Earlier this year, Davidoff announced a limited edition series under its White Label brand known as The Master Selection. The Master Selection is a series of six blends that were personal blends which Davidoff Master Blender Eladio Diaz created to commemorate some of his birthdays. While turning a personal blend into a more widespread release is nothing new in the cigar industry, the Master Selection certainly deserves considerable attention, as Diaz is one of the legendary Master Blenders in the industry today. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke one of the blends, the Davidoff Master Selection 2016. While this cigar carries a premium price tag ($35.00 SRP per cigar), it certainly delivers an outstanding experience and is worthy of being an ultra-premium cigar.

As mentioned, there are six blends – and each is quite distinct. Davidoff is making three cigars available to its Appointed Merchants. The other three are going to the company-owned Flagship stores. The year commemorates a particular birthday year. Davidoff has been staggering the release of the blends throughout 2017. The cigars in the series are:

• Davidoff Master Selection 2007 (Diaz’s 54th birthday, Appointed Merchant Release – September 2017)
• Davidoff Master Selection 2008 (Diaz’s 55th birthday, Flagship Release – September 2017)
• Davidoff Master Selection 2010 (Diaz’s 57th birthday, Appointed Merchant Release – June 2017)
• Davidoff Master Selection 2011 (Diaz’s 58th birthday, Flagship Release – August 2017)
• Davidoff Master Selection 2013 (Diaz’s 60th birthday, Appointed Merchant Release – June 2017)
• Davidoff Master Selection 2016 (Diaz’s 63rd birthday, Flagship Release – June 2017)

Without further ado, let’s break down the Davidoff Master Selection 2016 and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile and Vitolas Available

Each of the six blends is a 6 x 52 Toro and packaged in ten-count cabinet style boxes

Davidoff Master Selection 2016 (Flagship)

Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: San Vicente Mejorado
Filler: Estelí and Condega Visus, Piloto Visus, San Vicente Mejorado Visus and Piloto Mejorado Visus
Country of origin: Dominican Republic (Cigars Davidoff)
Toro: 6 x 52

For completeness, we list the five other Master Selection blends:

Davidoff Master Selection 2013 (Appointed Merchant)

Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Estelí and Condega Visus, Piloto Visus, Piloto Seco and San Vicente Mejorado Visus
Country of origin: Dominican Republic (Cigars Davidoff)
Country of origin: Dominican Republic (Cigars Davidoff)
Toro: 6 x 52

Davidoff Master Selection 2011 (Flagship)

Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Binder: Mexican Negro San Andrés
Filler: Nicaraguan Estelí Ligero, Semilla A Visus, San Vicente Ligero and San Vicente Mejorado Visus, and Piloto Volado.
Country of origin: Dominican Republic (Cigars Davidoff)
Toro: 6 x 52

Davidoff Master Selection 2010 (Appointed Merchant)

Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: Mexican Negro San Andrés
Filler: Ten-year-old Dominican filler tobaccos Piloto Ligero, San Vicente Ligero and San Vicente Visus, combined with a Semilla A Seco and Estelí Visus from Nicaragua.
Country of origin: Dominican Republic (Cigars Davidoff)
Toro: 6 x 52

Davidoff Master Selection 2008 (Flagship)

Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Binder: Mexican Negro San Andrés
Filler: A-Estelí Visus, Piloto Mejorado Ligero, SV Mejorado Ligero, Piloto Mejorado Visus and Piloto Visus
Country of origin: Dominican Republic (Cigars Davidoff)
Toro: 6 x 52

Davidoff Master Selection 2007 (Appointed Merchant)

Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Binder: Hybrid Olor/Piloto
Filler Dominican: San Vicente Ligero, Piloto Seco, Hybrid Corojo/Olor Ligero and San Vicente Mejorado Visus
Country of origin: Dominican Republic (Cigars Davidoff)
Toro: 6 x 52

Appearance

The Dominican wrapper of the Davidoff Master Selection 2016 has a near mahogany color to it. The wrapper also had some oil on the surface. At the same time, I found the surface to be slightly bumpy. While most of the wrapper seams were well hidden, there were some thin visible veins.

