Davidoff Puro Dominicano Belicoso

It’s safe to call Davidoff one of the quintessential cigar companies when it comes to Dominican-made cigars. Only for the past ten years has Davidoff made a footprint on Dominican puros; first with the Davidoff Puro D’Oro line and later with the Davidoff Yamasá line. Much of the challenge for Davidoff has been getting the Dominican-grown tobacco to a level where it was considered good enough to place as a wrapper on its cigars. Master Blender Henke Kelner and Agronomist Manuel Peralta saw the potential of the Yamasá region of the Dominican Republic to grow tobacco that could be used for wrappers, but it took many years working the soil before it could be used on the Puro D’Oro and Yamasá lines. Prior to those lines, Davidoff has done some limited edition releases using the Yamasá wrapper – first in 2007 with the Davidoff Puro Robusto and then in 2009 with the Davidoff Puro Dominicano Belicoso. These two limited releases not only use a Dominican wrapper, but use 100 percent Dominican tobacco. Last year, Davidoff announced the Puro Dominicano Belicoso would be returning for a limited run as a part of its Vault Series. Today, we take a closer look at the limited re-release of the Davidoff Puro Dominicano Belicoso.

The Davidoff Vault Series was introduced in 2016. It is a vehicle that serves to re-release limited editions and other private collection cigars from Davidoff. The releases come out in small batches with allocations split between the Davidoff of Geneva website and select appointed merchants.

To date, the following releases have been incorporated in the Vault Series:

Davidoff Gusto
Davidoff Mundano
Davidoff Wagner
Davidoff Paragon
Davidoff White Edition 2011
Davidoff Year of the Snake
Davidoff Puro Dominicano
Davidoff Superior
Davidoff Exclusive Macau
Davidoff Cuvee Selection 2012 (Year of the Dragon)
Davidoff Revery
Davidoff Diademas 100
Davidoff Complexion
Davidoff Kizuna

Without further ado, let’s break down the Davidoff Puro Dominicano Belicoso and see what this cigar brings to the table:

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

As mentioned, the Davidoff Puro Dominicano consists of 100 percent Dominican tobacco. The filler consists of four different Habano seed tobaccos.

Wrapper: Dominican (Yamasá)
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican (Four Different Habano Seed Filler Tobaccos)
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Cigars Davidoff

Vitolas Offered

The re-release of the Davidoff Puro Dominicano Belicoso measures 5 3/4 x 48. The cigar is packaged in ten-count bundles.

Appearance

The Dominican grown wrapper of the Davidoff Puro Dominicano has a medium brown color with a rosado tint. Upon closer examination there is some mottling that can be seen on the surface. The wrapper also has a light coating of oil on it. There are some thin visible veins, but the wrapper seams are only minimally visible. The belicoso tip has a steep taper at the tip of the cigar.

There are two bands on the Davidoff Puro Dominicano. The first band uses the design of the Davidoff White label band. It features the name “Davidoff” in classic cursive gold 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 “GENEVA.”

The second band is also white with gold pinstripes near the top and bottom. On the center of the band is the text “PURO DOMINICANO” going across it – also in gold font.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to cut about half of the belicoso tip off of the Davidoff Puro Dominicano. Once the tip was removed, it was time for the pre-light draw ritual. The dry draw delivered notes of sweet natural tobacco as well as subtle floral and cedar notes. While normally I am not a fan of any floral notes, it worked very well with this cigar on the pre-light draw. In the end this was an excellent pre-light draw. At this point it was time to light up the Davidoff Puro Dominicano and await the smoking experience.

Tasting Notes

The Davidoff Puro Dominicano Belicoso started out with notes of sweet natural tobacco, classic wood, and hay. Early on the classic wood notes moved into the forefront. Midway through the first third, the natural tobacco developed more sweetness with a nougat-like flavor. At the same time, a slight cedar-spice note emerged in the background. Meanwhile, the classic wood notes were also present on the retro-hale.

During the second third, the wood notes remained grounded in the forefront. At times the natural tobacco sweetness varied in different degrees of intensity essentially floating between the forefront and background. Meanwhile, the hay and cedar notes remained in the background. There was also a slight amount of black pepper that emerged. There was a little more in the way of cedar on the retro-hale.

The last third of the Davidoff Puro Dominicano Belicoso didn’t see much change. The classic wood notes remained in the forefront with the natural tobacco and the nougat component continuing to float between the background and forefront. The hay remained in the distant background, but there was a slight increase in the cedar and black pepper. The cigar experience of the Davidoff Puro Dominicano finished with a soft, cool nub.

Burn

From start to finish, the Davidoff Puro Dominicano Belicoso maintained a straight burn path and a relatively straight burn line. The resulting ash had a light gray color with a slight amount of dark streaks in them. This wasn’t an overly firm ash, but it wasn’t a flaky or loose ash either. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the Davidoff Puro Dominicano Belicoso

Draw

The draw to the Davidoff Puro Dominicano Belicoso had a touch of resistance to it – which is something that I’m always on the record of being in favor of. In addition, the belicoso tip where the cut was made held up very well during the smoking experience.

Strength and Body

The Davidoff Puro Dominicano started out mild to medium in strength. By the second third, the strength moved into medium territory where it leveled off for the remainder of the smoking experience. Meanwhile, the body stayed in the medium range without much change in the intensity levels throughout the smoking experience.

In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained a slight edge throughout the smoking experience.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

As mentioned in the introduction, the Davidoff Puro Dominicano was a predecessor to the Davidoff Puro D’Oro, which became Davidoff’s Dominican puro offering. It also has been a predecessor to the current Davidoff offering that uses a Dominican wrapper, the Davidoff Yamasá. Is the Davidoff Puro Dominicano a good cigar? Yes. Does this cigar surpass what the Puro D’Oro and Yamasá offerings has done? Absolutely not. The Puro Dominicano is a good cigar with excellent construction but lacked a wow factor. The Vault release certainly isn’t an inexpensive offering and is also getting more difficult to find. If you happen to find the Puro Dominicano Vault release, you may want to try a sample first.

Summary

Key Flavors: Classic Wood, Cedar, Natural Tobacco, Nougat, Black Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Mild o Medium (1st Third), Medium (Remainder)
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good