Davidoff 702 Aniversario No. 3

If you have ever smoked a cigar by Davidoff you know that all Davidoff cigars maintain well-defined standards of quality and excellence. The tobaccos that are used in the different blends have been cultivated in accordance with the most ancient traditions, in the richest soils and ideal climatic conditions of carefully selected fields. All Davidoff cigars are handmade in the Dominican Republic, where for over five centuries this art has been passed on from generation to generation. The 702 Aniversario is a truly unique and special smoke and you will not find the proprietary hybrid wrapper anywhere else. This wrapper leaf is a hybrid-seed of three different strains of Cuban tobacco that is then grown in Ecuador. Underneath is a spicy Dominican binder that holds a bevy of Davidoff’s signature creamy Dominican fillers. Smooth with a razor sharp burn, you may find notes of wood and earth with hints of sweetness throughout. This Cigar Aficionado 90-rated cigar pairs wonderfully with an Americano cocktail.

Though tobacco is indigenous to Hispaniola, the tobacco industry in the Dominican Republic existed in the shadow of Cuba’s dominance through the 1960s. When the exodus of Cuban cigar makers began in the wake of the revolution, many decided the Dominican Republic would be ideal for the resumption of their livelihoods. Unrest in Nicaragua in the 1980s fueled the Dominican cigar industry further. The country now makes more than half of the premium cigars imported into the U.S.

The Cibao Valley and the nearby city of Santiago are the center of cigar production in the Dominican Republic. Three main varieties are grown here: the mild and native Olor Dominicano; the intense Piloto Cubano, brought from the Vuelta Abajo of Cuba; and San Vicente, a milder and more acidic Piloto hybrid. Dominican puros were once unheard of as it was widely thought impossible to grow quality wrapper leaf on the island, but new growing techniques are now allowing some exceptional puros to be produced.