Davidoff
Master Selection 2012
For a while, Davidoff competed with Marvel
because they also had their superheroes, their Fantastic Four, with among others Eladio Diaz (the alchemist) but
also Hendrik Kelner, Hamlet Espinal and Manuel Peralta. Each one had his own specification
and knowledge. When in 84, Eladio joined Kelner who had just created Tabadom
(the Davidoff factory in Rep. Dom. ), he had been rolling cigars for 5 years.
It was in
1991 that his career exploded and he became the alchemist by becoming a master
blender; he creates cigars from tobacco, which can come from anywhere in the
world. It's a bit like medieval alchemy in which practitioners tried to create
precious metals from base metals. The big difference is that he achieves a
result far greater than the sum of their individual components. Diaz was
intimately involved in the creation of Davidoff's Dominican mixtures; he never
let up. Winston Churchill, Davidoff's
Millennium Blend, Yamasá and Escurio, and Zino Platinum are just a few of
the blends Diaz has worked on over the years.
Her job was
also to train and teach the young people of Tabadom the art of blending so that
the company would remain a leader in cigar making for years to come. With all
that the company owed her, she had established a tradition: Eladio would roll a
cigar for his birthday, an exceptional cigar and often with aged and rare
tobaccos.
When he retired, the tradition continued. Each
year, the highly trained members of the Davidoff
Master Blending Competence Centre gather in the Dominican Republic to
celebrate a new anniversary of Davidoff White Band cigars (Davidoff
Aniversario, Davidoff Dominicana, Davidoff Grand Cru, Davidoff Millennium,
Davidoff Signature, Davidoff Winston Churchill The Original Series, Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Series. )
Since a while and with their agreement, a
small quantity of these cigars are put on sale to allow us to discover and
appreciate them.
If the 2014 version featured Julio Ramirez, one of the Master Rollers, the 2012 version features Pedro Pablo Perez, director of production, quality and innovation at Davidoff. And it is his signature that we find on the 7,000 boxes distributed worldwide, right next to the numbering of them.
To bring
out the old-fashioned look, they come without cellophane in a rustic wooden box
and held in place by a silk cord.
I have a
Toro type cigar with a nice wrapper covered with sublime veins: I have always
appreciated this vein side which gives a living aspect to the leaf. Of course the
leaves have to be trimmed because the center vein is too thick. Too many people
complain about the other veins, however, if they are well flattened (as it is
very often the case), they are an integral part of the cigar.
My cigar
has two bands, in white, black and gold. One classic with just Davidoff, Geneva
& Limited Edition, and the other The Master Selection 2012.
So the work
in black (the blend) was conceived in 2012, the work in white (the roll) two
years ago and the work in red (the distribution) this year. I leave it to you
to calculate the age of the tobaccos that go into this philosopher's stone that
is this Master Selection.
A short
moment of contemplation then I practice my cutting and lighting ritual.
Cold, I'm
really into a Dominican and Davidoff with that barnyard, dry hay, oily earth
and cedar feel.
A good dose
of smoke arrives from the start; the ignition is perfect and the draw a pure
wonder. I notice directly the old tobacco aspect: no unpleasant spiciness, no
sensation of mineral that tears and no ammonia smell.
This bodes
well for the future...
A slight salt
lining my lips as my mouth fills with smoke accompanied by almond flavors. The
first centimeter reveals a powerful cigar but this quickly fades: I think that
the Yamasá tobaccos visus of the filler, which were aged in
Bourbon barrels, have largely entered the dance and bring this soothing
sweetness by injecting a dose of coffee cream and that at the expense of the
fat earth and oak. This brings a very interesting balance.
While
continuing my tasting, I have a touch of vanilla which titillates me, you know
from reading me that it is not a flavor that I particularly appreciate but in
small doses as it is the case here it remains pleasant.
We are in
hunting season and yet the leather I feel has nothing to do with this period; it
makes me think of old tanned leather that has already lived well, like Aurora's
deer skin drum (mine is made of buffalo skin). And it makes its entrance with
great pomp and circumstance!
I slow down
the pace to take full advantage of this moment of plenitude and go to the
discovery of other flavors; but before, a small retro-olfaction to have a
slightly spicy cigar in the nostrils. I am not at the end
of my surprises since my tasting takes airs of white pepper coated with a
nuance of acidulous citrus.
The combustion becomes a little irregular but
this is minimal and it regulates itself. The quantity of smoke is imposing; it is in a
fog that I finish my tasting and that I am going to deposit with respect the
butt on the Mother Earth.
The
tastings of two Toro modules of 15.2 cm for a cepo of 52 were carried out for
the writing of this article.
Wrapper :
Ecuador
Binder :
Hybrid 192 Seco (Dom. Rep.)
Filler: San
Vicente Mejorado Visus, Bourbon cask aged Yamasá Visus, Piloto Seco, Hybrid
Corojo/Olor Ligero, Dominican Criollo Visus (Rep. Dom)
In conclusion: I think that the Yamasá leaf
has favorably influenced my tasting because if I prefer a more powerful vitola,
the balance brought by this one has glued me. If I enjoyed the 2014, I have a
small preference for the 2012. By the way, Davidoff will have to stop making
excellent cigars otherwise he will still be grumbling when I list my 20 best
tastings of this year. In the meantime, if you want to make your own opinion, I
invite you to go to one of the Davidoff stores to acquire this jewel while
there is still some left.
Price at
the time of broadcast: 33 euros.
We all share something really special. The joy
of fun and precious things. That's what family is all
about.
Pedro Pablo Perez, Director of Production,
Quality and Innovation.