Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023 has a nice figurado shape with a wrapper that is light brown that carries some raised, knotty veins. The seams are smooth and the head is finished with a tightly wound pigtail. There are two bands, with the primary being the traditional white and gold design for the brand. The secondary band is red and gold, denoting the year being celebrated and the head of a rabbit. The aroma from the wrapper is a light mix of cedar and earth. The foot opening is too small to pick anything up from. The pre-light draw brings lightly sweet, aged cedar along with a mild spice on my lips.
Seth: Rolled well, the perfecto is finished with this great petit pigtail. Few veins present throughout the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023, it is smooth in texture. The cigar is firm in hand with aromas of leather, cedar and barnyard.
John: The Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023 comes in cellophane, and has a UPC sticker with an integrated tear tab to remain intact when opened. The cigar has an artisanal complication of a ‘fuse’ style cap with a piece of tobacco coming off of it and is a perfecto shape. There are two bands with the traditional Davidoff gold on white primary band, and a gold on red ‘YEAR OF THE RABBIT’ secondary band. Aromas from the wrapper were mushroom and green wood. Due to the foot of the perfecto being barely exposed, I wasn’t able to pick out anything unique for aromas.
Jiunn: The Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023 has a decent uniform Colorado wrapper shade. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the mini man bun is well twisted. Aromas from the wrapper tell bread, cedar and a hint of dry barnyard. Cold draws reveal hay and nuts.

Team Cigar Review: Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023

First Third

Aaron: As the cigar begins, there’s a mix of toasted cedar and oak up front along with some earth, black pepper and mushroom mustiness as supporting notes. At a quarter inch in, a floral note joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted cedar and oak, with earth, lightly zingy black pepper and mushroom mustiness. At an inch and a quarter, the mushroom mustiness and floral notes are working pretty well together. As the third comes to a close, the profile is toasted cedar and oak up front, with earth, black pepper and mushroom mustiness behind along with a floral note in the background. The strength was right at medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with herbal and lemon zest notes. There is this focaccia quality, and it has some salted cedar notes and tobacco on the finish as well. Bits of pepper and cream. Almost faint sausage gravy quality. Medium in strength and body. Balanced cigar.
John: My initial flavor impressions are mushroom and intense tannic wood. Sweet creaminess develops through the retrohale as it settles, light-plus red pepper flake is present through the post draw. Some time later, mild chocolate comes into the retrohale. Medium to medium-full dry, tannic wood comes into the post draw as the cigar continues.
Jiunn: The first third shows a complex and balanced flavor profile. Mixed nuts, aged cedar shavings, sweet cherries and creamy bread. Retrohaling provides a sweet and spicy mixture of dried red pepper spice and jammy prunes. The finish is very clean but short, with aged cedar. Strength and body is medium.

Team Cigar Review: Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the earth moves up to become even with the toasted cedar and oak. At a half inch in, a light creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and oak, earth and light mustiness. At an inch in, the floral note has departed. At an inch and a half in, the creaminess has departed. As the third comes to a close, the mustiness has lost the mushroom note as the toasted cedar and oak and earth are even up front with mustiness in the middle with black pepper in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third is very similar with lemon zest and salted cedar notes up front. Some focaccia, pepper, tobacco and herbs on the finish. Some tobacco, cream and leather notes as well. Still medium in strength and body, the cigar is balanced.
John: The second third gets going with mild cotton candy sweetness, musty wood and a mild earth and wood combination to finish. Chocolate returns to the retrohale as the cigar is reaching the halfway point.
Jiunn: The second third continues to impress. The flavors become sweeter and show more minerals, with the creamy bread taking the lead. It’s nice that when I want spice, the retrohale is right there for me to tap into. Strength increases to medium-full, while body remains medium.

Team Cigar Review: Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the combination of toasted woods has become pretty dry. The retrohale is now a dry mix of the toasted cedar, oak and earth. At an inch in, the light floral note reappears. As the cigar wraps up, the profile is toasted cedar and oak and earth even up front with mustiness in the middle and light black pepper and floral note in the background. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
Seth: The final third delivers a peppery spice with cedar flavor profile. Herbal qualities still present, but there is some earthiness and coffee bean qualities as well. Balanced cigar. Smokes cool to the end. Still medium in strength and body.
John: Chocolate and tannic wood pair up leading into the last third. A lingering, dry tannic wood defines the post draw. As the last third develops, a creamy sweet combination is present in the middle of the profile. The last third becomes primarily driven by wood.
Jiunn: The final third’s flavor complexities lessen. I’m mainly left with leathery tannins and aged cedar. Strength and body is unchanged at medium-full and medium, respectively.

Team Cigar Review: Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout and the ash held on in inch and a quarter increments.
Seth: Perfect burn.
John: The burn was straight through the first and second thirds, with unevenness developing in the last third that never required an intervention.
Jiunn: Burn performance was nearly perfect. Some minor deductions for a flowery ash and slightly uneven burn.

Team Cigar Review: Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: Perfect draw.
John: The draw started out initially very resistant, just below a plugged level. It’s not uncommon for perfectos to have a resistant draw, and then once it reaches the shoulder the draw opens up. That was the case here, with the draw being right in the ideal zone once the burn line hit the shoulder.
Jiunn: The draw was great, providing the best balance of resistance and air flow.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with a mix of toasted cedar and oak up front along with some earth, black pepper and mushroom mustiness as supporting notes. A floral note joined in fairly quickly. The second third saw a light creaminess join in for a bit and the floral note departed. The mustiness also lost the mushroom component. The final third saw the profile become pretty dry and the floral note reappeared. The construction was absolutely perfect. The Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023 had a complex profile through the first two thirds and then became less dynamic in the final third. It really amped up the profile from multiple blends the company has employed previously. This is a cigar I’d definitely come back to, but the high price point is a bit of a detractor. Nice to see a step back up for the Year of series.
Seth: The Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023 is a good cigar, and it’s a fun little perfecto. I may need to smoke cigars for another 15 years to get excited about perfectos again, but I do appreciate the transitioning throughout the size that you get with a well blended and made perfecto. The lemon zest, herbal and cedar flavors were enjoyable, but at times I was hoping for a little more. Some earthiness and richness to complement the flavor profile. Overall, a good cigar.
John: The first third on the Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023 seemed like it was going for some nuanced complexity but the profile was very wood driven from the end of the first third through the remainder of the review, leaving me disappointed. The draw and burn were perfect. An ultra premium cigar needs to perform from a construction perspective, but they also need to perform from a flavor perspective. Given how many great cigars Davidoff has in regular production, I couldn’t see myself seeking out another Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Jiunn: This is Davidoff where Davidoff should be. Highly concentrated in flavors, being complex and engaging. I feel like it’s been a couple years since this happened but I’m glad to have smoked this Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023, even though it’s bonkers pricey. With all that great tobacco Davidoff has, there’s really no excuse not to come out with more blends like this.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.82

Cost/Point

$7.33

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

7.17

Cost/Point

$6.98

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$8.20

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.72

Cost/Point

$7.44

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Team Cigar Review: Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition 2023