Pre-light Experience

The Davidoff Year of the Pig is a fat cigar, fitting for the name and comes with a nice pigtail cap. Also fitting for the name. It is very dark in appearance, Dark Colorado with touches of Maduro and it is toothy in texture. There is a gritty texture to it, but at the same time some oils present. There are noticeable veins throughout and the wrapper has an aroma of leather, earth and oak. The foot is giving off some notes of spice, rich earth, cedar, hay and additional oak qualities.

First Third

The first third has a great start and it is delivering this smoky characteristic with soft spices, oak and rich earth. There is some creaminess present as well and it has some faint coffee bean notes. It has a nice complexity and richness to it, and goes well with the strength and body which are at a medium-full to full level.

Second Third

When I get into the second third of the cigar, I find there to be a continuation of the smoky and oak qualities and with that are those soft spices, leather, dry earth and finish of cream and coffee beans. While it is not showing a lot of transitioning, the flavor profile has depth and complexity to it. The cigar has reached a full level in terms of strength and body, and this cigar is rocking.

Final Third

I am in the final third of the cigar now and it has shown some transitioning and turned it up a notch at the same time. There is that oaky core to the cigar and it is paired with strong spices, showing red and black pepper notes. It also has some dry earth and leather qualities to it which help in upping the body and strength. It is a full strength and body cigar, and I haven’t had a Davidoff sneak up on me in strength like this before.

Burn

The burn line was quite wavy and sometimes off with this cigar. It wasn’t poorly constructed, but I believe the wrapper leaf played a factor. It felt like a thick leaf and with the oils present, that could have done it. The ash produced held on fairly well and it was a dark charcoal with touches of black as well.

Draw

Draw was good on the cigar as well. For being a large ring gauge cigar, it was not too loose but at the same time it was not as snug as I like it. I think if it had the snugness I liked, it would have taken forever to smoke.

Overall

The Davidoff Year of the Pig is a strong cigar in terms of strength and it produces filling and stronger flavors as well. It has some body to it which is present from start to finish, and much more so than past Davidoff releases. I think it is the strongest of the Zodiac Series releases and possibly the strongest Davidoff I have had. It has this solid smokiness and oak profile throughout which is quite enjoyable and the cream notes really balance it out. While it lacked some transitioning initially, it did show some later on which helped with the profile that had depth and decent complexity. I don’t think it has the complexity that past Zodiac Series releases have had, but at the same time it is nothing like any of the other past Zodiac releases. I believe it to be a major departure from past releases and intentionally meant to be going in a different direction. The Davidoff Year of the Pig is a good cigar that will do well with those looking for a stronger cigar. If you are looking for a lighter offering that is more flavor focused like years past, this might not be your cup of tea.

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.42

Cost/Point

$6.08

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: Davidoff Year of the Pig