In 2017, Davidoff announced a special limited edition set of cigars, made by its Master Blender Eladio Diaz, known as Master Selection series. The Master Selection is an extension of the Davidoff White Label line consisting of six personal blends by Diaz. Each of the blends commemorates a specific birthday by Diaz. Today we look at one of the six blends in the Master Selection Series, Davidoff – The Master Selection 2010. It’s a cigar that commemorated Diaz’s 57th birthday.

Three of the cigars in the series were made available to Davidoff’s Appointed Merchants while the other three were made available to Davidoff’s company-owned Flagship stores. Davidoff staggered the release of these blends throughout the summer of 2017, releasing two of the cigars at a time – one to the Appointed Merchants and one to the Flagship stores. 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 2010 and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile and Vitolas Available

Each cigar in the series is a 6 x 52 Toro. At the same time, each cigar in the series has a separate and distinct blend.  The six offerings are available in ten-count cabinet-style boxes.

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

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

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

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 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 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)
Toro: 6 x 52

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

Appearance

The Dominican wrapper of the Davidoff Master Selection 2010 was on the darker side. It had a chocolate brown color to it. There was a nice sheen of oil on the wrapper. There were some visible veins and on a couple of the samples, there was an occasional toothy effect from the vein. Any visible wrapper seams were on the thin side.

There are two bands on the Davidoff Master Selection 2010 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 2010” – also in white font. The right side of the band what appears to be Eladio Diaz’s signature.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

My experience of the Davidoff Master Selection 2010 started with a straight cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was clipped, I moved on to the pre-light draw phase. The dry draw produced a mix of chocolate and nut along with a touch of natural tobacco sweetness. Overall, I considered this to be an excellent pre-light draw. At this point, I was ready to light up the Davidoff Master Selection 2010 and experience the smoking phase.

Flavor Profile

The Davidoff Master Selection 2010 started out with more notes of cocoa powder, nut, and natural tobacco sweetness. I also picked up a mix of cedar and black pepper. Early on the cocoa powder and nut flavors moved to the forefront. This combination had an underlying creamy texture to it. Meanwhile, the cedar, natural tobacco, and black pepper moved into the background. These background flavors rounded out the flavor profile with the right amount of sweetness (from the cedar and natural tobacco) and spice (from the cedar and background pepper). Meanwhile, there was a subtle layer of red pepper on the retro-hale that was present throughout the smoking experience.

During the second third, the natural tobacco notes began to increase intensity. To a lesser extent, the cedar and pepper also started to increase in intensity. By the midway point, the natural tobacco notes joined the cocoa powder and nut in the forefront with both notes varying in intensity.

The last third of the Davidoff Master Selection 2010 didn’t have much change in the flavor profile. While the natural tobacco was still in the forefront alternating with the cocoa and nut flavors, the cocoa flavors seemed to have the edge. The cedar was a close secondary note with the pepper note further back. This is the way the cigar experience of the Davidoff Master Selection 2010 finished up. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

From a burn standpoint, the Davidoff Master Selection 2010 maintained a relatively straight burn path. There was some jaggedness from time to time on the burn line, and this did result in some additional touch-ups from time to time. The resulting ash wasn’t overly firm, but it wasn’t loose or flaky either. This was an ash that was gray in color with some darker spots mixed in. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

The draw to the Davidoff Master Selection 2010 was excellent. This draw had the right balance of openness and resistance. The Master Selection 2010 was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from while at the same time, it was a cigar that produced an abundant layer of smoke.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, the Davidoff Master Selection 2010 is a solid medium in terms of strength and body. Along the way, there is a subtle increase in both the strength and body, but in the end, I still found both attributes remained in the medium range. Throughout the smoking experience, I found both the strength and body balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

Final Thoughts

This is the fourth of the six Davidoff Master Selection cigars I have assessed (the 2007 and 2008 are still to come). What I have liked about this series is that each of the six blends greatly differs from the other cigars in the series. While I would have liked to have seen a little more in the way of complexity on this blend, I did find the flavors delivered on this cigar were very good – and that was enough to win me over. I also found the cigar’s medium strength and medium body meshed quite well with the flavor delivered.

This is a cigar I could recommend to any cigar enthusiast any time of the day. As for myself, this is a cigar I would purchase again. While it’s a little pricey ($35.00 SRP), it is good enough to make a consideration for a box purchase.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cocoa Powder, Nut, Cedar, Natural Tobacco, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Excellent

Rating

Value: Box Worthy Consideration
Score: 92

References

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

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted