Vitola: Toro- 6” x 52 ring gauge
- MSRP $32.00
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
I’m going to just start with this direct quote from the Davidoff cigar sales website:
Davidoff Master Blender Eladio Diaz is consistently challenging himself to create new journeys of cigar enjoyment. For some time, these journeys have developed to become a part of his Private Collection. To develop these blends, Eladio looks for inspiration from many avenues. The word ‘Gusto’, in both the English and Spanish language translates to enjoyment and intensity.
Davidoff Gusto was conceptualized around this idea, specifically, the sense of taste. This word stuck with Eladio and he chose to develop a blend of tobaccos in a strong, yet elegant format, that would result in exactly that.
The Gusto is part of the “Vault” collection that Davidoff began just a few months ago with the re-release of the Year of the Snake. This time around, the Gusto shipped in 10-count bundles that included a sticker on the outside declaring it to be part of the Vault program and stating the leaves used in the blend. Speicifically, Gusto uses Dominican PIloto Volao, Piloto Damajagua, San Vicente Mejorado, and Hybrid 133 Visus Yamasa in the filler, an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 binder, and an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper leaf. That last surprised me as I can’t remember another instance of a Davidoff-branded blend using a Sumatra wrapper. It may well have happened, but I can’t recall seeing one.
The store I work at—Burns Tobacconist—is part of the Vault program, so I was able to get my hands on a few of these. I bought one to try (Sumatra wrapper has never been my favorite) and then bought a couple more for review. This review is based on my second smoked sample.
Prelight
The Davidoff release this reminds me most of is the Master Selection series from last year. Same familiar white band, this time with “Toro” on the left side, while the Master Selection said “Limited Edition.” Same secondary band with black lines near the top and bottom, along with simple type in the middle of the front—“Gusto,” in this instance. Same Eladio Diaz signature around the right side of the secondary band. For that matter, the cigars are the same size, too. Something tells me Diaz favors the Toro vitola.
The wrapper leaf was mostly milk chocolate brown with some darker mottling, but also some lighter streaking, especially around the veins, which is somewhat typical of Ecuadorian Sumatra. It had an very leather and oily feel to it and the aroma was a mix of damp foresty earth and leather. From the foot, I got notes of grass, cedar, and light earth.
I clipped the Gusto with my regular Xikar Xi cutter and got an excellent cold draw. The flavors on prelight were less than stellar, though…I got a little hay, a little cedar…good thing I don’t really judge a cigar on the prelight flavors.
Flavor
The initial light up of this sample of the Gusto was very similar to the first one…I really didn’t know if I was going to care for it. Early flavors were a light grassiness, overlaying a bit of cedar and a mineral or coppery note that I often get from Sumatra leaf. Nothing offputting, but nothing compelling, either. But that didn’t last long as notes of lemon grass and white pepper came into the mix. Cedar held steady, but the mineral note faded a bit within the first few minutes of the cigar. As I puffed my way through the first third, the pepper got a little spicier and the citrus notes came through more clearly with sweet and tangy interplay.
Around the time the second third started, the Gusto started really going for the…eh…gusto! Deep flavors of earth and roasted nuts came into the mix, red pepper set my palate on fire. Cedar melded with other woody notes of oak and cinnamon while the sweeter citrus notes gave way at times to a elusive milk chocolate note.
The final third had more earth and citrus up front, along with a continuation of pepper and woody notes in the background.
Construction
Build was typical Davidoff, which is to say “great.” The only slight negative was that I had to touch up the burn line a few times.
Value
Assigning value to a cigar that is over $30 is always tricky, but I felt this one was wonderful enough and complex enough to justify it. Being a very limited run doesn’t hurt, either…you pay for exclusivity.
Conclusions
The Davidoff Gusto to me is proof of just how great a blender Eladio Diaz is. He took a wrapper leaf that I simply don’t associate with Davidoff—and one that I usually don’t care for because of the coppery flavor that comes out so often—and turned it into an amazing, complex and flavorful cigar that has tons going on in every puff, along with enough major flavor changes to really keep you interested. It was medium-plus in body pretty much the entire way through. If any of this sounds interesting to you, I recommend buying as many as you can afford as quickly as you can, because they certainly won’t last.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
