Davidoff Year of the Dragon Limited Edition 2024 Double Corona

Today, we look at the Davidoff Year of the Dragon Limited Edition 2024 in the Double Corona size. The Davidoff Chinese Zodiac series launched in 2012 with a small “Year of the Dragon” release for the Asian market. This was a release that had more simplistic packaging. In 2013, the series became a more global offering, complete with ornate packaging with the release of the Year of the Snake. Since 2013, the Chinese Zodiac releases have been the year’s most anticipated releases. Each year features a different blend, different sizes, and different packaging. In particular, Year of the Dragon is probably the most famous of the Chinese Zodiac, inspiring many of this year’s numerous Year of the Dragon releases.

Below is a complete list of the Davidoff Chinese Zodiac releases.

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
2024: Davidoff Year of the Dragon

All of the Chinese Zodiac editions were recently made available in a special Davidoff Year of Collector’s Edition.

For now, we will turn our attention to the Year of the Dragon in the Double Corona size and see what this cigar offers.

Davidoff Year of the Dragon Limited Edition 2024 Double Corona – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Year of the Dragon consists of eight tobaccos, including an Ecuadorian wrapper, Dominican binder, and fillers originating from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Davidoff says the tobaccos have a total age of 60, which matches someone born in 1964 and celebrating their 60th birthday in 2024. 1964 was also a Year of the Dragon, as the Chinese Zodiac is on a 12-year cycle.

Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, Mexican, Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Cigars Davidoff

Vitolas Offered

The Year of the Dragon is offered in two sizes. After being a single vitola line since the series’s inception last year, the release was expanded to include two sizes. Like last year, one size (Gran Toro) is geared for Davidoff Flagship (company-owned stores). The Double Corona we are assessing today was released to the company’s appointed merchants. A total of 19,500 ten-count boxes of the Double Corona were produced.

Double Corona: 7 1/2 x 50
Gran Toro: 6 x 56

The Gran Toro was released in 24-count boxes and a Masterpiece Humidor containing 88 cigars. A total of 600 Gran Toro boxes and 25-count Masterpiece humidors were produced.

Appearance (*)

The Ecuadorian wrapper of the Year of the Dragon was medium to dark brown with a distinct rosado tint. There wasn’t much oil on the surface of this wrapper, but it had some prominent visible veins. Any visible wrapper seams were on the thin side.

Under the footer band is a one-inch uncut footer that contains no wrapper.

Davidoff Year of the Dragon Limited Edition 2024 Double Corona – Uncut footer

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

After removing the footer band, a straight cut was used to remove the Year of the Dragon cap. Once the cap was detached, it was on to the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw yielded a combination of coffee, raw mushroom, and baker’s spice. It was quite an unusual trio of notes to be together, but surprisingly, it worked and delivered a satisfactory pre-light draw experience.

Tasting Notes

At the start of the Year of the Dragon, a combination of earth, baker’s spice, and raw mushroom was delivered. As the cigar burned through the first inch and got through the rough cut section, coffee and cedar notes emerged. The coffee became the primary note early on. The earth, baker’s spice, and mushroom settled in the background. Meanwhile, there was an additional layer of cedar on the retro-hale.

The second third of the Year of the Dragon saw a gradual increase in the cedar notes on the tongue. By the midway point, the cedar notes joined the coffee notes in the forefront. At this time, a slight mixed pepper note emerged in the background. Toward the end of the second third, the cedar notes became the sole primary note. The coffee joined the earth, baker’s spice, mushroom, and pepper notes.

The final third saw little change. The cedar notes remained primary and were rounded out by the coffee, earth, baker’s spice, mushroom, and pepper notes. As the cigar experience of the Year of the Dragon came to a close, things wrapped up with a soft, cool nub.

Burn

The Year of the Dragon burn maintained a straight burn path and straight burn line, not requiring much in the way of touch-ups. The resulting ash wasn’t overly firm, but it wasn’t loose either. It was prone to some minor flaking. This was an ash that was mainly light gray. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the Davidoff Year of the Dragon Limited Edition 2024 Double Corona

Draw

The Year of the Dragon draw was on the open side. I usually like a little more in the way of resistance on my draw. In the case of the Year of the Dragon, this was more of a personal preference, as the open draw did not lead to any adverse experience.

Strength and Body

Overall, the Year of the Dragon started out with medium strength and medium-bodied flavors. Throughout the smoking experience, there wasn’t a noticeable increase in the intensity levels of the strength and body. As a result, the strength and body remained in the medium range for the duration of the smoking experience.

In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other nicely, with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

It’s hard to find fault with Davidoff’s packaging for its Chinese New Year releases, and the Year of the Dragon is no exception. I liked the red and gold secondary and footer bands and the Davidoff White Label as the primary band. The scaled design on the boxes was a really nice touch, as was the dragon logo holding a pearl-like design. Inside the box, a wooden tray adorned with a red ribbon is supposed to represent the tongue of the dragon.

Packaging of the Davidoff Year of the Dragon Limited Edition 2024 Double Corona; Photo Credit: Davidoff of Geneva

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The Year of the Dragon is a classic “tale of two cigars” story. In the first half, this cigar smoked fantastic—especially in the first third. However, as the cedar notes emerged, the smoking experience became somewhat disappointing. By the last third, the flavors were mundane and unexciting.

I remember the first three Zodiac releases of Snake, Horse, and Sheep – and there were some fantastic cigars. Since the 2015 Year of the Sheep release, most of the Chinese Zodiac cigars have been underwhelming – with the exception of Davidoff’s Year of the Dog in 2018. The Year of the Snake is the gold standard of this series and was priced at $30.00. The Year of the Dragon Double Corona is nearly twice the price at $59.00. It’s hard not to compare this cigar to the other Davidoff Chinese Zodiac experiments.

In the end, Year of the Dragon comes in at 89 points—mostly on the strength of the first half. However, 89 points and $59.00 do not make a good combination. I’d recommend trying a sample (if you can) before deciding to purchase.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Cedar, Earth, Mushroom, Baker’s Spice, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good