Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s a Dragon! Davidoff is one of the most prolific brands when it comes to the Zodiac series releases. They were one of the first to ever bring this style of branding in cigars to a global market. There is a debate surrounding which cigar we consider the actual start of the Zodiac series. There was an original release exclusive to the Asian market for a Year of the Dragon back in 2012, but international releases alongside full marketing and branding truly started in 2013 with The Year of the Snake. Davidoff has since announced and released a Zodiac series cigar sequentially ever since.

Technically, the Zodiac symbols start with the Year of the Rat, but I don’t think Davidoff necessarily took that into consideration when starting this entire series. This year we celebrate the final Zodiac of the 12 year animal rotation with the Year of The Dragon. This is Davidoff’s most extravagant Zodiac release to date with acompanying humidors, cutters, and ashtrays to go alongside the release of the cigars. Davidoff will also be offering two different vitolas, a 7 1/2 x 50 Double Corona, and a much more limited 6 x 56 Gran Toro.

Under the Lid

The box has a beautiful red theme with silver dragon scales and the Davidoff name at the top in gold, with a golden dragon emblem in the center, and Year of The Dragon written in gold at the bottom. The box opens in a unique way with a pull tab. The cigars rest in a tray that slides out with the tab. The cigars are wrapped in a medium brown wrapper that may be influenced with all the red bands, but seems to have a hint of a reddish hue as well. The wrappers have a few visible veins and a tight wrapper seam. Caps are well placed on the cigars. There are 3 bands on the cigar; a foot band, a secondary band, and a main band. The foot band is a gold and black theme with a dragon symbol, the secondary band is a gold and red theme with Year of The Dragon written, and the main band is the classic Davidoff white band with gold writing. When you take off the foot band it is revealed that there is a shaggy foot to the cigar, which means the wrapper does not extend all the way to cover the binder and fillers underneath, and there should be a transition as the burn-line reaches the wrapper and it adds to the profile.

• Wrapper: Ecuador
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Vitola: 7 1/2 X 50 Double Corona
• Factory: Cigars Davidoff
• Release Date: November 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 19,500 boxes of 10 cigars
• MSRP: $59.00 ($590 for a box of 10)

The cold draw offers notes of raisin, and a milk like creaminess. Additionally, there is a mild spice like tingle that lingers on my palate. The foot gives off aromas of barnyard and mild fig sweetness, while the wrapper gives off aromas of musty hay.

Performance Notes

First Third: The Davidoff 2024 Year of The Dragon has a shaggy foot for about the first half an inch. Usually when I light a cigar I toast heavily and light up a bit and then review starts from there, but with this cigar I do a very short toast and a bit of a quick light up to get as much of that shaggy foot experience as possible before the wrapper enters the profile. The start of the cigar starts off surprisingly complex and full flavored with upfront notes of bread, creaminess, red pepper spice, oak, and a mild leather lingering in the back. The bread and red pepper spice bounce back and forth off of each other taking the forefront of the experience. Palate stimulation is felt at the back of the mouth and alongside the side of the tongue. The retrohale adds a mild richer spice, and mild bread note. As the wrapper starts to light up the profile stays very similar but the spice falls into the background of the profile and a mild generic sweetness comes into the profile. Upfront it is Oak, bread, and creaminess with a mild mushroom like earthiness and sweetness in the background. The flavors intertwine very nicely together reminding me of a fresh loaf of bread being cut while sitting in a forest that just rained a few hours before. The finish is short with a mild lingering leather and oak with a touch of tingling spice. The retrohale adds depth to the bread and mild spice with a hint of honeylike sweetness. Palate stimulation is now mainly being felt at the tip of the tongue, back of the tongue, and roof of the mouth.

Second Third: As the second third starts, the profile stays very similar with minor complexities coming in and out of each puff. The oak, bread, and mild sweetness are in the forefront for most of these puffs while leather and earthy mushrooms play a background note. A few puffs during the mid section of the cigar I got a distinct roasted nuttiness, and chocolate note that only last for about one inch during the middle and then the standard profile of Oak and breadiness came back while the third come to its finish. The bread-note develops a mild sourness which reminds me of sourdough and the oak takes on a bit of a toast note that becomes a bit richer. The finish is short and clean with mild leather and mild earth. The retrohale offers a layer of complexity to the bread and mild sweetness. Palate stimulation is the same with tip and back of tongue, and roof of the mouth.

Final Third: The final third overall heats up a bit on the fingers and in the mouth and the overall profile gains a bit of extra strength but just a touch. Toasted Oak, sourdough bread, mild nuttiness, mild earthy mushroom, and mild leather are still the main flavor profiles playing back and forth between each puff. Each puff allows different notes to take the forefront of the palate offering a dynamic flavor experience still even with that extra heat. By the last few puffs the profile becomes ever so slightly muddled and I find the toasted oak and bread notes to really take over the palate. The finish is clean and a bit longer than the first two thirds, but still short with a lingering oak note that isn’t too drying. The retrohale offers bread and earth. The palate stimulation is mainly back of the tongue and roof of the mouth.

Core Flavors: Oak, Bread, Creaminess, Mild sweetness, Mild earthy mushroom, Mild leather

Strength: Mild + to Medium

Body: Mild + to Medium

Complexity: Medium to Full

Smokin Experience: The Davidoff 2024 Year of The Dragon opened up with a fun shaggy foot experience that offered some nice complexity even without the wrapper. When the wrapper joined the profile it really balanced everything out and offered a great smoking experience for the entire cigar. To be honest, this vitola is not something I commonly gravitate to, but I think having something in a unique vitola for special LEs is a great way to allow people to explore new and interesting vitolas. The cigar has a profile that is very accessible and I would suggest this to a new or experienced smoker who wants a long celebratory cigar. The draw was great from both samples with just a touch of resistance to start off with that opened up slightly halfway through the cigar. The burn was great on both samples with only one touch up needed during the final third of one sample. The ash held on for a solid one to two inches before breaking.

Purchase Recommendation: Get them if you can find them!

Smokin Facts:

• The 2024 year of the dragon rounds out an entire zodiac cycle of release for Davidoff and nobody knows if they will stop here or continue the ever growing trend.
• The entire zodiac cycle is being offered as a box set of all 12 zodiacs with 8 cigars of each.
• The Gran Toro offering is offered in a Masterpiece Humidor that retails for $49,000 with 88 cigars.

Smokin Wrap:

Cigars Smoked: 2

Average Smoking Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes

SCORE: 92

Mitchell Santaga – Product Reviews

Mitchell Santaga started his journey into tobacco in 2011 by trying different flavored and machine-made cigars while enjoying a handle of Jack Daniels whisky. Shortly after that he yearned for a more premium experience and dove headfirst into pipe tobacco that his local tobacconist blended, and soon after started indulging in premium cigars.