Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
Toro, 6.25” x 52 ring gauge / $23.00, Burns
I just recently dipped my toe into the pool of Davidoff White Label Limited Editions. First it was a 100th Anniversary Robusto (more on that at some point in the future). Then I went a little deeper with the Colorado Claro, a fairly frequent (as in every 3 or 4 years) limited release cigar. For both of those, I had heard quite a bit about them beforehand and had a certain level of expectation that they would be great…and they were. Seems like I’ve gone ahead and jumped into the deep end now, though, because I bought a $23 stick without hearing a whole lot about it–the Club House. Or to be completely accurate, the Davidoff website calls this the “Masters Edition Club House Toro.” This is a golf-inspired cigar, from it’s dimpled golf-ball pattern on the secondary band, to being named after one of the 4 Majors for golf, to the marketing claiming that it’s “perfect for enjoyment over 9 holes.” I haven’t lifted a golf club in years, but I can safely say that I probably wouldn’t step foot on a course with a very expensive cigar like this…way too many things can go wrong, from the minor (burning out while you line up a shot) to the major (dropping the stick and running over it with your cart). At any rate…here are the specs: Dominican filler, Ecuadorian binder, Dominican wrapper. To get more specific, the wrapper is a Yamasá leaf aged for 3 years and the filler uses 5 different leaves: 2 secos and 3 visos. I did purchase the cigar I smoked for this review (although I did not pay full price) and I smoked only one.
Davidoff cigars are known for their immaculate appearance and this one does not break from that tradition. The reddish-brown leaf is oily to the touch and slightly mottled to the eye but without blemish in any way. The white Davidoff label with gold foil and embossing is, as always, classic and classy, while the secondary “Club House” band pushes the golf connection in a subtle way that I hadn’t even noticed the first time I picked it up. The wrapper had a strong aroma of musty earth, along with some manurey and cedar. The foot had aroma notes of hay, cedar and earth. The cold draw was pure Davidoff–fungusy and forest–with a little bit of surprise–citrus, salt and pepper spice.
Once lit the “Davidoff funk” was definitely in evidence, but took a back seat to flavors of cedar, hay, citrus and raisin. The retrohale was nutty and had a dash of pepper spice to it. Starting off it was medium in body and did not feel like it would be something that would threaten to overpower occasional smokers, so maybe it would be appropriate for a weekend cigar aficionado out playing golf. By the end of the first third, I noticed more pepper at the back of my palate, along with a bit of increase in the body of the smoke. Mostly, though, it continued to be woody with lots of hay and plenty of sweetness that weaved its way in and out of prominence in the flavor profile.
As I puffed my way through the second third, I noted an increase in earthiness, with definite cocoa powder overtones and a touch of creamy coffee. So far the Club House was proving to be a very complex and enjoyable cigar and the construction was as perfect as you would expect from a cigar with this famous white label. I had a flawless draw, saw a very even burn line and got zero flakiness from the ash.
And all the way through the last third, the Davidoff Club House was a fantastic smoke, displaying tons of complexity as it transitioned into even earthier notes with stronger coffee and dark chocolate. It simply was an excellent cigar from final light to last tap off. Was it the best Davidoff I’ve had? No…actually it was not. The Colorado Claro had better flavor at the beginning even though it broke apart on me midway through and the 100th Anniversary Robusto was a bit better, too. So, no I can’t see buying a box anytime soon, but I will probably buy another one or two before they are gone. Definitely a great special occasion cigar, although I still wouldn’t risk it while out playing nine holes of golf.
Body: 7/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 9/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