There are two bands on the Davidoff Master Selection 2016  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, is the text “LIMITED EDITION” in gold font.

The secondary band is also white in color. There is a black pinstripe near the top of the band, as well as one toward the bottom of the band. On the center of the band is the text “THE MASTER SELECTION  2016” – also in white font. The right side of the band what appears to be Eladio Diaz’s signature.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up the Davidoff Master Selection 2016, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was clipped, I moved on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered a mix of leather and baker’s spice. Overall, I considered the pre-light draw experience of this cigar to be satisfactory. At this point, I was ready to light up the Davidoff Master Selection 2016 and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start of the Davidoff Master Selection 2016 delivered a mix of earth, mineral, and white pepper. As the cigar moved through the early stages, I found the mineral note dissipated and was replaced by notes of chocolate malt note and natural tobacco. The earthy and chocolate malt notes moved into the forefront. Meanwhile, the natural tobacco varied in intensity – floating between the forefront and background. The white pepper settled in the distant background. At the same time, the retro-hale featured pepper notes, but these were more of the black pepper varietal.

The second third saw the earth and chocolate malt notes still in the forefront. As the Master Selection 2016 moved through this segment of the smoke, I found the natural tobacco notes to become more prominent. At the same time, I did detect more spice on the tongue. This included an increase of the pepper notes, and the inclusion of some baker’s spice. Toward the latter part of the second third, the natural tobacco notes eclipsed the earth and chocolate malt notes in the forefront.

The last third saw some classic wood notes mixed in with the natural tobacco sweetness. There still were notes of earth, chocolate, baker’s spice, and pepper present. This is the way the Davidoff Master Selection 2016 came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

From a burn standpoint, the Davidoff Master Selection 2016 maintained a straight burn path from start to finish. There was a slight amount of jaggedness on the burn line, but this proved to be more cosmetic as opposed to troublesome. The resulting ash had a gray color with some dark speckling mixed in. This was an ash that was firm in nature. Meanwhile, the cigar maintained an ideal burn temperature and had an ideal burn rate.

The draw of the Davidoff Master Selection 2016 had a touch of resistance to it – which is something that I like. This made the Master Selection 2016 an enjoyable smoke to puff on.

Strength and Body

One thing that surprised me out of the gate was the strength level on the Davidoff Master Selection 2016. By Davidoff standards, I found this to be one of the brand’s stronger offerings. I assessed this cigar as being medium to full from start to finish.

In terms of the flavors, I found they started out medium-bodied. Toward the last third, I found the body to spike and this cigar moved into medium to full-bodied territory. When it came to strength versus body, I gave a slight edge to the strength – something almost unheard of for a Davidoff branded cigar.

Final Thoughts

I found the Davidoff Master Selection 2016 to be a cigar that fired on all cylinders. It has outstanding flavor, excellent construction, and a nice amount of complexity. While I have enjoyed many Davidoff White Label blends, what I like best about this cigar is that it had a very different flavor profile. I also liked that this cigar offered a little more in terms of strength.  I will say this is the type of cigar you will want to smoke undistracted as you will pick up a lot of the subtleties in the flavor profile.

The Davidoff Master Selection 2016 is a cigar I would steer toward a more experienced cigar enthusiast. As mentioned, at $35.00 SRP, this is a pricey cigar. I realize a ten-count box of cigars at $350.00 is a significant investment to many. However, if you are going to splurge, this would definitely be one worthy of a box purchase.

One final note, we get asked a lot where you can buy a particular cigar. While the Master Selection 2016 is only sold at Davidoff Flagship Stores, it can also be purchased on Davidoff’s online store.

Summary

Key Flavors: Chocolate Malt, Earth, Natural Tobacco, Pepper, Baker’s Spice
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium to High
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium (First 2/3), Medium to Full (Last Third)
Finish: Excellent

Rating

Assessment: 4.0-Box Worthy
Score: 93

References

News: Davidoff Master Selection Series Announced
Price: $35.00
Source: Davidoff and Purchased
Brand Reference: Davidoff

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