.
Davidoff could have said the flavors are dope fiends on punk, rigid wet leather, and maple leaves from Botswana. It’s all about the power of suggestion. So what do I taste? Vanilla, dark praline, and cappuccino. Damn, I’m a stooge.
The first inch could be any $15 Ecuadorian/Dominican cigar on the market. So far, not impressed. I can’t help but think of the price when I review. I’m not built for blind taste testing.
Cigar Federation and Ezra Zion are famous for selling nobody-knows-my-name blends with supposed multiple years of aging. They slap a food type name on the cigar, which rarely has a cigar band, and our unclean brethren flock to buy them hoping for the taste of a cinnamon roll in their cigar. These sticks go for a reasonable price of $10 on average. No manufacturer is going to tell you “We made an oops, sir. Sorry.” Instead their response is “How fast can we get them to market?” Davidoff released 45,000 cigars into the vast U.S. buyer’s sphere. Rocky Patel produces more than that in day.
The burn should be stellar and it’s not. I’m beginning to think that this cigar should be ashamed of itself.
I don’t taste any of the Davidoff suggested flavors. Is it me? Could be. Even if this highly aged cigar needed more humidor time, I’m seasoned enough that I should be getting some hint that this is a monumental blend. Instead, this is an ordinary cigar.
The stick was light in the loafers before I lit the thing up. I had hoped it would fatten up from expansion. It has not. And it’s burning like a Chesterfield.
Flavors are so subtle that I wonder if I’m merely imagining them. This blend is not providing a leg up for its own defense.
The first third is over in 30 minutes. It takes me longer to eat a cannoli. Those two inches cost $12.33. I could have bought any number of great cigars for that downpayment price for the next two thirds of an Escurio.
The burn is bad. And the cigar’s cap slips off in one-piece formation.
The subtlety, or lack of flavors, could be excused if this blend showed some complexity, richness, refinement, depth, and transitions. It possesses none of these qualities.
According to Davidoff, the second two inches of flavors are licorice, dried apricots, and leather.
I taste a black hole, fried wallet, and the bitter taste of my money flying away.
My first test cigar was exactly the same. I had hoped that maybe on an empty stomach, things would be better.
I should be using our time together to describe how good this cigar is. The wonderful flavor elements, the wonderful aroma, and the intensity of the experience. Instead, I’m wondering why a Gran Toro gives up the first half in only 40 minutes. I’m taking my time which makes it seem worse. I’ve now spent $18.50 on an ordinary $8 smoke. I’m billing Davidoff for the remaining $10.50. All Davidoff has to do is send me $12,000 in untraceable bearer bonds and I’d give them a great review. I’m just kidding. A dedicated phone number to a Ukrainian dating service will do.
Finally, according to Davidoff, the last two inches of flavors are honey, almond, and bittersweet chocolate.
I taste day old newspaper, righteous indignation, and acerbic memories.
This has to be a joke cigar. OK, who sent me this? Raise your right paw and recite after me: I will never send a joke cigar to the katman unless I include two crisp $100 bills. Without the added dough, it becomes a dirty joke.
For those of you with more money than common sense, you can purchase the Davidoff Escurio 10th Anniversary LE from sponsor Small Batch Cigar. Take 10% off with promo code KATMAN.
RATING: 84
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
As always enjoy the wit in the tasting – sometimes people verge on the pretentious simply to curry favour as opposed to being direct. This is a classic of directness and enjoyed this more than you possibly enjoyed the cigar !!
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Thank you, man…much appreciated.
Phil
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Same experience. Quit on it halfway.
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Thanks for your comment.
Phil
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I picked one up and thought it superb, so I got a second and it was remarkably different (experience like yours). So much for vaunted Davidoff QC?
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Hey Sam,
The very least a cigar manufacturer can do when charging you an arm and a leg for a cigar blend, is to make sure that their product is consistently excellent.
My ratings of different Davidoff blends over the last few years were all over the place from a 75 to a 95. These sticks are too expensive to dally with sally in the alley. And when they don’t tickle my clitoris, I have serious buyer’s remorse.
I picture the big wigs at Davidoff sitting in their board room with hundreds of monitors showing the interiors of cigar lounges from all over the world. They hone in on guys taking out their wallets, wincing, and grabbing their chests like Fred Sanford when they stand before the cashier. The Board of Directors laugh devilishly while tiny red horns manifest on their foreheads.
Thanks for your comment,
Phil
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Having a few drinks to get the image of you diddling your clitoris out of my head 🤣 but I totally agree Phil!
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I purchased a davidoff sampler a couple of years ago. Out of 4 or 5 different sticks the only one i have purchased since is the Late Night Churchill. Davidoff hosts a Christmas event every year at a local cigar lounge. They are very generous with the discounts, bling, and bourbon. I have found that many of these high priced sticks do not live up to the hype. The AF Opus X immediately comes to mind. Enjoy all the reviews. Keep up the good work.
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Hey Tony,
I believe that this is the general consensus of realistic smokers. You don’t get what you pay for.
