The Florida Sun Grown tobacco has been around for quite awhile in several cigar blends, but none seem to have really made the tobacco shine.  Davidoff decided to give it a try by introducing the Davidoff Florida Selection.  The Davidoff Florida Selection was introduced in October 2018 to appointed merchants and Davidoff flagship stores in the United States.  The cigar blends the Florida Sun Grown tobacco with Davidoff’s Yamasa tobacco to give the cigar a unique smoking flavor.  Here is what Davidoff’s press release says about the cigar:

In line with the pioneering spirit of its founder Zino Davidoff, Davidoff Master Blenders have selected only the best tobaccos grown in Florida’s beautiful sunshine and blended them with tobaccos from Ecuador, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic to create a superb blend with earthy notes.

The Florida tobacco was grown at a farm in Clermont where the leaves are known for their robust flavour and fragrance. These sun nurtured American leaves were introduced to intense tobaccos from Yamasá, spicy leaves from Nicaragua, and sweet leaves from the Dominican Republic. An earthy Habano Jalapa binder from Nicaragua was added, and wrapped in a beautiful oily and creamy Ecuadorian Habano 2000 leaf to complete the cigar.

This artful blend gives the cigar a flourish of complexity and a delightfully appetizing appearance. The result is an intense spicy sweet cigar, lovingly created for the American aficionado. The Davidoff Florida Selection 2018 celebrates 50 years of Davidoff and the limited edition of just 2,500 boxes of ten is only available in the US.

Here are the specifications for the Davidoff Florida Sun Grown:

• Vitola:  Belicoso
• Size:  6 x 52
• Wrapper:  Ecuadorian Habano 2000
• Binder:  Nicaragua Jalapa Habano
• Filler:  Dominican Republic (Yamasa Ligero, Piloto Visus, San Vicente Seco), Nicaraguan Esteli Visus, Florida USA Sun Grown Seco
• MSRP:  $32.00
• Sold in boxes of 10 and limited to only 2500 boxes

Pre Light

The Davidoff Florida Selection has a wrapper that I wouldn’t expect on a Davidoff cigar.  The wrapper is quite rustic looking with thick veins near the foot.  The cigar has a steep belicoso tip that looks well applied.  After I clipped the cap, I tested the draw which was perfect.  I got notes of mushrooms, earth, and wood.

First Half

The Davidoff Florida Selection starts off with a really nice flavor profile.  I get notes of oak, honey, black pepper, and a fruit note that reminds me a dried plums.  The cigar also  exhibits subtle notes of clove that accents the sweeter honey and dried plum notes.  On the retrohale, I get more honey and black pepper which really makes the flavor of the cigar pop.  The cigar is very well balanced with a long finish and a medium body.

Second Half

The Davidoff Florida Selection subtly changes as it nears the end.  The cigar has the same notes, but the oak and dried plum notes become more dominant with the black pepper accenting the flavor profile.  The honey sweetness is mellowing down along with the black pepper.  The clove spice notes is ever so slightly still there; making itself known every now and then. The Davidoff Florida Selection is still smoking perfectly with a nice balance and medium body.

Overall Impressions

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Davidoff Florida Selection.  Davidoff makes some of the best cigars on the market, but using Florida Sun Grown tobacco was definitely out of their wheelhouse.  No cigar that uses the Florida Sun Grown has really wowed me so I was worried about how this Davidoff would taste, they really made the tobacco shine.  It was a perfect accent to the Yamasa and Nicaraguan tobaccos Davidoff uses.  The sweet, rich and spicy flavors of the Davidoff Florida Selection are really nice.  The Florida Sun Grown tobacco gives their Nicaraguan cigar and extra pop that add something different to ever crowded Davidoff line up.  This is definitely the best cigar out on the market with Florida Sun Grown and it’s not surprising that it is Davidoff found the perfect blend for it.  Well played, Davidoff, well played.

 

Final Score:  92

Cigar purchased at The Cigar Shop in Biloxi, MS