The Year of the Dragon Pt. II will arrive at stores next month.
As expected, Davidoff will release the Davidoff Limited Edition 2024 Year of the Dragon next month. The standard Year of the Dragon cigar is a 7 1/2 x 50 double corona that will use a blend of eight different tobaccos that have been aged for a combined 60 years. That includes an Ecuadorian wrapper over a Dominican binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Nicaragua.
In an interesting twist, the cigar will feature an uncovered brushed foot, meaning that the bottom part of the cigar will not feature the wrapper. This gives the cigar a unique appearance and also gives consumers a chance to try the internal blend of the cigar without the influence of the wrapper. Davidoff is not known for using this technique on its eponymous brand, though it has shown up on various Camacho releases, another brand owned by the Swiss company.
The MSRP is set at $59 per cigar and there will be 5,160 boxes of 10 cigars available for the U.S.
Note: The following shows the various Davidoff Zodiac Series releases over the years. Some of these cigars may have been released after this post was published. The list was last updated on Feb. 9, 2024.
- Davidoff Cuvée Selection 2012 Year of the Dragon (6 x 52) — $35 (Bundle of 10, $350) — Undisclosed
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2013 Year of the Snake (7 x 48) — $29.90 (Box of 8, $239.20) — 4,500 Boxes of 8 Cigars (36,000 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2014 Year of the Horse (6 x 60) — $31 (Box of 9, $279) — 5,000 Boxes of 9 Cigars (45,000 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2015 Year of the Sheep (6 1/2 x 54) — $35 (Box of 8, $280) — 3,000 Boxes of 8 Cigars (24,000 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2016 Year of the Monkey (6 1/2 x 50) — $34 (Box of 10, $340) — 3,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (30,000 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2017 Year of the Rooster (6 3/4 x 50) — $40 (Box of 10, $400) — 8,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (80,000 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2018 Year of the Dog (7 x 50) — $39 (Box of 10, $390) — 4,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (45,000 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2019 Year of the Pig (6 x 56) — $39 (Box of 10, $390) — 9,300 Boxes of 10 Cigars (93,000 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2020 Year of the Rat (6 x 52) — $39 (Box of 10, $390) — 10,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (100,000 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2021 Year of the Ox (6 x 60) — $40 (Box of 10, $400) — 13,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (135,000 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2022 Year of the Tiger (5 x 52) — $42 (Box of 10, $420) — 17,350 Boxes of 10 Cigars (173,500 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2022 Year of the Tiger Toro — $397 (Humidor of 88, $35,000) — 24 Humidors of 88 Cigars (2,112 Total Cigars)*
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2023 Year of the Rabbit (5 15/16 x 54) — $50 (Box of 10, $500) — 19,200 Boxes of 10 Cigars (192,000 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2023 Year of the Rabbit Flagship Edition (6 x 56) — $72 (Box of 24, $1,728) — 600 Boxes of 24 Cigars (14,400 Total Cigars)
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2024 Year of the Dragon (7 1/2 x 50) — $59 (Box of 10, $590) — TBA
- Davidoff Limited Edition 2024 Year of the Dragon Flagship Edition (6 x 56) — $89 (Box of 24, $2,136) — 600 Boxes of 24 Cigars (14,400 Total Cigars)
*Not pictured.
This is the 13th consecutive year that Davidoff has released a cigar in honor of the upcoming Chinese New Year and the associated symbol on the Zodiac calendar. Next year’s Chinese New Year begins Feb. 10, 2024, though these cigars will be available beginning Nov. 16, 2023.
The Year of the Dragon is interesting because Davidoff released a Year of the Dragon cigar in 2011, though it was done in a very different manner than the 11 years worth of Zodiac cigars that have followed. That original Year of the Dragon was released just for the Asian market and lacked the bold red and gold packaging that the Zodiac Series has become known for. Given that there are 12 symbols on the Zodiac calendar, this marks the first time Davidoff has created a second release for a symbol.
For context, the 2012 Year of the Dragon was a 6 x 52 belicoso.
“To close this entire Chinese zodiac cycle with many highlights for our aficionados, our creative teams around the world have outdone themselves in their respective spheres,” said Edward Simon, chief marketing officer at Oettinger Davidoff AG, in a press release. “We reflected the importance of the Dragon with our largest zodiac cigar thus far: an impressive double corona with an uncut foot. Furthermore, our very limited gran toro cigar, an intriguing pipe tobacco blend, and state-of-the-art accessories and packaging design make this collection one of the most exciting of the entire cycle. I am immensely proud that our series has proven to be so successful and that we can fill our aficionados’ time beautifully with our products.”
In recent years, Davidoff has created a second version of the Zodiac release that is much more limited. That will continue for the Dragon with the Davidoff Limited Edition 2024 Year of the Dragon Gran Toro, a 6 x 56 toro extra that will be offered in two different ways.
There will be 600 boxes of 24 cigars sold at various Davidoff flagship stores around the world; those boxes are priced at $2,136 or $89 per cigar.
In addition, the company has worked with artists Zhang Zhaoying and Sika Viagbo to create a glass mosaic Year of the Dragon Masterpiece humidor.
Each humidor will come with 88 of the Gran Toro cigars and has an MSRP of $49,000. There will be 25 numbered humidors.
Davidoff has also created a special colorway of its Double Blade Cigar Cutter. The Davidoff Limited Edition 2024 Year of the Dragon Cutter has an MSRP of $530 and is limited to 588 numbered pieces. The Double Blade Cutter is designed to cut cigars up to 56 ring gauge and is made in Germany.
Functionally, the cutter is the same as the normal cutter, though it does feature a unique red leather case.
There will also be 588 Davidoff Limited Edition 2024 Year of the Dragon Ashtrays. Those porcelain ashtrays have an MSRP of $490 and are made in Limoges, France.
Finally, there is a special Year of the Dragon pipe tobacco blend. Like previous Davidoff pipe tobaccos, it will not be sold in the U.S.
I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.