Thanks for your comment,
Phil
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It does my heart good to see an expensive Davidoff cigar like this get reviewed and not impress, as my buddy once gave me a Davidoff of some sort, and I smoked it, and I was like ‘Meh’ and that pissed him off because he said they are awesome cigars, why do you think they charge so much for them, and they NEVER go on sale. I smoked a bunch of Davidoff over the years, heck, I hang out at the Davidoff lounge in Vegas, but I have yet to smoke a Davidoff that I can say ‘Man, that is an awesome cigar!’ Give me an Oliva V Maduro, and I am slobbering like a dog with an ice cream cone. I can buy a 5 pack for what they are charging for this one stick of ‘aged’ leaves. I do like the Churchill by Davidoff, but it is a stick I will buy here and there when I visit the lounge, but I won’t stock up any of my multiple humidors with anything by Davidoff, I just don’t understand the high prices and constant praise of this brand, but maybe I am just too simple.
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Hey Rob,
The power of suggestion works wonderfully with inexperienced palates. It’s not you. If you’re simple, so are the rest of us.
I know that sometimes we question ourselves. It’s expensive and therefore should be great. Sometimes that’s true.
Most of the time, it’s a mere land grab for the meek and uninformed wallets.
On the other hand, if you don’t give Davidoff a great rating, they have a hit squad that works for Escurios. If that doesn’t anger them….
Thanks for your comment,
Phil
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Well, you already know what I think of Davidoff….
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Hey Dr. Rod,
Readers…this is the man who told Davidoff to shove it when they tried to buy his cigar accessory company.
If not for Rod having a strict code, none of us would be able to afford the PerfecDraw or PerfecPunch.
Phil
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Thanks to Dr. Rod for not selling out. A PerfecPunch with a Davidoff logo would have retailed for at least $199.
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Amen, brother Jeff.
Phil
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One thing I would think you could count on, with a pricey Davidoff…even if the flavors don’t float the ‘ole boat; is good construction and a pleasant experience. If this stick doesn’t even deliver that (at $37!)…that’s a kiss of death.
For the record…I didn’t think the WORDS of HWs review, warranted the 91 SCORE. They claim to hate that “mushroom” flavor, of Davidoff Olor; yet they seemed to mention it plenty. I was shocked when I got to the number. Bought and paid for?
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Reviewers are grateful when cigars are given to them, but that’s all it is: Appreciation…with a capital A.
Cigar Aficionado has tainted every smoker’s opinion of independent cigar reviewers. It’s not right but there it is. It is a clear violation for any reviewer worth his rep to accept bribes for a good review. If they did, we’d all know.
HW does a three-cigar minimum for their reviews. They lucked out, that’s all. Either that, or the reviewer happens to have a palate that enjoys a Davidoff. I am very confident he was on the level. In fact, this makes it all the worse when condemning Davidoff. How are some Escurio sticks wonderful and others stink? They got some balls releasing them on the all-knowing smoking public. They are not going to eat the debt on the cigars when there are plenty of guys with dough, and no palates, that will scoop them up like pelicans with empty bellies.
There is not a single reviewer that has any respect for what I do and how I write. Everyone has an opinion. But that doesn’t mean we don’t love each other. As an example, HW does a year end Consensus of the best top 25 cigars from every blogger on the planet. HW averages everyone’s ratings. Every reviewer they choose is shown and a link provided. Every year, CM refuses to call me out as “Cigar Reviews by the Katman. Instead, he botches my URL by calling me “kohned”. Not kohnhed.com. This is petty but he needs to vent so I let him.
Thanks for your comment, CD.
Phil
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Absolutely; to indicate pay-for-play, was a bridge too far. I meant more like Appreciation.
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I merely took the assumption to a bridge too far as most smokers wonder this.
In contrast, I believe reviewers feel guilty when they cannot deliver stellar ratings for a cigar that may have been provided by a manufacturer. Someone does you a favor and then you don’t care for the product. Do some reviewers fudge? Maybe but I know for a fact that the critic doesn’t give the blend a rave score. It’s a conundrum.
As most of my readers expect the unvarnished truth from me, I go the chicken shit route and pass on reviewing the gifted cigar if it’s not very good. The patron will rant and rave. Telling me they look forward to honest criticism…but that’s a hypothesis, not a reality. I’d like to add that I get close to zero quantities of free cigars. Either manufacturers are afraid of me, or they feel I’m not worthy.
Phil
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And listen…I’m not trying to check > raise here; I like HW enough. But in their case, obviously we’re not just talking about a couple of sticks.
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When you’re the top dog as HW is, it is in the best interest of cigar manufacturers to bombard the site with cigars. Funny thing that most don’t know is that, and I’m making an educated guess, only a percent or two of cigars they receive are honored with a review. The rest are smoked for fun or given away. If it was me, I’d pick out the ones I know will be killer and write about those.
But they also have a budget to buy what they like. It is tax deductible.
Based on their rating average of 85-88, most cigars are rated as just OK or maybe a bit better. That would drive me nuts. But these fellas are young guys and still full of piss and vinegar. Me? I’m just full of it.
Phil
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Davidoff = The Emperor’s New Clothes.
Emperor’S New Clothes – New GIF – New Emperors New Clothes Emperor – Discover & Share GIFs
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