The new cigar from @davidoffcigars pays homage to the great Prime Minister Winston Churchill with their #TheLateHour cigar. Churchill was an aristocrat, a soldier, a statesman, a great orator and a Nobel Prize winner. Davidoff finds a way to, figuratively, roll these characteristics into a well-executed cigar. The new cigar is made of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a Mexican San Andres Negro binder, and a high-quality mixture of Dominican and Nicaraguan long leaf, which is aged in scotch whiskey barrels for six months.
The cigar looks like it’s made of the world’s finest leather with deep leaf veins playing as handmade stitching. The color is a smooth dark coffee tone and the cigar has a very enticing scent. The light is instant and is confirmed by a nice full puff of white smoke. The first 3rd ‘s flavor profile is mild to medium at the beginning. However near the end of the first 3rd, it turns very woody with Oak and Walnut notes and is now a full medium stick. These notes are chaperoned by a rich leather flavor that is more noticeable on the inhale than on the exhale. The combination of the 3 gives the cigar an earthiness that stays on the palate.
At the beginning of the 2nd third is where the cigar really adds on the layers. Without dialing back too much on the previously mentioned profiles, I begin to pick up a little spice. I will chalk this up to the scotch barrel aging. Honestly, I was expecting it to be more noticeable (like I can with the Camacho American Barrel Aged Cigar). But with the leather, wood, and nut notes holding down the “starting” positions, the pinch of spice was a nice “second string” backup.
Finishing up on this quality smoke, I am surprised by how the many flavor profiles are so well aligned. No single note is over shadowing another. Typically with most cigars, the different notes go in and out in stages but Davidoff was able to perfectly execute slowing adding complexity to the cigar while maintaining a consistent smoke. If you are into cigars with deep earthiness and coffee/leather notes, this is one that you need to have in your humidor.
