Davidoff Escurio 10th Anniversary Limited Edition (England)

Davidoff Escurio

10th Anniversary Limited Edition

Gran Toro

Ten years ago, the house of Davidoff launched the second cigar in its Black Band Collection. For this anniversary, they're pulling out all the stops. The Master Blenders are opening their secretly guarded hideout of tobacco reserves. 

It's in this Alibaba's cave that precious and unique tobaccos are found, such as a 9-year-old Brazilian tobacco or a Dominican tobacco that, during its 8 years of aging, spent 6 months in barrels that originally contained Bourbon. 

Or, neatly stored and preserved, there's also this magnificent Ecuadorian tobacco… But a meticulous, multi-stage process is about to begin. 

They need a cigar that resembles the Escurio but is different, otherwise why create an E.L. (Editor's Limited)?

To be an Escurio, it's natural to keep Brazilian and Dominican tobaccos, since our first experience 10 years ago was a success. So, let's keep the Bahia region with its very typical Mata Fina tobacco. We could also use this "bourbon" tobacco or create a cigar with a combination of very old tobaccos. And why not make a cigar that incorporates all the aforementioned characteristics? In summary: Brazilian and Dominican tobaccos for the filler, and an Ecuadorian wrapper. The cigar would have 7 leaves, totaling a very advanced age, with one leaf having been aged in bourbon barrels. This is what I imagine the discussion between the Davidoff House Masters would be like, as they savor an Escurio cigar and reflect on the past 10 years. 

After meticulous work, they achieved the desired result, which led Edward Simon, CMO at Oettinger Davidoff, to say: Our vast and diverse inventory facilitated the creation of this special cigar. By adding our well-aged Brazilian tobaccos, we distinguish ourselves not only in terms of stock but also in terms of a unique taste experience where spicy Brazilian tobaccos dynamically blend with creamy Dominican tobaccos. 

So, let's go: let's taste the test modules!

I have a wrapper that looks quite similar to the Escurio, adorned with two bands in silver, black, and green. The first is a classic for the black label range, featuring "Davidoff" and "Edition Limited." On the second, "2015-2025" encircles a large "10," and below it, you can read "Anniversary." Not a single trace of "Escurio"? Well, no. Only the green on the "10" indicates that we're dealing with Brazilian tobacco; this leaves me puzzled. But very quickly, I tell myself that since it's a Limited Edition, there's little chance of confusing it with another cigar.

One last look at the cigar, and I'm ready to travel to the land of football and salsa. 1, I grab the cigar cutter; 2, I clip a bit of the cap; 3, I light the foot; 4, I draw in the smoke… It's Cigar Time. 

A beautiful smoke fills my space, and as it passes through my mouth, it brings me a creamy coffee sweetness, a flow of slightly sweet praline chocolate, and a faint hint of vanilla. 

10 years! 10 is the number of consecutive titles Bayern Munich has won twice in a row. 10 is also the minute when the Pharaoh (who just re-signed a contract with the Reds) set up his tactic so that 7 minutes later he would deliver a masterful and decisive pass to Luis Diaz: Liverpool-West Ham 1-0. 

At that moment, the humidor door creaks open, and following the day's instructions, Aurora enters and places my tea on the low table right next to the Davidoff ashtray.

Perfect synchronicity between us—she chose my Liverpool mug, even though she had no reason to know I was following the match. 

The technical sheet mentions bourbon-based pairing, and since that drink isn't at all to my taste, I'm trying it with a Dammann Frères tea: Woody Tonka (tonka releases its vanilla and almond aromas in a gourmet and spicy tea inspired by the world of chocolate making. The blend of the roundness of Keemun and the character of Yunnan echoes that of cocoa and ginger). The cup is warm, spicy, and infinitely gourmet. And at this stage, it perfectly merges with my Escurio E.L.

A woody, leathery scent tickles my nostrils, instantly taking me back two decades to the Old Buck Hunting Camp, deep in the forest between La Tuque & Lac Saint-Jean. Lynx skin is stretched on poles, drying in the late May sun; the deerskin I just scraped and rinsed also rests in the sun. We'll soon be able to start my sacred drum. The scent of red cedar floats in the air, while that of the large oaks brings us the sadness of untimely clear-cutting. 

In addition to these different flavors, my tasting today briefly immerses me in licorice snails, red chili, and white pepper.

I snap out of my thoughts for a moment because the firm, compact ash of my cigar is about to fall. So, I tap it into the ashtray. 

"Fall to the ground"—just that small phrase makes me realize that 10 years ago, it was the tragic Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher attacks.

 Fortunately, my cigar, now reaching its last few centimeters, offers me the sweetness of acacia honey (the immortal tree), dark chocolate, and almonds, coexisting with the lingering taste of my tea. 

After such a moment, I have only one final thought: Happy B Day, MISTER ESCURIO. 

My tastings focused on two Gran Toro modules, 15.2 cm long with a 56 ring gauge. 

Wrapper: Ecuador (4 years)

Binder: Brazil (9 years)

Filler: Brazil (9 years), Dominican Republic (8 years, including 6 months in bourbon barrels), 3 leaves from Dominican Republic (5 years). 

In conclusion: a cigar whose entire composition totals 45 years is truly rare. It perfectly blends water and fire, sweetness and body, which will surely give it a medium intensity with some medium-to-strong peaks. 

A genuine moment of pleasure and a deep dive into memories. 

So my friends, don't miss out on this moment of pure tasting pleasure and fly to your favorite Davidoff dealer, because there are only 15,750 boxes of 12 cigars worldwide. 

Price in Belgium at the time of writing: €37.