At the Dutch Big Smoke, which took place in the weekend of 16 & 17 september in Amsterdam & Almere, Davidoff introduced their 702 series to the Dutch audience. Now I was involved with the first 5 Big Smokes before the Dutch FDA shot us down, and my former Big Smoke partner decided for a different set up after a year of absence, a set up that is allowed within the strict Dutch regulations. I wasn’t involved and I didn’t like the set up. I was at one of the participating shops though with Riste from Jas Sum Kral and Juan Martinez (Joya de Nicaragua), Tom Mulder (La Sagrada Familia), Alex Svensson (Cigars International) and George Sosa (Alec Bradley) were there too.

Anyhow, on the second day of the event the Davidoff rep walked in, I have known him for years, and I jokingly say “hey, you didn’t bring me the new cigar?”. He reached into his pocket and handed me the Davidoff 702 series 2000. The binder and filler are the same as the regular production Davidoff as far as I know but the wrapper is a tobacco created from different Cuban strains and grown in Ecuador and it’s the same as the 2009 limited edition, but now in a regular production setting.

When I take the cigar out of the cellophane I notice how dark the wrapper is and it’s thick, creating a wrinkle at the foot because of a vein. The ring is Davidoff quality, classic but well printed and the secondary ring uses the same white and gold by being split in a golden top with white letters 2000 and a white bottom with golden letters 702 series. The cigar has the right resistance when I touch it, the shape is pretty, so the rollers did a good job. The aroma is strong and is definitely a stable aroma, hay, manure, urine, straw, live stock. It sounds disgusting but in a cigar its exactly what you expect to smell.

I decapped the cigar with a Xikar guillotine cutter from the Procigar gift box from a few years back. The cold draw is good, quite spicy. The first puff is coffee and a little chocolate. The chocolate disappears immediately and is replaced by a peanut flavor, still with the coffee. After half an inch i mainly taste a salty peanut flavor. Halfway the peanuts turns earthy and peppery. The final third starts salty again.

The draw is fantastic. The smoke is medium in thickness and volume. The burn needed a touch up twice to correct. The ash is a little frayed yet firm. I would call this cigar medium at most, both in flavor and body. The smoke time is and hour and twenty five minutes.

Would I buy this cigar again? It’s not for my palate, technically a very good cigar though.

Score: 88

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