Vitola: Belicoso- 6” x 52 ring gauge
- $27.00
- Purchased at Corona Cigar Company
Background
When most people hear the letters “FSG” they say, “What?” When “in the know” cigar smokers hear “FSG” their thoughts immediately turn toward the Drew Estate product made for Orlando’s Corona Cigar Company: Florida Sun Grown. On my recent trip to Corona Cigar, though, I was surprised to learn that there is “FSG” used in a Davidoff blend, as well (well, two different Davidoff blends at this point, but when I went there was only one).
It came about in the second half of 2016 that Jeff Borysiewicz, founder and president of Corona Cigar Company, announced that he had struck a deal with Davidoff for an exclusive cigar that would include some of their Florida-grown Sumatra leaf in the binder of a 20th Anniversary blend. While Sumatra leaf has been grown in Florida for over a century, it used to be a shade-grown type that was thin and delicate. This version is sun-grown, leading to it being richer, thicker, oilier, and more dominant in the blend.
Along with the FSG, they used Dominican fillers, a Mexican San Andres binder, and an Ecuadorian Connecticut Rojiza wrapper leaf. This review is based on the first time I smoked this blend; I bought it at Corona Cigar Company in Orlando.
Prelight
No surprises on the packaging…the box is virtually the same plastic one used for the Exclusive Series, which I’ve given high praise to before. Here it is slightly more subdued with no city skyline to show off, though it does have the Corona Cigar Company logo and the FSG logo. The bands are pretty much the same style and effect as the Exclusive Series…a regular White Label on top (with “Exclusive” on the left side arm) and a secondary band that reads “Corona Cigar Co. 20th Anniversary.”
The wrapper leaf is a more-or-less typical Davidoff Conny. It was golden in color with a touch of oiliness to it under my fingertips. It was even in color and smooth enough to show off the veins of the binder leaf beneath. The aroma from it was a mellow grassiness with a touch of earth. The foot of the cigar smelled of earth and bread, with afterthoughts of cedar and hay.
The cold draw was excellent and featured flavors of sweet hay, cedar, earth, and a little spicy twang that I don’t remembering getting in any other Davidoff.
Flavor
The Corona Cigar Company 20th Anniversary by Davidoff starts off with a pronounced saltiness, overlaying sweet grassiness and touches of cedar and earth. Pepper and citrus zing are in the background, but definitely present. Also, it occurs to me that I need a shorter way of referring to this cigar…I think Davidoff CCC-20 will work. The retrohale has a stronger pepper spice and a bit of that trademark Davidoff funk.
The second third had the saltiness subside a bit with the Davidoff funk get a little stronger. The cedar was still there along with a good amount of hay, but the pepper was only present on the nose and as a lingering note on the finish.
In the last third, the Davidoff CCC-20 got more creamy, a note it had possessed all along, in retrospect…I just hadn’t noticed it so much under all the other flavors. There was definitely a little kick to it that set it apart from a normal White Label with a Connecticut Shade wrapper, along with a resurgence of cedar and pepper on the palate.
Construction
As is to be expected from a Davidoff, construction was perfect. It was one of the few torpedo-tipped cigars that I haven’t had to recut along the way.
Value
The price is high…there’s no getting around that. But it’s really not much more than a regular White Label Davidoff of a similar size…say, the Aniversario #3. So if you are okay with the value of that, you’ll be fine with the price here on a very limited edition cigar.
Conclusions
This Davidoff Corona Cigar Company 20th Anniversary smoked very much like a regular White Label Davidoff…on steroids. It had more body, somewhere in the medium range the whole way really, along with an increased degree of earth, wood, and pepper spice. If you are a fan of the Aniversario series, I can confidently say you would enjoy this one, even with the extra body and spice. Excellent cigar!
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
