Davidoff OVTC 35th

In April 2006, Old Virginia Tobacco Co. celebrated its 35th anniversary with a huge party that had many of the top cigar makers at the time in attendance. Some of the cigar makers decided to produce specific sizes or blends to mark the occasion, and the Davidoff OVTC 35th was one of those blends.

The original press release described it:

Old Virginia Tobacco Co. is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and to commemorate the occasion, the tobacconist threw a party on April 22 at the Reston Sheraton ballroom, drawing many of the industry’s movers and shakers.

“If a bomb would have gone off, it would have taken most of the cigar industry with it,” joked Gary Pesh, owner of Old Virginia Tobacco.

Attendees included: C.A.O.’s Aylin Ozgener, Camacho’s Christian Eiroa, Jose Blanco of La Aurora, Litto Gomez of La Flor Dominicana, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and Michael Giannini of El Credito Cigars, Benjamin Menendez from General Cigar, Jorge Padron of Padron Cigars, Ashton’s Robert Levin, Carlos Fuente Jr. and Wayne Suarez of Arturo Fuente, and Peter Baenninger of Davidoff of Geneva.

The evening also marked the 87th birthday of the company’s founder, Nubar Pesh, Gary’s father.

“When you’ve been in business for 35 years, you form some relationships,” said Gary Pesh. “It makes it hard to get out of the business when you work with so many friends — both making the cigars and buying the cigars. It’s the relationships that are the driving force in the industry.”

The cigarmakers brought along sticks made specifically for the occasion. Some had specially boxed or banded smokes and some had specially tailored blends and commemorative new sizes. Gary Pesh said he made a commitment to each cigarmaker to buy 1,000 of these limited-release cigars. “I purchased over 14,000 cigars [that night],” he said.

All attendees, which included other area tobacconists and Old Virginia clients, received one of each of the specially made smokes.

According to Vitolas.net, where you can see a box photo as well:

The cigar itself is similar to the Davidoff Diadema Fina blend, but with 3 types of ligero in the cigar (each from a different plant).The ligero is not bunched together, but rather spread out in the cigar to provide for a uniquely complex smoking experience.

• Cigar Reviewed: Davidoff OVTC 35th
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Cigars Davidoff
• Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
• Binder: n/a
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Size: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Perfecto
• MSRP: $22 (Boxes of 10, $220)
• Date Released: April 22, 2006
• Number of Cigars Released: 200 Boxes of 10 Cigars (2,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 1

The cigar itself is an extremely well made double torpedo with a gorgeous milk brown wrapper that is smooth to the touch. There are no obvious veins and it has the perfect give when squeezed. The wrapper smells like a combination of sweet cedar, spices, fruitish and with a coffee undertone.

The first third starts off with strong, dry cedar note, along with leather and coffee. The Kelner musk is in full force almost right off the bat, but I am also getting a bit of spice on my tongue and some white pepper on the retrohale, which is fairly unusual in a Davidoff, in my experience.

The second third was much the same as the first, with that dry cedar note the dominant flavor. Still some coffee and a bit nutty as well, but I also picked up a very distinct flavor of white, unflavored popcorn. The flavor did not last long, probably no more than four puffs, but while it was there, it was strong. The Kelner musk also receded quite a bit, although it was still in the background. Sadly, the spice from the first third, all but disappeared by this point. I would put the strengthat a very mild-medium.

The final third had very little change from the first two-thirds. Same basic profile—the popcorn note never returns—dry cedar, slightly nutty and coffee. No spice or pepper at the end at all.

Final Notes

• I was surprised at the amount of spice that was present in the first third as that is not normal in Davidoff’s profile for the most part. Sadly, it disappeared fairly quickly.
• The burn and draw were phenomenal for the entire smoke, as you would expect from a Davidoff.
• I really enjoyed the vitola, and it was a pleasure to smoke, but if you have one, I would not smoke it after another cigar, make it your first smoke of the day.
• Unlike some of Davidoff’s releases, the Kelner musk, while present and easily identifiable, did not overwhelm the other flavors in the profile at any point.
• The profile of the Davidoff OVTC 35th was quite dry, and it actually burned quite a bit faster then I expected for a cigar of its size and ring gauge.
• The final smoking time only one hour and 25 minutes.

Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.