The Griffin’s Special Edition 2015 Club Series III is the third and final installment of a limited edition three cigar set released by The Griffin’s brand called “The Club Series”.  The Club Series is meant to pay homage to the origin’s of The Griffin’s brand. The Griffin’s is a brand in the Davidoff portfolio. The origins date back to 1964 when Bernard Grobet formed The Griffin’s nightclub in Geneva. In 1984, Grobet created the first Griffin’s cigar (thus launching The Griffin’s brand) that was meant to be an exclusive to his club. Eventually he started selling the cigar around Switzerland which led to a more widespread distribution. This ultimately led to the sale of the brand to Oettinger IMEX AG – the parent company of Davidoff.  Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the Club Series III. Overall I found this to be an under the radar limited edition as well as a under the radar cigar in The Griffin’s line.

The three cigar series has three distinct blends.  The first installment, the The Griffin’s Special Edition 2013 Club Series I made its debut in late 2013.  In 2014, the second installment, the The Griffin’s Anniversary Edition 2014 Club Series II was released.  The Club Series II was dubbed “Anniversary Edition” because it was the 50th anniversary of The Griffin’s club and 30th anniversary to The Griffin’s brand.

Without further ado, let’s look at this third installment, The Griffin’s Special Edition 2015 Club Series III and see what this cigar brings to the table

Blend Profile and Vitolas Available

According to The Griffin’s the Rojiza wrapper provides creaminess while the Honduran tobacco in the filler adds some spice.  A Rojiza wrapper has been seen on other Davidoff offerings such as the Davidoff Winston Churchill and Zino Platinum Make of New York.

The Griffin’s Special Edition 2015 Club Series III

Wrapper: Habano Ecuador Rojiza
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Jamastran Seco (Honduras), Pilot Seco, Hybrid Olor/Piloto Seco, San Vincente Meorado Seco, San Vincente Visus
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Robusto: 5 1/2 x 52
Total Production 25,000 cigars

For completeness, we list the other cigars in the series.  All three installments were packaged in ten count boxes.

The Griffin’s Special Edition 2013 Club Series I

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Yamasa
Filler: San Vicente Seco, Piloto Visus and Olor Visus
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Robusto: 5 1/2 x 52

The Griffin’s Anniversary Edition 2014 Club Series II

Wrapper: Habano 2000 (Ecuador)
Binder: Sumatra
Filler: Dominican: San Vincente Visus, Olor/Piloto Visus, Criollo Ligero
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Robusto: 5 1/2 x 52

Appearance

The Rojiza wrapper of the The Griffin’s Special Edition 2015 Club Series III has a cross of dark caramel and cinnamon coloring.  There was somewhat of an oily sheen to the wrapper.  The wrapper seams were quite thin and not overly visible. Despite the fact there were some visible veins, I found the surface of the Club Series III to be on the smooth side.

There are two bands to the Club Series III.  The primary band is the standard one found across The Griffin’s line.  It is white in color with a gold colored griffin on the front. Above the griffin is the text “THE” in black font arranged in a curved fashion. Below the griffin is the text “GRIFFIN’S” – also in black font arranged in a curved fashion. The griffin and text are surrounded by a black ovular border. To the far right is the text “HECHO A MANO” – also in black font.

There is a secondary band just below the primary one.  It has a metallic copper color to it.  On it is the text “SPECIAL EDITION” in black font with the text “2015” in a smaller black font below it.  There are black and silver pinstriping toward the top and bottom of the band.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Before lighting up the Club Series III, I went with a straight cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, I proceeded with the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered a mix of natural tobacco, cedar spice, and a touch of floral. Overall I was quite pleased with the pre-light draw experience of this cigar. At this point I was ready to light up The Griffin’s Special Edition 2015 Club Series III and await what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start to The Griffin’s Special Edition 2015 Club Series III picked up where the pre-light draw left off. I picked up rich natural tobacco notes, cedar sweet-spice, and a touch of floral. As the flavor profile took form, the natural tobacco and cedar notes fused in the forefront. The floral notes were in the distant background along with some grassy notes. Meanwhile on the retro-hale, I picked up some notes of black pepper.

As the cigar moved into the second third, some nut flavors emerged and eventually became a primary note with the cedar and natural tobacco notes. During this stage, the cedar and natural tobacco created a nice “twang” on the tongue. Meanwhile the grassy notes remained secondary and the floral notes pretty much dissipated.

During the second half, the nut flavors now were in control of the flavor profile. The cedar / natural tobacco notes were still present, but now lost some of its “twang”. I found the cedar / natural tobacco combo decreased. There now was some black pepper present on the tongue and those notes started to increase.

By the last third, the black pepper was now more prominent and was in the forefront with the nut flavors. At this point, the cedar / natural tobacco combination and grass notes were more subtle. This is the way the Club Series III came to a close. The resulting nub was outstanding – firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The burn to The Griffin’s Special Edition 2015 Club Series III was near perfect each time I smoked it. The burn line remained razor sharp from start to finish. The Club House III required minimal touch-ups along the way.  There was also a nice firm charcoal ash firm and it came off the cigar in clean chunks. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal. Given how good this burn, it was scored with our highest rating – “Exceptional”.

The draw also scored extremely well. It had a touch of resistance – which is something I consider ideal. This made the Club Series III a real enjoyable cigar to puff on.

Strength and Body

Overall I found the Club Series III to stay in the medium strength, medium-bodied range from start to finish. There was a slight increase in both attributes along the way, but I felt both stayed under the medium to full range. In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balance each other very nicely.

While this was still a medium smoke, I still would say this was a stronger and fuller cigar than much of the cigars that are (or have been) under The Griffin’s umbrella.

Final Thoughts

I mentioned in the introduction that The Griffin’s Special Edition 2015 Club Series III is an under the radar cigar for both limited editions and The Griffin’s line. I think it’s also fair to say that The Griffin’s as a whole is one of the most underrated brands out there.  Davidoff has done a great job with this line and the Club Series III is a great example. I liked the fact that the Club Series III offered more in strength and body when compared to other releases in The Griffin’s portfolio. This cigar is also going to offer more in the way of spice than one might expect.  Overall this cigar had excellent flavor, excellent construction, and delivered a nice amount of complexity. This is a cigar I would recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast. It’s a nice cigar for the novice to graduate to something a little more fuller than a milder smoke.  As for myself, this is a cigar I’d smoke again. It’s certainly worthy of a box split.

Summary

Burn: Exceptional
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 3.5 – Box Split
Score: 92

References

News: The Griffin’s Special Edition Club Series III
Price: $10.00
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 145
Stogie Feed: The Griffin’s Special Edition Club Series III