Cigar Review: Davidoff Winston Churchill LE 2016

• Vitola: Gran Toro
• 6” x 56 ring gauge
• $29.49
• Purchased from Burns Tobacconist

Background

Davidoff (along with its associated companies) is currently the King of Limited Edition Cigars. In just the past 12 months, we’ve seen the Year of the Monkey and Golf Limited Masters Edition from the flagship brand, Classic Covers Volumes 1 and 2 from Avo, the Annual Liberty release and Shellback from Camacho, various store exclusives and probably a bunch of other stuff I’m not remembering off the top of my head. So if the company is the LE King, they apparently have appointed a new Prime Minister in the form of the Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2016 Raconteur.

When the reblended Winston Churchill line made its debut about a year ago, it was accompanied by several side profiles of Sir Winston labeled with different aspects of his character, one of which was “Raconteur.” Each vitola was named with one of these aspects…the Robusto is “The Statesman,” the Petite Corona is “The Artist,” the Toro is “The Commander,” the Churchill size is “The Aristocrat,” the Belicoso is “The Traveller,” and the Petite Panetella is “The Raconteur.” And this Limited Edition Gran Toro is also “The Raconteur”…which might be a little confusing. The word “raconteur” is used to describe “a person who tells anecdotes (stories) in a skillful and amusing way.” So both the Petite Panetella and this very large Gran Toro pay tribute to Sir Winston’s storytelling abilities…presumably the Petite Panetella for his shorter stories and this LE for his much longer ones.

The overall blend for this LE is very similar to what is used in the regular release versions, although the wrapper leaf is changed from an Ecuadorian Rojiza to an Ecuadorian Habano. The binder is still a Mexican San Andres Negro, while the fillers consist of a mix of Nicaraguan and Dominican leaves…Esteli Ligero, Condega Seco, Poloto Visus, Hybrid Olor/Piloto Visus, Piloto Seco, and some 15-year old San Vicente LIgero. Only 3,500 boxes (news reports indicated 6,000 boxes, but the Davidoff information PDF I received says different) of 10 cigars were made and the MSRP is pretty pricey, pushing the upper end of the $20 range, which is still less than the Chinese Zodiac Limited Editions, for what its worth. (Background researched at Cigar-Coop and halfwheel)

I am a very big fan of the new Winston Churchill blend, so I immediately wanted to smoke this one when I heard about it. Having to pay for it (even with my employee discount) meant that I had to combine the pleasure of trying out with the work of writing a review about the experience (so, not that much work).

Prelight

The Winston Churchill LE 2016 features the same banding as the regular release, with the addition of a secondary band that features short sayings by Sir Winston. Mine says “If you’re going through Hell keep going.” I probably mentioned it when I reviewed the re-blended release, but this banding is so much better than the original Churchill…much the same as the new blend beats the pants off the old one…the band is immediately identifiable as a Davidoff, while also being its own unique thing.

Also befitting a cigar worthy of the Winston Churchill name is the appearance of the wrapper leaf. It could be the most beautiful Ecuadorian Habano I’ve ever seen. It was very consist in color, which was that of dark caramel. The wrapper had a couple veins showing through but was oily to the touch and it was earthy and sweet to the nose. The foot had more of a hay and wood aroma with a touch of earthiness. Feeling along the length of the cigar, it felt well-packed…much better than I have observed the Davidoff Escurio Gran Toro, which always feels somewhat underpacked.

The cold draw was excellent, with just the right pull resistance and a cold flavor that combined earth and cedar, salt and mushroom.

Flavor

I took my time toasting the foot of the Winston Churchill LE 2016…and it did take some time with such a large ring gauge and a single-flame torch. The reward was a rich and flavorful smoke on the very first puff. I picked up lots of cedar and Dominican earthiness, some pepper spice, salt and Olor funk on the palate. The retrohale had roasted nuts and a sharp red pepper and it was all medium-to-full in body. No, it wasn’t exactly the same as the regular Winston Churchill blend, but it’s definitely not “worse”…just a matter of time until I figured out if I considered it better. As the first third wound down, I was getting a very nice mix of sweet and salty flavors, with plenty of the mushroom and peppery notes backing that up.

During the second third, woody flavors of both cedar and oak rose up to prominence while the sweet and salty notes took a more supporting role. Pepper was still hanging around, but was diminished quite a bit.

The pepper came back in a big way in the last third. I also got a resurgence of sweetness mixing in with the woody flavors in a very pleasant way.

Construction

As you would expect from a Davidoff product, construction was just about perfect.

Value

This one’s tough. When a cigar almost hits the $30 mark, it has to be exceptional. Fortunately, this one really is, so I am awarding full marks for value.

Conclusions

As great as the regular Winston Churchill release is, this LE 2016 version is better. It has a rich, full flavor riding on a medium-to-full-bodied smoke with tons of complexity in every puff. It was similar enough to the regular release to be considered the same line, but different enough to warrant the “Limited Edition” designation. While the price puts it out of the range of “everyday smoke” status for most people, it is definitely worth picking up as a “special occasion” smoke.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10