Many longtime cigar smokers who have been somewhat in the know will recognize the Kelner name from their time with Davidoff. However, in 2020, the Kelners and Davidoff went their separate ways. The patriarch of the Kelner family, Hendrik “Henke” Kelner, and he has quite the history in the cigar business.
Henke Kelner was born into a Dutch tobacco family in 1945 and in 1984 in the Dominican Republic, he founded Tabacos Dominicanos, otherwise known as TABADOM. When Davidoff left Cuba in 1991, they found their new home with the Kelners at TABADOM and the rest from there is history. The Swiss company eventually bought TABADOM from Henke Kelner, where he continued to work until 2020 when his time there came to an end. His son, Klaas Kelner, opened up his own factory called Kelner Cigars S.A.S. a few years ago and decided to honor his father with a special release for his 80th Birthday.
The 7 x 50 diadema is a very similar size and shape of some of the most famous cigars that Klaas’s father helped develop for Davidoff over the years. It actually doesn’t surprise me that this is the vitola he chose as I think it makes a lot of sense. While the blend has been undisclosed outside of the wrapper, Kelner has confirmed the presence of Dominican Yamasa tobacco in the blend.
Under the Lid
- Origin: Dominican Republic
- Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
- Binder: Undisclosed
- Filler: Undisclosed
- Vitola: 7 x 50 Diadema
- Factory: Kelner Cigars S.A.S.
- Released Date: December 2025
- MSRP: $57
- Production: 2,000 boxes of Ten Cigars (20,000 cigars total)
Pre Light: After a nice clean cut, I take a quick draw form this cigar. The draw is slightly tight, and the flavor is earthy with a little bit of dried fig and plum. This wrapper seems oily as it has a nice sheen on it that grabs my attention right away. The wrapper also appears to be of a higher quality looking very smooth and silky with the veins kept to somewhat minimum.
First Third
The Kelner LE 80 opens up with a decent amount of pepper with a dry finish on the tongue and some spice. When lighting the foot, one section immediately took off and started to burn into the body of the cigar while the rest of it stayed close to the foot end creating a very uneven slightly canoe burn. The draw is still slightly tight for my liking. As I continue to smoke the cigar and get deeper into the first few puffs, the burn line is slowly catching up to the slight canoe from the initial light, but it is still not burning evenly yet.
The cigar does not seem to be emitting a very strong amount of smoke, but that is to be expected with the slight tight draw that it has. I am starting to wonder if it will get a little bit better as I go on but time will tell. The notes that I pick up from the first third are more earthy and dry like the beginning with dry oak, toasted almond, hint of leather and medium roast coffee beans fresh from the grinder – really clean and bright, not stale like they have been ground up for some time sitting around.
Second Third
By the start of the second third, I decided to snip a little more of the head off to see if it would draw a little better, but it don’t change much. It has begun to burn more even which is a plus. Currently, I don’t love the draw, it is still tighter than I would like it to be. In terms of flavor and complexity, there’s some lighter floral notes and some herbal notes like rosemary and fresh thyme. There does remain to be a slight bitterness in the background, but not an unwelcome one. It rounds off the herbal taste with a little bit of black pepper on the tip of the tongue. This cigar is around medium to medium plus across the board for me.
Final Third
As I get into the final leg of the cigar, there are no changes in the draw, but the burn line continues to be even. The cigar is getting a little hot for me, no matter how careful I am to smoke it every puff seems to be getting warmer and I keep getting more of that dark bitter taste a little bit prematurely. The herbal notes have dissipated and have been replaced by richer earth tones and more of that dark coffee ground with a little bit of a garlic salt twist upfront. I will be honest, the last third of this cigar was very disappointing for me. The flavor dropped off and became something unenjoyable where it kept increasing the amount of charred flavor that I couldn’t escape. Construction wise, the cigar never cracked, ripped or blew up on me, which is nice, but I can’t get over the tightness. I probably could have smoked another inch of this cigar, but I was too temped to throw in the towel here. It began to feel like a chore, and I was ready to tap out.
Smoking Experience
Overall, this cigar was a little disappointing for me at $57. The tobacco was top quality; there is no doubt there. But the roll and construction were the first to raise a red flag. Tight draw, poor airflow, limited smoke production and the awkward start to the burn on the initial light. The constructional issues were very noticeable on two of the three cigars with the last one being better but not unscathed. The first two thirds were not bad, but they lacked a deeper complexity that I was waiting for and when I reached the final third, I knew the show was over.
Smokin Facts
- Klass’s brother, Hendrik Kelner Jr. also has his own factory, Kelner Boutique Factory
- Klass’s sister Monika Kelner is a tobacco grower in the Dominican Republic
- Cigars were purchased by Smokin Tabacco
- Kelner LE 80 is a Limited Edition
Purchase recommendation: Not Recommended
Smokin Wrap
Cigars Smoked for the Review: Three
Average smoking time: One Hour and Fifty-Two Minutes
