Today I decided to do a little digging in the humidor and fill a request for a “Little Cigar” for those that are tight on time. The cigar I walked away with is the Davidoff Cigarillo. This little guy weighs in at 4 inches long with a 23 ring gauge. These are machine made in the Netherlands and Denmark with a Sumatra Wrapper, Java Binder, and Brazilian and Indonesian Fillers. The tobacco is all natural but dry cured for “smoothness” (As per the text in The Cigar Cyclopedia)
Upon removing the cigarillo from its tiny cellophane wrapper I was confused by the pre cut cap, however I assume this is normal for machine made cigars. When placed in my mouth I found the head of the cigar to be fairly soft with a firm draw. When pinched with my fingers I found the remainder of the cigar to be fairly firm and well packed with tobacco. The wrapper appeared dry with a toothy texture and small veins.
After a very quick toast and light I had this little guy burning evenly and producing a good volume of smoke. The initial flavor was woody with a smooth and easy finish. The body started off in the Mild to Medium range and made for a nice beginning.
After a few minutes of smoking I found myself into the second third of my Davidoff Cigarillo. I was having a bit of trouble keeping it lit due to the fact that I smoke so slow. Allowing the cigarillo to sit in the ashtray unattended for more than just a minute or two seemed to be enough neglect to allow it to go out. Relighting was quick and easy but produced a foul flavor for the first couple of puffs before going away.
The burn rate at this point seemed to be very fast, which is sort of what I expected for a dry cured small cigar. The burn line was very even as well as thin. The ash was light in color but weak, falling after just a small amount developed on the end of the stick. The body ramped up into the Medium range as the finish remained smooth and easy on the palate. The base flavor was Woody and was starting to become kind of salty.
After about twenty minutes I found myself needing to set the cigar down to rest. The body picked up some more as I smoked down through the final third but remained in the Medium range. The finish remained smooth and easy on the palate but began to develop a bit of an edge towards the end, which was a nice way to round out and end the smoke. The base flavor remained consistent throughout producing a Woody flavor with a bit of saltiness that would come and go through the final third.
Overall I think that this was a decent little cigar and turned out to be much better than I thought when I read that it was both machine made and dry cured. I don’t know that I would smoke many more of these in the future simply because I felt rushed in order to keep the cigar properly lit. If you are tight on time and don’t mind paying Davidoff prices for a little cigar I would recommend checking this one out.
Walt,
Thanks a lot for this review. Just as I stated before, short smokes are generally what I end up smoking due to my time constraints. I haven’t ever tried anything in the line of the Davidoff series, but I’ll definitely give it a shot the next time I’m at Holts or elsewhere. Anyhow, thanks again for this great review. Hopefully the video will be working soon, right now it’s unaccessible because of blip.tv’s server load I’m assuming. Keep up the great work as always!
In the range of little cigars I’m excited about Oliva’s new cigarillos which should be hitting the shelves soon. I got a few of the O’s at the RTDA Show and they are just as good as the rest of the Oliva lines.
Hi Walt,
The best way to keep cigars or cigarillos lit is to blow back into the cigar. That always works.
Great review, Walt.
I thought YQMA was this weekend that just passed?
Lou,
YQMA #17 is on the schedule for Aug 26th.
Cigar Jack,
I’ll have to hit up my local Oliva rep to see if I can get ahold of a couple to review.
Walt,
I just finished watching the video and as per your request for a few other decent miniatures, I’ve got a few that I’ve enjoyed: Cohiba Miniatures, Ashton Señoritas, and Punch Panetellas
And if you’re interested in attempting to mix things up and go flavored, Kahlua White Russian is quite enjoyable. I know many smoker’s will never dare to pick up flavored cigars, but I’ve found that it can be a change of pace. And granted, many people end up distancing themselves after one bad flavored cigar, but it really can be something interesting time to time.
I’m normally able to pick a tin of these mini’s up for around $9-14 depending on which brand of course.
Anyhow, thanks again for the great review. I’ll be sure to try out the Davidoff series, as well as the Oliva mini’s when they hit the shelves.
I’m glad you did a review on this. I think it’s a nice change of pace.
I tend to smoke Partagas Black’s cigarillos…the pronti’s, I believe. Those are an excellent 20-minute smoke. Also, Famous Smoke Shop offers the Madurito which any maduro fan should try.
Good review as always.
Sean
Hey Walt…you looked a little uncomfortable with that smoke and dare I say disgruntled that it was machine made. I had a chance to smoke some Ashton cigarellos awhile back and i didn’t care much for the size either myself. Not that it was a bad smoke, but it just wasn’t for me. Anyway, to each their own I suppose, but for me, if I don’t have the time to smoke a “normal” sized cigar then I’d just not bother.
Matt,
I was a little bothered that it was machine made. With the name Davidoff and the Price Tag associated with the name I just assumed I was getting a top quality hand made product and not a dry cured machine made stick.
In any case, it was not a bad smoke by any means, just not what I was expecting in terms of how it was constructed.
Great job Walt!
I use to be on the same wave length as Matt. Funny how a kid comes along and changes everything. I’m really interested in “little cigars” since time is in such short supply. I use to try the Partagas Black and these little guys from JR’s that I can’t think of the name but its like Momba or something with an “M” “O” and a “A” in it.
Believe me Jerry, I love full-sized cigars just as much as anyone. I just find it a bit difficult to allocate enough time to truly enjoy a full-size cigar on my current schedule. There are times when I really only have enough time to smoke for a short while or end up smoking my pipe instead. I’m hoping that things will change shortly in terms of my schedule, but I really do have to thank the Stogie Review greatly for reviewing miniatures, even if they are sparsely reviewed, it’s better than nothing. And I really don’t mean to change things here at SR, everything you guys do in terms of service to the smoking community is truly wonderful. I apologize for any inconveniences I may have caused. Thanks again though!
On a side-note, how did you find the Partagas Black mini?