Toward the end of 2022, Davidoff released the 12th installment of its Chinese Zodiac series, the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit. The Chinese Zodiac series is an annual limited edition ultra-premium series that is highly anticipated by Davidoff cigar enthusiasts each year. While the Chinese New Year’s start falls between January 21st and February 20th, Davidoff typically puts out the Zodiac release around Thanksgiving in the prior calendar year. Each installment features a different blend in a different size, with exquisite packaging reflecting the Zodiac theme. The Year of the Rabbit release was no exception, and this is the cigar we are looking at in today’s assessment.

The Davidoff Chinese Zodiac series launched in 2012 with a small “Year of the Dragon” release for the Asian market. In 2013, the series became a more global offering with the release of the Year of the Snake.

2012: Davidoff Year of the Dragon (Limited Asia Release)
2013: Davidoff Year of the Snake
2014: Davidoff Year of the Horse
2015: Davidoff Year of the Sheep
2016: Davidoff Year of the Monkey
2017: Davidoff Year of the Rooster
2018: Davidoff Year of the Dog
2019: Davidoff Year of the Pig
2020: Davidoff Year of the Rat
2021: Davidoff Year of the Ox
2022: Davidoff Year of the Tiger
2023: Davidoff Year of the Rabbit

With the release of Year of the Rabbit, Davidoff has completed a cycle through the Chinese Zodiac. At press time, Davidoff is anticipated to release a 2024 iteration of the Year of the Dragon. When Year of the Dragon was released in 2012, it was a more local release for the Asian market and did not have elaborate packaging.

While Davidoff is the first company to launch a Chinese New Year Series, several other companies have released their interpretations of the Chinese New Year. For the Year of the Rabbit, there have been releases by not only Davidoff but also Maya Selva Cigars, Plasencia, STG, Drew Estate, VegaFina, and C.L.E. Cigar Company.

One final note: The Year of the Rabbit is the highest-priced offering in the Davidoff Chinese Zodiac series. The Perfecto size is priced at $50.00 SRP per cigar, and the Gran Toro is priced at $75.00 SRP per cigar.

Let’s break down the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Perfecto without further ado and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Davidoff Year of the Rabbit features what Davidoff calls a Hybrid 238 wrapper grown in Ecuador. The remainder of the blend features a Mexican San Andres binder and all-Dominican fillers. Production is handled at Cigars Davidoff in the Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: Ecuador – Hybrid 238
Binder: Mexico – Negro San Andres
Filler: Dominican (Yamasa Visus, San Vicente Ligero, San Vicente Seco, Piloto Seco)
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Cigars Davidoff

Vitolas Offered

For the first time, a Davidoff Zodiac edition was released in two sizes. The Perfecto size was made available to Davidoff Appointed Merchants. Several weeks after the initial announcement of the Perfecto size came word that the Gran Toro would be issued to Davidoff Flagship Stores (those stores where Davidoff has an ownership stake). A total of 6,500 ten-count boxes (designed like a Rabbit’s Warren – more about that later) of the Perfecto were released worldwide. Meanwhile, a total of 600 24-count (more traditional) boxes were produced of the Gran Toro.

Perfecto: 54 x 5 15/16
Gran Toro: 6 x 56

Appearance

The Hybrid 238 wrapper of the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Perfecto had a medium brown color with a slight rosado. There wasn’t much in the way of oils on the surface of this wrapper. There were some visible veins and visible wrapper seams. The Perfecto had a gentle taper with a small rounded cap at the head of the cigar. There was a small pigtail affixed to the cap. There was a steeper taper on the footer. This footer had more of a flat-screwdriver head shape to it.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to simultaneously remove the cap and pigtail of the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Perfecto. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw was excellent on this cigar as it delivered notes of bread, cedar, and baker’s spice. With the pre-light draw experience completed, it was time to toast up the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Perfecto footer and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Perfecto started out with notes of wood, fruit, bread, mushroom, cedar, and some mixed pepper spices. Early on, the wood, fruit, and bread notes moved into the forefront. The mushroom, cedar, and pepper notes settled in the background quickly. The fruit notes had entirely dissipated by the middle of the first third. Meanwhile, there was an extra layer of black pepper on the retro-hale.

During the second third of the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit the wood and bread notes remained primary. There was a decrease in the mushroom notes, and by the end of the second third, the notes had dissipated. There still were notes of cedar and mixed pepper in the background. The pepper notes took on the form of an herbal and pepper spice combination.

The wood notes were still grounded in the forefront by the last third. There was a lot more of the herbal/pepper combination in the background. In addition, there are some residual cedar and bread notes. There was quite a bit of muddling of the flavors here. This is the way the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Perfecto. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The burn of the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit required multiple touch-ups from time to time to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn. The touch-ups did what they were supposed to do, but there were many touch-ups needed. This happened throughout the smoking experience – particularly in the second third of each sample. The resulting ash was silver-gray. The ash itself was skewed toward the looser side. The burn was silver-gray. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were ideal.

Burn of the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit

Draw

The draw to the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit seemed more open than I prefer. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from, so in the end, this was a personal choice.

Strength and Body

Looking at this cigar from a pure strength angle, the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit was dialed back. This cigar started with mild to medium strength before progressing to medium strength in the second half. Meanwhile, the flavors started out medium-bodied and progressed to medium to full in the second half.

In terms of strength versus body with the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit, the body maintained a significant edge over the strength throughout the smoking experience.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

The banding scheme of the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Perfecto is similar to what has been seen with most of the other Chinese Zodiac release from Davidoff. This includes the Davidoff white label and a red and gold secondary band specific to the Year of the Rabbit. I’ve found this banding scheme has worked quite well.

The Packaging of the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit is designed to look like a rabbit’s warren (where rabbits breed). In the box, the cigars are arranged in interlinked sections. While I don’t see this as retailer-friendly or friendly to one’s personal humidor, it is one of the most innovative and creative cigar packaging units I have seen.

Photo Credit: Oettinger Davidoff AG

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

There is no easy way to say this. This was not only one of the most disappointing Chinese Zodiac offerings I have had from Davidoff, but it is one of the more disappointing Davidoff cigars I have had as a whole. The cigar was a complete miss from a flavor standpoint. When one assesses a cigar, the flavor has to be the ultimate arbiter; in this case, the flavors simply didn’t deliver. Flavor is somewhat subjective, but people want to know my opinion of flavor as a reviewer, and there is nothing I could recommend here. One may ask if the $50.00 price point factored into the 85-point score. The answer here is “no,” but it is considered with the value rating – and with the value rating, this is not a cigar I could recommend. I realize this had an excellent pre-light draw and great packaging – but these never factor into our scores or ratings.

In the end, there have been some legendary releases of the Chinese Zodiac Series from Davidoff, including four that landed on our Cigar of the Year Countdown and one that landed on our Cigar of the Decade List. The Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Perfecto is not one of them.

Summary

Key Flavors: Wood, Bread, Mushroom, Cedar, Fruit, Mixed Pepper, Herbal Notes
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Good