Davidoff Special Short Perfecto
DavidoffOrigin : Dominican Republic
Format : Perfecto
Size : 4.8 x 52
Wrapper : Ecuadorian Shade Grown
Filler : Dominican Republic
Binder : Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : ~$13 each
See this review with pics @
http://www.cigarinspector.com
It has been a loooooonnnggg time since I smoked my last Davidoff, so I thought it would only be appropriate to revisit them again. Awhile back, I picked up a variety pack of Opus X’s and decided to throw in some Henke Kelner smokes along with the shipment. The hitchhikers in the Opus package were the Avo Heritage Short Robusto (future review coming) and the Davidoff Special Short Perfecto. I like smaller format cigars, and really took an intrigue in the little perfecto shape from the Special Series. I knew I was taking a gamble purchasing it at $13, but sometimes gambles pay off. So check it out below:
Appearance : ★★★★★
I can’t say this little perfecto lacks beauty. It is cloaked in a light brown/caramel colored Ecuadorian wrapper. Very much looks like the usual Davidoff Yamasa wrapper that they use on a lot of their smokes. The cigar is light in the hand, smooth on the outside with no bumps, and has no loose seams. No discernible veins are a rare sight to see and very much welcomed. Squeezing down the length reveals no soft spots and feels very well packed. At the foot is a nice little pointy end (which I call a nipple!). I stick my nose to the cigar and smell barnyard, caramel, and vanilla. The band is one of my favorites, very classy indeed.
Construction : ½☆☆☆☆
The cigar cut clean, and once snipped straight across the head, the dry draw seemed very, very tight. But upon lighting, the draw did not impede the smoke curiously. After the burn reaches past the nippled end, the draw opened up and a good amount of thin smoke then could be pulled. A common problem with perfectos was noticed soon afterwards when the perfecto started to burn unevenly. The ash was very flaky and didn’t hold well, dropping in my lap several times and almost setting myself on fire. About an inch into the cigar it began dying out, and I could only pull small amounts of smoke. Eventually it did die out. This ultimately happened twice before reaching halfway through the stick. The misery only continued through the second half when it went out another three times.
Flavor : ★★½☆☆
After sparking the foot, thin to medium smoke revealed a funky hay flavor laced with a hint of vanilla which was slightly sweet. The retrohale is intoxicatingly unique with funk, barnyard, and cedar. A little farther down the cigar revealed some graham cracker flavors. So far not overly complex, nor exciting except for the retrohale. The flavors just seemed to be okay with me, and scored around the mild to medium body for me. In the 2nd third the flavors died down to a simple hay note. Definitely one dimensional at this point and this Davidoff started to leave me bored. Due to multiple burn problems and outages I chunked the last third in frustration.
Value : ★☆☆☆☆
$13 a pop,……..wowza! Won’t make that mistake again. I’ve smoked other Davidoffs before this one and have always been okay with them, but this was a complete let down. I can guarantee I won’t be buying this ever again.
Davidoff Special Short Perfecto
Overall Rating : ★½☆☆☆
I truly hate slamming cigars, and try to look at the brighter sides of the smoking experience of each smoke, but this was downright unacceptable at the price point. I was left very disappointed with this one, and it kind of left me doubting whether I would ever smoke another Davidoff. I can’t really say that others would perform better, but I only smoked one of these for this review (just didn’t see the need to try this one multiple times). I even dry boxed this one for awhile before smoking in hopes of avoiding the imperfect perfecto burns I usually experience. I felt like Davidoff owed me something after this experience. But anyways, it did after all deliver a unique flavor profile that may appeal to many other people, but personally I am just okay with them. The flavors kind of reminded me of a Cuban Romeo and Julieta with its aroma and hay flavors. I would much rather have bought a R&J though, so all in all I recommend spending your money elsewhere than on this little doozy.
[Reply]