Davidoff cigars

Zino Davidoff ran a shop in Geneva

Zino Davidoff (1906 to 1994) ran a tobacco shop in Geneva from 1926 until his death, and the cigar brand carries his name.

The first cigars to wear it were Cuban. In 1967, Cuba's state tobacco monopoly, Cubatabaco, approached him about a Davidoff line. They were rolled at El Laguito in Havana, and the first Davidoff-named cigars, No. 1, No. 2 and Ambassadrice, came out in 1968.

He died in Geneva in 1994, at 87.

Who owns Davidoff?

Oettinger Davidoff AG, based in Basel, Switzerland, owns the Davidoff cigar business.

Oettinger bought the Davidoff trademark rights in 1970. Today the group sells cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobacco and accessories under the Davidoff, Camacho and Zino Platinum names. The Davidoff cigarette brand is a separate thing: Imperial Brands has owned it since 2006.

Where are Davidoff cigars made?

Davidoff cigars are made in the Dominican Republic, where the brand moved after leaving Cuba.

In 1990, Davidoff began rolling there with Tabadom, a local producer owned by Hendrik "Henke" Kelner. Cuban-made Davidoffs ended in 1991, and the first Dominican ones launched the same year. Kelner went on to lead blending; halfwheel's 2013 coverage names him overseeing the Cigars Davidoff factory in the Dominican Republic.

Wikipedia adds Honduras as a second production country for the group. Even a Nicaraguan puro gets rolled in the Dominican Republic: the 2013 Davidoff Nicaragua used only Nicaraguan leaf but was made at the Dominican factory.

Davidoff buys and grows tobacco from many countries

Davidoff sources its tobacco from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras and the United States, according to Wikipedia.

It grows some itself. Halfwheel reported in 2016 that Davidoff had been growing tobacco in Yamasá, in central Dominican Republic, for two decades. The company raised the soil pH plant by plant, tested 30 seeds to find three, and used only 21 of 100 hectares. That leaf became the Yamasá line. For more on these growing areas, see cigar tobacco regions.

Davidoff lines and their stated wrappers

Davidoff splits its range into a White Band collection and a Black Band collection, plus Winston Churchill.

Signature, Grand Cru, Escurio and Puro Dominicano round out the two bands. Davidoff does not print a strength label in text on its line pages; its intensity scale appears only as images.

Davidoff milestones

Davidoff's history splits cleanly at 1990: Cuban before, Dominican after.

• 1946: Château Latour, the first of the Château series.
• 1968: first Davidoff-named cigars, made in Havana.
• 1970: Oettinger of Basel buys the trademark.
• 1986: Aniversario marks Zino's 80th birthday.
• 1990: Dominican production begins with Tabadom.
• 1991: Cuban Davidoffs end; Château series renamed Grand Cru.
• 1994: Zino Davidoff dies.
• 2013: Davidoff Nicaragua released.
• 2016: Yamasá unveiled.

What to know before you buy a Davidoff

Davidoff groups its cigars by band color, so the band tells you the collection before you read the line name.

White Band holds the older lines: Signature, Grand Cru, Aniversario, Millennium. Black Band holds newer ones built around a single origin, like Nicaragua and Yamasá. Winston Churchill is its own collection.

Sizes in the Nicaragua launch were short: a 3 3/4 x 46 Short Corona up to a 5 1/2 x 54 Toro. See those on the size chart, and the shades of Rosado leaf on the wrapper color chart.

Davidoff questions

Where the Davidoff facts come from

1. Davidoff, Wikipedia
2. White Band Collection, Davidoff of Geneva
3. Davidoff to Release Nicaraguan Puro, halfwheel
4. Davidoff Unveils Yamasá, halfwheel