Davidoff

Zino Davidoff was born on 11 March 1906 in present-day Ukraine: in Kiev according to swissinfo (11 March 2006), in Novhorod-Siverskyi according to Wikipedia. According to the house's chronology, his family left Kiev in 1911 to settle in Geneva, where his father, Henri Davidoff, opened his first tobacco shop.

The house dates the birth of the Davidoff cigar brand to 1968: the first white-band cigars, created in Cuba by Zino Davidoff, came out that year; according to Wikipedia, it was Cubatabaco that had approached Davidoff in 1967 with a proposal, and the first three vitolas date from 1968-1969. In 1970, the Oettinger group took over Zino Davidoff's Geneva shop, and Ernst Schneider, who had led the group since 1961, set about making it an international brand.

Since 1991, says the house, all Davidoff cigars have been hand-rolled in the Dominican Republic, at Villa González (Santiago), where AVO, The Griffin's, Cusano, Private Stock and Zino Platinum are also made. On the break with Cuba, the pages differ. According to the trade press, Zino Davidoff set fire in 1989, together with representatives of Cubatabaco and Swiss customs officers, to about 130 000 Havana cigars; after disputes with Cubatabaco and problems of draw and combustion, Davidoff's production in Cuba ceased in 1991, with an agreement providing for the remaining stock to be sold off before the end of 1992. Wikipedia writes that Zino Davidoff and Cubatabaco jointly decided to end their relationship after numerous disputes over quality and rights, and that the break was formalised in 1990-1991; the retailer Holt's writes that in 1991 Zino had dissolved the relationship and moved all production to the Dominican Republic, citing the loss of quality control. The house's chronology dates only the Dominican rolling, from 1991 on.

The catalogue then widened: in 2007 the group acquired the exclusive rights to the name Winston Churchill for a cigar, and the line was launched in May 2008; Davidoff Nicaragua, under a black band, came out in 2013; Yamasá, the third black-band Davidoff, with Dominican wrapper and binder, in 2016.

In 2021 the house celebrated thirty years of Dominican production (1991-2021), which it associates with the start of its 'Crop-to-Shop' philosophy; in 2025, the extension of the site is meant to double the annual production of hand-rolled cigars, and includes a 1 700 m² blending centre.

Range Depth

• Signature

  Wrapper Ecuador · Strength Mild

  A line of the White Band Collection. The Signature 2000, a corona with a ring gauge of 43 and a length of 12.9 cm, appeared in 1976 in the Mille Series (zigarren.zone, 12 February 2026); 2026 is its fiftieth anniversary, with an anniversary sticker on five presentations, says the house. For this Signature 2000, the house gives tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Ecuador and an intensity of 1.5 out of 5 on its scale; the wrapper is Ecuadorian, the binder and filler Dominican according to zigarren.zone (CigarSense writes an Ecuadorian hybrid binder). Hand-rolled at Villa González (Santiago), like all Davidoff cigars since 1991, says the house. The Aniversario form a distinct line of the White Band Collection, launched in 1986 for Zino Davidoff's 80th birthday.

  Anniversario No.1 · Anniversario No.2 · 2000 · 3000 · 4000 · 5000

• Winston Churchill

  Wrapper Ecuador (Habano, Late Hour) · Strength Medium-Full

  Worldwide launch in May 2008, says the house, after the group's acquisition, in 2007, of the exclusive rights to produce, market and sell cigars under the name Winston Churchill. Two series: The Original Series (intensity 4 out of 5 on the house's scale) and The Late Hour Series (intensity 4.5 out of 5), presented on 12 June 2017, in which a Condega tobacco was aged for about six months in scotch single malt casks (Cigar Dojo). The house gives tobaccos from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Ecuador for both series; for the Late Hour, Cigar Dojo describes an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over a Mexican Negro San Andrés binder.

  Toro · Robusto · Churchill · The Original · The Late Hour · The Statesman

• Nicaragua

  Wrapper Nicaragua (Habana Oscuro) · Strength Full

  Launched in 2013, under a black band, says the house, whose entry specifies that Davidoff is a brand and not a territory. The Box Pressed version, announced in February 2016 (Cigar Coop, 22 February 2016), combines a Nicaraguan Habana Oscuro wrapper, a Habana Jalapa binder and a filler from Ometepe, Condega and Estelí, with a reinforced ligero priming; Robusto 5 x 48 and Toro 6 x 52. The house's shop describes the box-pressed Toro as made of 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos, intensity 4.5 out of 5 on its scale. Cigar Coop gives the Dominican Republic (Tabadom) as the country of rolling, which the house's chronology corroborates (all Davidoff cigars rolled at Villa González since 1991).

  Box Pressed Toro · Box Pressed Robusto · Box Pressed Torpedo

• Back2Back

  Wrapper Connecticut Shade, Nicaragua · Strength Mild-Medium

  A take-over of the Room101 Big Payback: according to Cigar Coop (27 July 2018), Back2Back is its reincarnation, Matt Booth having kept the Room101 names and Davidoff the blends; the New York artists UR NY (Fernando Romero and Mike Baca) sign the boxes. Launched by Davidoff at the IPCPR in July 2018 according to Cigar Coop; released in October 2018 according to Corona Cigar Co. and Blind Man's Puff (17 July 2020), which rate it as mild to medium in strength. Two versions, Connecticut (Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper, Mexican binder, Dominican filler) and Nicaragua (puro), in 5 x 50, 6 x 60 and 7 x 70. Hand-rolled in Honduras, at Diadema Cigars de Honduras according to Cigar Coop (2018); Blind Man's Puff (2020) gives Tabadom as the factory. A 2019 limited edition was presented at the IPCPR in July 2019 (Cigar Coop). In October 2026, the line does not appear on the brand page of davidoff.com.

🥃 Pairings

• Dom Pérignon 2013

  Champagne

  The finesse and complexity of Dom Pérignon accompany the lighter Davidoff ranges in a pairing of equal elegance.

• Dalmore King Alexander III

  Whisky

  The sherried richness of the Dalmore harmonizes with the Winston Churchill range — two tributes to British greatness.

• Short, low-acid espresso

  Coffee

  A short, low-acid espresso readily accompanies a cigar at the end of a meal, including the fuller-bodied lines such as Nicaragua.

👤 Associated figures

• Zino Davidoff

  His family left Kiev for Geneva in 1911, where Henri Davidoff opened a tobacco shop. Zino Davidoff created the first white-band cigars in Cuba in 1968; in 1970, the Oettinger group took over his Geneva shop, says the house. He died in 1994.

• Winston Churchill (tribute)

  The Oettinger Davidoff group acquired in 2007 the exclusive rights to the name Winston Churchill for a cigar, and the line was launched in May 2008, says the house.

✨ Notable limited editions

• Davidoff Year of the Rabbit 2023
• Davidoff Year of the Dragon 2024
• Davidoff Year of the Snake 2025
• Davidoff Oro Blanco
• Davidoff Aniversario No. 1 Limited Edition Collection 2023