The Davidoff Yamasa Robusto is a 5x50 hand rolled cigar made in the Cigars Davidoff Factory in the Dominican Republic. The cigar has a Dominican Yamasa wrapper, Dominican San Vincente from Yamasa binder, and Nicaraguan and Dominican filler. This is the 3rd installment from the Davidoff black label offerings. This is the first time Yamasa wrapper has been used in a mass-produced core cigar, and not just in a specialty cigar. Tobacco is very hard to grow in Yamasa due to the climate and soil, but Davidoff took great pains to make this cigar become a reality. Was it worth the effort? Let’s find out.
First impressions: The cigar is light brown with the signature Davidoff band a second red band emblazoned with Yamasa written in white with a black outline and a torpedo cap. Let’s puff… Black and cayenne pepper are up front immediately. It has some beautiful spiciness but is balanced out with underlying coffee and chocolate. As the first 3rd concludes I’m reminded of a Lindt Excellence Chili Dark Chocolate bar.
Halfway through: It lightens up considerably as I get cedar, oak, and creaminess. There’s still some pepper, which I’m not used to from a Davidoff, but it significantly subsided.
The final third: The creaminess starts to blend with almonds and oak. I would say the pepper has almost completely gone away, but it is playing hide and seek as an undertone to the lighter flavors. I get a little hazelnut towards the end, as well.
Overall: It was surprising to get some pepper notes from a Davidoff. I’ve heard they are more prominent in the Robusto, so I’m glad this was my size of choice. This was definitely a very good stick and addition to the Discovery series. MSRP on this is $23, which is about right but maybe a tad bit higher than I’d like to spend. If this was in the $15-$18 price range, it would be a staple in my humidor. But at $23 I’ll make it the occasional grab.
Pass or Smoke? Smoke! And make sure to grab the Robusto if you can find it.
