Pre-light Experience

The Davidoff Royal Robusto is lovely in appearance and finished with a solid Colorado wrapper. The wrapper is silky in texture with small to medium sized veins present throughout. It is firm in hand, and finished with a lovely cap. The wrapper has an aroma of cedar, sweet spices, soft earth and faint leather. The foot is giving off rich earth and dark chocolate qualities. Touches of spice are present as well.

First Third

The first third opens with cedar, hay and black pepper notes. There are some creamy aspects with the cigar, and it has a finish of tobacco and cocoa powder. There are some floral aspects present as well, and touches of coconut shavings. I would classify the cigar as being between medium and medium-full for strength and body.

Second Third

The second third delivers a flavor profile of cedar, tobacco, hay and pepper spices. Black pepper is more pronounced in this third. Dry earth and herbal qualities are present as well, along with those coconut shaving flavors. The strength and body have picked up, and the cigar is smoking at a medium-full level.

Final Third

The final third shows additional transitioning as a cigar. Dry earth notes are more pronounced, and with that are strong black pepper and tobacco flavors. Cedar and hay are still present, and it has an herbal and floral quality on the finish. Some coconut shaving flavors are still there. Touches of dark cocoa and coffee are also present. Medium-full in strength and body.

Burn

The burn on the cigar was perfect throughout.

Draw

The draw was perfect from beginning to end.

Overall

I’ve smoked the Davidoff Royal Release Robusto and Salomones before, but it was great to smoke an unbanded Robusto from 2014. You could tell that there was age on the cigar, but even with over ten years of age, the cigar still had flavors, body and strength. The cigar showed nice transitioning throughout and delivered a solid flavor profile. The coconut shaving flavor present throughout was great, and I liked the rise in strength and body with more pepper and earth notes as the cigar progressed. I find a lot of Davidoff releases are linear in terms of the flavor profile throughout, but it is with their LE’s that you see more transitioning. Nice creamy aspects with cedar and pepper, but also accompanied by earth, tobacco and cocoa flavors. Beautiful construction. Expensive cigar, but a nice treat.

Seth Geise

SCORE

7.17

Cost/Point

$10.47

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: Davidoff Royal Robusto