Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Petit Panetela

In January 2020, Davidoff began shipping a new size in the Winston Churchill The Late Hour line, a 4 x 38 vitola the company called a Petit Panetela. At the time, the new addition was a limited release—only 50,000 cigars were produced—and it was only made available to retailers outside of the U.S. market.

Earlier this year, Davidoff announced it was rereleasing The Late Hour Petit Panetela. While the blend, packaging and the vitola did not change, there were two major differences compared to the original version. First, the new incarnation was a global launch, meaning American stores would be able to sell the cigar. Second, the cigars would be a regular production release instead of a limited edition.

“I am very pleased that we can offer this special format to our aficionados permanently now,” said Edward Simon, chief marketing officer of Oettinger Davidoff, in a press release. “We launch the Petit Panetela to give appreciators of the «The Late Hour Series» blend the opportunity for a shorter enjoyment with the same complexity in taste as the long-fillers Robusto, Toro and Churchill of the same line.”

 

As is the case with the rest of the violas in the line—including the first release of the Petit Panetela—the blend is made up of an Ecuadorian habano oscuro wrapper covering a Mexican San Andrés negro binder and filler tobaccos that include Dominican olor, piloto and San Vicente, along with Sumatran tobacco and leaves from the Estelí region of Nicaragua. In addition, the blend includes tobacco grown in the Condega region of Nicaragua that was aged in Scotch whisky casks.

Unlike the rest of the sizes in the Late Hour line, the Petit Panetela is a mixed-filler cigar. This means it uses a whole-leaf wrapper and binder like a normal premium cigar, but the filler is made up of tobacco from leftover cuts.

The Late Hour Petit Panetelas are sold in five-count tins, and each cigar has an MSRP of $10.10. The cigars are made at the Cigars Davidoff factory in the Dominican Republic and tins started shipping to retailers in January 2024.

• Cigar Reviewed: Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Petit Panetela (2024)
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Cigars Davidoff
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano Oscuro Marron)
• Binder: Mexico (San Andrés Negro)
• Filler: Dominican Republic (Olor, Piloto, San Vicente) & Nicaragua (Condega, Estelí)
• Length: 4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 38
• Vitola: Petit Panetela
• MSRP: $10.10 (Tin of 5, $50.50)
• Release Date: January 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Short and diminutive when held in my hand—especially my huge hand—the Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Petit Panetelas are covered in reddish-brown, rough-to-the-touch wrappers. None of the three cigars have much in the way of oil present, but they all feature overt and protruding veins that show up even more prominently due to the cigar’s smaller size. My first cigar has a small soft spot just under the secondary band—the other two do not—and all three cigars are spongy when squeezed. Aromas from the wrappers include sweet woodiness, barnyard, earth, cinnamon, coffee beans and creamy nuts, along with some light raisin sweetness. That sweet raisin note is quite a bit more obvious when I bring the feet of the cigars to my nose, along with other scents of dry hay, baker’s spices, sourdough bread, gritty earth, creamy wood and a slight vegetal note. Finally, after straight cuts, the cold draws bring flavors of creamy oak, leather tack, cinnamon, black pepper, brewed black coffee and sweet oranges.

The cigar starts off with a somewhat surprising amount of spice on my tongue, along with a gritty earth note that begins to fade almost as soon as I register it. Main flavors of anise and cocoa nibs quickly take over the top spots in the profile, followed by oak, roasted peanuts, baker’s spices, toasted bread and citrus peel. The retrohale features plenty of black pepper and floral sweetness, the latter of which seems only to be getting stronger as the first third burns down. The flavor ends the first third at medium-full, while the body hits a point just under the medium mark and the strength crosses into solid medium territory. There are literally no issues with any aspect of the construction on any of the cigars, as the razor-sharp burn lines, copious smoke production and excellent draws are all working together nicely so far.

Coming into the second third of The Late Hour Petit Panetela, and the anise note has moved to the background, leaving the powdery cocoa nibs all along at the top of the profile. However, the amount of floral sweetness present on the retrohale has increased dramatically—the black pepper remains about the same compared to the first third—leading to an amazing combination of chocolate and floral that I am really enjoying. Secondary flavors of charred meat, roasted peanuts, sourdough bread, creamy oak, baker’s spices and gritty earth show up a various points, but one cigar features quite a bit more of the anise note than the other two while another leaves a mineral saltiness on my lips that the other two lack. Flavor easily hits full by the halfway point, while the strength and body are both at a solid medium. The construction continues to be a high point of these cigars, and I experience exactly zero issues with the burns, draws or smoke production through the second third.

The final third of The Late Hour Petit Panetela is dominated by the same combination of cocoa nibs and floral sweetness that defined the second third, and that is not a bad thing in the slightest. Additional flavors of roasted peanuts, toasted bread, creamy oak, cinnamon, leather tack and citrus peel flit in and out, and I notice a significant increase in the amount of spice present on my tongue for two of the cigars. There is also a slight increase in the amount of black pepper on the retrohale for all three cigars, but it does not come close to drowning out the aforementioned floral sweetness that remains a main flavor until the end. The flavor remains at full, and the strength bumps up slightly to medium-plus, but the body stays put at a solid medium. Finally, my final cigar needs a quick burn correction to keep on track—the burn lines for the other two cigars are razor sharp—but there is more than enough smoke emanating from the feet and the draws on all three cigars feature just the right amount of resistance until the last puffs.

Final Notes

• Six months after its debut in 2014, Davidoff claimed that the relaunched Winston Churchill brand was the most successful launch in the company’s history at the time.
• Interestingly, the Davidoff webpage for this cigar does not explicitly point out that it is a mixed filler cigar; in fact, the closest it comes is text reading that The Late Hour Petit Panetela has the “…same signature complexity in taste as the long-fillers of the line.”
• That page also states that the smoking time for these cigars should be 15 minutes, which would dictate a puff rate that I would not recommend.

• According to the measurements that were taken, the three The Late Hour Petit Panetelas I smoked for this review were the lightest cigars we have ever weighed. They were also extremely consistent with one another, with very little variance when it came to ring gauge, weight or length.
• When Davidoff sold the first incarnation of the Petit Panetela, the company also released a limited set of spirits glasses to complement the new addition to the line. In conjunction with this newest version, Davidoff announced it would be selling two new Winston Churchill-branded humidors, which you can read about here.
• The Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Robusto took the second place award on halfwheel’s Top 25 list in 2022.
• I love the presentation of these cigars: the tin is extremely well-designed and well-made, and I could easily see myself putting one of them in a jacket pocket to take out and share with friends.
• I cannot say enough about the construction on these cigars: the burn line almost never wavered from razor-sharp—only one cigar needed a very minor correction with my lighter late in the final third—the draws had just the right amount of resistance and there was never a lack of dense, gray smoke from the feet.
• Davidoff of Geneva USA advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time averaged 56 minutes for all three cigars.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Petit Panetela cigars, site sponsors Famous Smoke Shop and JR Cigar have them for sale on their respective websites.

Update (April 25, 2024) — One line in this review referenced this cigar as a “short filler” cigar, it is a mixed filler cigar.