Davidoff Aniversario No. 1 Limited Edition Collection

Davidoff

• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Cigars Davidoff
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
• Binder: Ecuador
• Filler: Dominican Republic (Piloto Viso, San Vicente Viso & San Vicente Mejorado Viso)
• Length: 8 2/3 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Vitola: Double Corona
• MSRP: $64 (Box of 10, $640)
• Release Date: October 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 6,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (65,000 Total Cigars)
• Original Score: 92

In 2023, Davidoff brought back three previously discontinued cigars—Aniversario No. 1, Classic No. 1 and Millenium Blend Lancero—as limited edition releases as part of something the company called Cigar History Re-Rolled. Alternatively, this could be called: we are bringing back some of our favorite cigars, but ones that didn’t sell well because of the vitola. So they are all limited!

The 2023 release was at least the third incarnation of this cigar, which dates back to Cuba and Zino Davidoff. In 1986, Davidoff released the Davidoff 80 Aniversario, a cigar created by Zino Davidoff to celebrate his 80th birthday. He wanted a cigar that he could light up while he was still 79 but keep smoking well into the early hours of his 80s. So he made a cigar that was roughly 9 inches long. It ended up being the last new Cuban Davidoff created before the brand left for the Dominican Republic. Once there, a Dominican version was made, which became known as Aniversario No. 1. In 2016, it was discontinued.

At the very least, the 2023 version uses a different binder than the one that was discontinued in 2016. I’m not going to pretend to be an expert in what that cigar tasted like. Like so many of you, the length and price kept the Aniversario No. 1 out of my regular rotation. As for the 2023 version, I wish I had the luxury of time and money to smoke more of these. It is an elite cigar. As a staff, we were divided about what the best segment of this cigar was: one of us described the first third as “absolutely divine,” another called the final two thirds “something special,” and I met them in the middle and said that the flavor was “excellent” in the first two thirds.

Due to its size, price and availability, this isn’t an everyday cigar, but if you need a special occasion cigar—perhaps you are turning 80—this is a cigar in rarefied air. Based on how we scored the Aniversario No. 1 Limited Edition Collection, it would have been halfwheel’s #1 cigar in just about any other year. — Charlie Minato.