Davidoff Diademas Finas

In 2006, Davidoff celebrated the 100th birthday of the company’s late founder, Zino Davidoff. It’s one of a host of cigars commemorating a century for the company in one fashion or another, but the three Zino Davidoff 100th Anniversary releases are far and away the most remembered.

For most, this release was known as a two-cigar release: a Robusto and the Diademas Finas. Those cigars were offered to Davidoff accounts worldwide with the Diademas Finas debuting at an event in Munich on March 15, 2006 and the Robusto premiering Nov. 9, 2006 at a dinner hosted by the Davidoff of Geneva Madison Avenue in New York City.

In addition, Davidoff made a second perfecto, the massive 9 1/4 x 55 Davidoff Diadema 100, which was limited to 250 cabinets of 50 cigars.

• Zino Davidoff 100th Anniversary Robusto (5 x 50) — $15.00 (Boxes of 10, $150.00) — n/a
• Zino Davidoff 100th Anniversary Diademas Finas (6 3/4 x 50) — $22.00 (Boxes of 10, $220.00) — n/a
• Zino Davidoff 100th Anniversary Diademas 100 (9 1/8 x 55) — $46.00 (Cabinets of 50, $2,300.00) — 250 Cabinets of 50 Cigars (12,500 Total Cigars)

The boxes of the Diademas Finas featured a booklet explaining Zino Davidoff’s importance to the company, his philosophy and biographic ideas. The boxes were packed in a paper outer boxes while the main boxes were meant to be styled with inspiration from the 1940s.

While Davidoff oftentimes provides very detailed blend info, the 100th Anniversary release was different. Richard Carleton Hecker got one of the more detailed explanations:

Although the company will not divulge the ingredients for the Diademas cigars, Kelner told me at the Geneva party that both cigars use the same tobaccos and that each filler is Dominican and comprises five different tobaccos blended in equal proportions. The binder of the Diademas 100 is made from 1992 and 1993 vintage Dominican, two of the best harvests on record. “It’s not only because of the special quality of this tobacco that we used it,” said Kelner, “but also because it has a sentimental value, because maybe Zino actually touched some of the leaf with his hands. But the real difference between the Diademas Finas and the Diademas 100 is the age of the tobacco crop we used. The Diademas Finas tobaccos are aged from three to four years, but with the Diademas 100, the tobacco has from seven to 13 years of aging.”

Last year, a small number of boxes of the Robusto were shipped to retailers. In addition in 2011 the company released the Davidoff 100 Years Geneva, which honored the arrival of Zino’s parents to Switzerland.

• Cigar Reviewed: Zino Davidoff 100th Anniversary Diademas Finas
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Cigars Davidoff
• Wrapper: n/a
• Binder: n/a
• Filler: Dominican Republic (Undisclosed)
• Size: 6 3/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Diademas Finas
• MSRP: $22 (Boxes of 10, $220)
• Date Released: March 15, 2006
• Number of Cigars Released: n/a
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3

It’s a delicate golden wrapper with the detail you would expect from a $20+ cigar, with a fair amount of oils. Aroma is dominated cedar with some other fragrant flower scents as well. Cold draw is barbecue and some signature musty and mushroom notes, right around medium-plus. The draw is great for a perfecto, a bit tight, but with the understanding that it almost certainly it will open up once the cigar gets going.

The Diademas Finas begins salty, walnuts, mushroom in back with creaminess and lemon zest in finish. As is the norm, the draw opens up as the cigar gets going. There’s toasty notes, burnt mushroom, lemon zest and creaminess on the finish. The thickness of the smoke increases at the first inch mark. One note about the Diademas Finas is that the ash is beautiful, absolutely stunning at the first inch mark with the nipple fully in ash.

 

Mushroom remains at the front of the palate with lemon now throughout the mouth, as opposed to being restricted to the nose. There’s much more cedar, although it’s much different than normal cedar, instead reminiscent of freshly shaved wood. In addition, a water chestnut flavor shows itself on the finish. Construction of the Diademas Finas remains outstanding: thick and plentiful smoke production, a solid draw and a nice even burn.

 

The final third sees the inherent sweetness increase dramatically. In addition, the cedar notes become more commanding, accompanied now by an aged tobacco note while the lemon note reduces itself a bit. Smoke production remains constant until the end and it’s not until the inch-mark before I consider putting things down.

Final Notes

• One of the samples I tried smoking absolutely fell apart upon cutting. Disappointing? Yes, particularly at the price.
• The Diademas Finas vitola is set to become part of the Davidoff Nicaragua line later this year, although it’s reported to be 6 1/2 inches as opposed to 6 3/4 inches.
• Strength is medium, flavor is full, smooth and developed.
• As one oftentimes hope with Davidoff, the construction was incredible.
• Davidoff loves the perfecto vitola, and you may have seen a lot of them recently. The company used it for the Art Edition 2014 and released a limited quantity of Royal Salomones nationally earlier this year.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• There’s been a major uptick of these on the secondary market in the last few months. Prices are still around $30 per cigar.
• Davidoff is a site sponsor.
• Final smoking time is one hour and 40 minutes. While the cigar definitely did not enjoy being rushed, it was nowhere as delicate as one might expect.