Review: Davidoff Maduro R

matthewjmichael · September 2009

Original Post Here

Size: Robusto, 5×52

Wrapper: Cuban seed, Nicaraguan Sungrown (Maduro)

Binder: Dominican San Vicente

Filler: Dominican

Strength: Full

Price: Box of 25, $368 (gifted)

Grade: 9.1

Davidoff’s Maduro R is blended by Henke Kellner and has Dominican binder and filler, all wrapped up nice and tight by a Cuban seed, Nicaraguan sungrown wrapper. The R is only available in the Robusto size and it appears it will stay this way in future releases. The R has received great praise for its depth and for the fact that it departs from what we typically expect from Davidoff—this is the first Maduro in the company’s rich history.

Davidoff was kind enough to include a couple of these with some samples they sent along recently. So far, we’ve reviewed the Seleccion 702 and the Zino Classic in this batch of samples. Our final review from the lot will be the Millennium. Thanks again to the kind folks at Davidoff. Now, on to the review…

Appearance, 1.7:
What a great looking smoke; the wrapper is a rich dark brown color and relatively smooth with the exception of two veins toward the foot. The double white band really sits nicely against the dark maduro wrapper; it is almost hard to believe that such a dark wrapper is paired with the classic white label of Davidoff. The smoke is firm to the touch with no soft spots. The pre-light aroma of earthy tobacco has my anticipation level way up for this smoke. The cap cut cleanly and the cold draw produced notes of sweet licorice—excellent draw on this stick.

Burn, 1.9:
Mouthfuls of smoke are produced by this stick with a great draw throughout. The ash held fairly well to about an inch before I tapped it off—it began to tip a little and seemed slightly loose. There were no issues with touch up or re-light and the R burned cool throughout. Not a whole lot to say here, it was excellent; the R held a perfect burn with the exception of a somewhat loose ash.

Flavor, 2.7:
The first draw on the R was very smooth with a little sweet pinch on the end. I fully expected spice at the beginning but it never developed. The first third had a flavor combination of earthy tobacco and roasted nuts with a continued sweet finish. As I moved into the second third, the flavor profile did not change that much and remained very consistent. The final third brought more sweetness to the party but it was never overbearing. All in all, the flavor profile was not complex; instead, it was very consistent and I enjoyed the R’s flavor profile very much.

Overall, 2.8:
This was great smoke and I hated to see it end; if I had another one I’d fire it up immediately! Davidoff has done an amazing job at blending their first Maduro and I hope they continue producing this blend. At around $15 a pop, it is a bit strong for a frequent smoke but for a special occasion it is certainly worth the money. Because of Davidoff’s price point, my expectations are always high and in the past I haven’t felt like the investment was worth the enjoyment. All in all, I was surprised at how great the R turned out; if you get a chance to fire one of these up, go for it, even at $15!

(Jed’s Total: 9.1)