Vitola: Toro- 6” x 52 ring gauge
- $36.99
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
Every year, to mark his birthday, our head Master Blender, Eladio Diaz, gives himself the present he would most want – a specially created fine cigar. Crafted by Eladio himself to celebrate his love of cigars and cigar-making. Every birthday, a different blend. And being our head Master Blender you can be sure that these are cigars worthy of the most special, special occasions.
That is how the Davidoff Master Selection series is presented on their website. I had the pleasure of reviewing the 2013 edition back in early August. It was remarkable and truly one of the best Davidoffs I’ve ever smoked. The plan was to release 3 editions of the Master Selection to Appointed Merchants (of which Burns Tobacconist is one) and 3 different editions to Flagship Stores (like the stores in Buckhead, Georgia, or Tampa, Florida). Since I am destined to see at least 3 of these cigars, I thought I would take the time to review those.
The Master Selection 2010 just showed up about two weeks ago. I picked up a couple sticks, but have been waiting to smoke my first one until it was time to write this review. The 2010 starts with filler tobaccos from Nicaragua (Semiilla A Seco and Esteli Visus) and Dominican Republic (Piloto Ligero, San Vicente Ligero, and 10 year old San Vicente Visus), secures it with a Mexican San Andres Negro binder, and finishes with a Dominican wrapper leaf. This cigar was made in a single Toro size and celebrates Eladio Diaz’s 57th birthday.
image courtesy Davidoff
Prelight
The packaging for this release is exactly the same as the previous releases in this series: plain wooden box holding cellophaned cigars. The cigars use the standard Davidoff “white label” with “Limited Edition” on the left arm of the band, as well as a secondary band that tells the rest of the story: The Master Selection 2010.”
The wrapper leaf appeared to be slightly darker than the 2013 edition, though without having them side-by-side, it’s hard to know for sure. I am sure that this wrapper is dark, though…dark chocolate brown dark, with a nice oiliness under the light and a barnyard aroma mixing earth, manure, hay, and wood. The foot of the cigar had more ripe earth and hay, but also a pronounced sweet fruit note…maybe plum or some other dark fruit…and touches of leather.
After clipping the head, the draw was absolutely fantastic and it tasted of a mix of semi-sweet chocolate, hay, citrus, and earth.
Flavor
The immediate flavors on the palate were somewhat muted and subtle. I took a couple puffs without really getting much more than “wood” and “earth” as general notes. I tried the retrohale and noted that up front it was fuller and richer, giving off notes of cashews, red pepper, and cedar. After a few more puffs, the flavors on the palate started developing a little better, with cedar and earth giving way to cocoa powder and light citrus sweetness, as well as just a hint of cinnamon in the mix. As I worked my way through the first third, the blend picked up stronger wood notes…both oak and cedar…and a solid earthiness that served as a base for the sweeter secondary notes.
In the second third, the smoke took on a creamier texture and sweeter notes of dark chocolate and dark fruit started to rise in prominence. There was a slight pepper spice on the palate and a little stronger influence of it on the nose, but really it was just an accent note…a punctuation mark, as it were.
As I burned slowly into the final third, I noted that the blend was leaning more toward the cedar notes at this point, with dark fruit and earth subdued slightly. The body had ramped up from medium at the start of the cigar to a solid medium-full at this point.
Construction
As with any Davidoff, the construction on this was top-notch…I had a solid ash, perfect draw and even-enough burn line.
Value
Like the previous Master Selection I smoked, the price is sky-high on these. It is worth it, though, if only as something you would break out for special occasions.
Conclusions
There’s no doubting that this is a great cigar, though I’m not sure it outshines the 2013 Master Selection for me. It was very complex and flavorful, but a tick or two down in those regards from the earlier release (with the later date). Still, this is a cigar that I would like to get a few of so I can have them on-hand for special occasions and it’s something I can definitely recommend in the same way for you.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
