Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021

In 2007, Davidoff of Geneva USA launched a brand new brand named after Winston Churchill, the famous Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has become synonymous with cigar smoking. Appropriately named Winston Churchill, the brand was the only non-White Label cigar rolled at the Cigars Davidoff factory in the Dominican Republic.

Seven years later, the brand was relaunched as Davidoff Winston Churchill which marketed to show off six different aspects of its namesake’s personality: the aristocrat, the artist, the commander, the raconteur, the statesman and the traveler. The four vitola-line not only featured upgraded packaging and a completely different blend than the original release, but also was purposely sold at a lower price point.

In 2016, the Davidoff Winston Churchill was given its first limited edition in the form of The Raconteur, a 6 x 56 toro extra that was released to commemorate Churchill’s stories and storytelling ability. That was followed three years later by the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2019 The Traveler, a two-vitola line that included one vitola sold worldwide—a 5 x 50 robusto limited to 8,000 boxes of 10—and a smaller 5 x 43 corona that was sold at duty-free markets outside the U.S. packaged in packs of five with only 22,500 cigars released.

After skipping a year, the company announced another limited edition to the line in January: the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021. This time around, there is only one vitola, a 6 x 52 toro packaged in boxes of 10 featuring artwork that is supposed to mimic a chessboard.

“Sir Winston Churchill was an exceptional man whose personality had so very many facets of brilliant talents, from statesman to commander, from author to painter – a unique character of its time,” said Edward Simon, chief marketing officer at Oettinger Davidoff AG, in a press release. “Usually, these personalities transform into mere history book figures, but not Sir Winston Churchill who still today is one of the most renowned and appraised public figures of the 20th century. At Davidoff we are humbled and excited to bringing to life the many dimensions and stories of this incredible leader, artist and writer while Sir Winston keeps carrying such deep inspiration to the world of today.”

Blend-wise, the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 incorporates an Ecuadorian wrapper covering a Dominican hybrid 257 binder and five different filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, including Dominican Piloto Ligero, Dominican Hybrid 20-20 Seco, Dominican San Vicente, Mejorado Ligero, Dominican San Vicente Viso and Nicaraguan Estelí Viso. Each cigar carries a retail price of $32 and the release is limited to just 4,500 10-count boxes for the U.S. market that began shipping to retailers in February.

The Davidoff Winston Churchill line now includes 10 different releases.

• Davidoff Winston Churchill Petit Corona (4 1/2 x 41) — $9.90 (Boxes of 20, $198) — January 2015 — Regular Production
• Davidoff Winston Churchill Robusto (5 1/4 x 52) — $15.40 (Boxes of 20, $308) — January 2015 — Regular Production
• Davidoff Winston Churchill Toro (6 x 54) — $16.90 (Boxes of 20, $338) — January 2015 — Regular Production
• Davidoff Winston Churchill Churchill (6 7/8 x 47) — $17.90 (Boxes of 20, $358) — January 2015 — Regular Production
• Davidoff Winston Churchill Petit Panetela (4 x 38) — $6.35 (Tins of 5, $31.75) — July 2015 — Regular Production
• Davidoff Winston Churchill Belicoso (4 1/2 x 46) — $7.25 (Tins of 4, $29) — July 2015 — Regular Production
• Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2016 The Raconteur (6 x 56) — $27.90 (Boxes of 10, $279) — January 2016 — 6,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (60,000 Total Cigars)
• Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2019 The Traveler Robusto (5 x 50) — $29.90 (Boxes of 10, $299) — January 2019 — 8,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (80,000 Total Cigars)
• Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2019 The Traveler Corona (5 x 43) — $27.90 (Packs of 5, $279) — January 2019 — 4,500 Packs of 5 Cigars (22,500 Total Cigars)*
• Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 (6 x 56) — $32 (Boxes of 10, $320) — February 2021 — 4,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (45,000 Total Cigars)

*Not pictured.

• Cigar Reviewed: Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Cigars Davidoff
• Wrapper: Ecuador
• Binder: Dominican Republic (Hybrid 257)
• Filler: Dominican Republic (Piloto Ligero, Hybrid 20-20 Seco, San Vicente Mejorado Ligero, San Vicente Viso) & Nicaragua (Estelí Viso)
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $32 (Box of 10, $320)
• Release Date: February 2021
• Number of Cigars Released: 4,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (45,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Visually, the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 features a mocha brown wrapper that includes both a bit of tooth as well as a small of oil and a number of prominent veins. The cigar is spongy when squeezed and I can tell there is a slight box-press to the foot, although the rest of the cigar is round. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of strong leather, cocoa nibs, hay, generic nuts, sawdust, earth and mushrooms, while the cold draw brings flavors of cocoa powder, peanuts, espresso beans, leather, hay, cedar and a slight vanilla sweetness.

Starting out, the first third of the Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 features plenty of black pepper but almost no spice on either my lips or my tongue—although I am noticing some mineral saltiness on the latter—along with a profile dominated by a sweet and creamy oak note. Secondary flavors of leather, earth, tree bark, cocoa nibs and slight mushroom mustiness flit in and out and there is a very distinct honey sweetness that is present on the retrohale, where it combines very nicely with the aforementioned black pepper. In terms of construction, both the burn and draw are excellent so far, while the amount of thick, off-white smoke pouring from the foot is is well above average. Strength-wise, the Davidoff starts out fairly mild, but it shows signs of ramping up quickly, ending the first third closer to medium than mild.

Not only does the sweetness on the retrohale increase quite a bit during the second third of the newest Winston Churchill Limited Edition, but it also changes into a much more distinct Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal note that combines nicely with the creamy oak flavor that continues to dominate my palate. Lesser flavors of cocoa nibs, popcorn, earth, mushrooms, espresso beans, leather, hay and slight floral fight for space in the profile, while the amount of black pepper on the retrohale stays about the same. Construction-wise, the burn and draw continue to impress but the amount of smoke production has actually decreased just a bit, although there is no change in density that I can discern. In terms of strength, the cigar increases enough to hit a point very close to a medium mark by the time the second third comes to an end, although it seems content to stay around that area for the time being.

While there are a couple of notable changes, the profile during the final third of the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 is quite similar to the preceding third, including the familiar dominant flavor of sweet, creamy oak and the same Cinnamon Toast Crunch sweetness on the retrohale. Additional notes of gritty earth, mushrooms, leather, bitter dark chocolate, sourdough bread, dried tea leaves and flowers are also present in various amounts, while the black pepper on the retrohale is still very noticeable, albeit at a slightly lower level compared to the first two thirds. The construction continues to give me no issues with either the draw or the burn while the strength does manage to hit a point just above medium by the time I put the nub down with a bit more than an inch remaining.

Final Notes

• The Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2016 The Raconteur took the 11th place in halfwheel’s Top 25 list in 2016.
• Davidoff’s website states that the smoking time on this cigar is 60 minutes, which is about half of the amount of time I ended up taking for each sample.

• I was really impressed with the detail that was put into designing the packing on this release, like the checkerboard pattern used on the logo on the front of the box.
• The 2016 version of the Winston Churchill Limited Edition featured secondary bands printed with quotes from Churchill himself, including one that read “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
• There were also two different accessories released in conjunction with the Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021: a tabletop torch lighter that incorporates a dual flame into a concrete base with gold accents made in Europe and limited to 600 pieces priced at $290 each, and a French-made porcelain ashtray produced by Artoria Limoges that is branded with the same logo that is limited to 700 pieces and priced at $250.
• Davidoff advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time averaged one hour and 57 minutes for all three samples.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Corona Cigar Co. and Famous Smoke Shop all have the Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2021 in stock.