Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary

The Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary is one of two commemorative cigars released by Davidoff to commemorate a quarter century milestone.  In this case the Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the company’s flagship site in New York City located on Madison Avenue.  The company also released the Davidoff of Geneva 25th Anniversary to commemorate Davidoff’s 25th anniversary in North America. These two cigars are different blends in different sizes.  As we mentioned, today the focus is on the Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary – which in this author’s opinion turns out to be the better of the two blends.

Back when we reported the Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary was shipping, we talked a little about what a flagship store is:

The Davidoff Madison Avenue store is considered one of approximately 60 flagship stores for Oettinger Davidoff Group. Flagship stores not on carry the entire Davidoff portfolio, but they also have a smoking lounge, and tend to focus on the entire customer experience.  The official opening of the Madison Avenue flagship store occurred June 10, 1987, so the release is slightly past the 25th anniversary of the store.  The store has since relocated from its original location.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary and see what this cigar brings to the table:

Blend Profile

The Davidoff Madison Avenue uses a Dominican Yamasa region wrapper.   Wrappers from this region have been found on several limited releases by Davidoff this year including , Davidoff 2014 Year of the Horse the Davidoff of Geneva 25th Anniversary, the Davidoff Golden Band Awards cigar, and Davidoff Masters Edition 2013 Club House Toro.

Wrapper: Yamasa 192 (Aged 6 years)
Binder: Ecuadorian 151 (Aged 5 years)
Filler: Dominican

Vitolas Available

The Davidoff of Geneva Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary cigar is being made in one size – a 6 x 50 toro. There were 1,500 ten count boxes produced.

Appearance

The Yamasa wrapper to the Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary has a medium brown color to it. Upon closer examination, there is some darker marbling than can be seen. I categorized this wrapper as being more silky, than oily. The surface of the wrapper also had a slight bumpy feel to it. The wrapper seams are well hidden while there are some visible veins.

There are two bands on the Davidoff of Geneva 25th Anniversary. It also has a similar scheme to the Davidoff Golden Band Awards 2012 cigar. The first band is similar to the classic Davidoff White label. It features the name “Davidoff” in classic cursive gold-colored font on an oval field of white. There are small gold circles going around the perimeter of the oval. The word “GENEVE” (in gold font) flanks to the right of the oval field. To the left of the oval it features the text “LIMITED EDITION” – in gold fontThe second band rests just below the primary band. It is also white in color with the text “MADISON AVENUE” in gold font. Under it, it says “25 Years” There are gold pinstripes above and below the text.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up the Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut. After I removed the cap, I proceeded to begin the pre-light draw ritual. The dry draw yielded me some classic Davidoff hay and pepper notes. I also detected some cedar on the dry draw. Overall, I considered the pre-light draw to the Madison Avenue to be satisfactory. At this point, I was ready to light up this cigar and see what the flavor profile would deliver.

Flavor Profile

The start to Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary had a mix of pepper, grass, and hay to start. There also was a subtle citrus sweetness in the background. It was a little hard to pinpoint the pepper notes on the tongue – although it seemed somewhat close to a black pepper. On the retro-hale, I felt the pepper was more of an herbal spice.

As the Madison Avenue progressed through the first third, the grass and hay notes remained primary and were joined by some natural tobacco flavors. I found the pepper was a close secondary note. The citrus sweetness was much further in the background. I could also pick up a slight oak note with the sweetness in the background.
The second third was similar to the first third except that i found that the pepper notes dialed back a little more.

In the last third, I found the citrus notes and natural tobacco took center stage and becoming primary notes. The pepper increased again and moved back into the forefront. The grass and hay did play more of a secondary role. This is the way the flavor profile held on until the end. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary lived up to Davidoff’s standard of excellence when it comes to its construction – and this is reflected nicely in the burn and draw. The burn remained sharp from start to finish – requiring minimal touch-ups. The resulting ash was tight with a classic salt and pepper color. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary

The draw also was excellent.  It was not too loose and not too tight.  Overall, I found the Davidoff Madison Avenue a low maintenance cigar to puff on

.Strength and Body

From a strength perspective, I found the Davidoff Madison Avenue 25h Anniversary pretty much stays on the upper end of medium.  On a couple of occasions while I smoked this, there were times I thought the strength did move into medium to full territory, but it mostly stayed as medium, so I am going to stick with that.  As for the body, the flavors of the Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary provided some nice weight on the pallet.  I assessed this cigar as being medium to full-bodied.  When comparing strength versus body, I gave a slight edge to the body.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I was quite impressed with the Davidoff Madison Avenue 25th Anniversary.  Over the past 14 months, Davidoff has released severa excellentl limited editions.  While I still think the two Chinese Zodiac cigars, the Davidoff 2013 Year of the Snake Edition and Davidoff 2014 Year of the Horse still are the best two, I’d put the Madison Avenue next in line.  I liked the 6 x 50 sized vitola for this blend – and really liked the blend as a whole.  I found the Madison Avenue to still have a classic Davidoff taste, but had just a little more edge in terms of the flavors it delivered to make a difference. This is a cigar I’d recommend to Davidoff fans.  I would also recommend it to either experienced or novice cigar enthusiasts.  As for myself, this is still worthy of a box split in my book – and one I certainly look forward to smoking again.

Summary

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

References

Price: $20.00
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Stogie Geeks Episode 75 – “Wet Spot In My Shorts”
Stogie Feed: Davidoff Madison Avenue 25 Years