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If you've been smoking Habanos cigars for some time, no doubt, you would have come across the name, "Zino Davidoff". Born into a family of tobacconists in 1906 in Kiev, Ukraine, his family decided to emigrate to Geneva, Switzerland when Zino was 5. His father opened a small tobacco shop and when Zino had matured to adulthood, he travelled to Central and South America and the Caribbean to learn more about the tobacco leaf. The rest is history, as they say. The following excellent article by Nicola Di Nunzio article was printed in Cigar Journal magazine in mid 2021, but published online later. It is reproduced below: Davidoff: The story of a legend July 13, 2021 Nicola Di Nunzio The legendary Davidoff Château Mouton Rothschild, produced in 1983 To enrich their collections and supplies, many cigar lovers and collectors are always on the lookout for rare cigars or cigars that have been taken out of production. One brand whose cigars are highly sought after is Davidoff, and especially the Havana cigars from the production period in Cuba. Zino Davidoff was born in 1906 in a small town in Ukraine. In 1911, his family decided to emigrate to Switzerland, more precisely Geneva. There, his father, who had been working in the tobacco business for several years, decided to open a small shop that sold cigarettes and pipes. When Zino came of age, he decided to go to South America to learn more about the magical world of tobacco. After working in small factories in Argentina and Brazil, he travelled on to Cuba, where he was intensely involved with the cultivation of tobacco and the production of cigars. In 1930, he returned to Geneva, where he quickly realized that the climate in which the cigars that were made and stored in Cuba was fundamentally different from that of Europe. For this reason, after a few years in his modernized shop in Rue de la Confédération he built a humidor, which then allowed him to store cigars in the most preferable and aroma-sustaining conditions as possible. It was the first ever humidor, thus making Zino Davidoff the inventor of this important utensil for the passionado. A few months after the outbreak of World War II, 1939 Zino Davidoff received an interesting offer from Seita, the French tobacco monopoly. In view of the precarious security situation in France, he was made the offer of purchasing two million Havana cigars. Zino didn’t let this opportunity pass him by, even though he had to secure financial support from a bank. His shop, now in Rue de Marché, thus became one of the few in the whole of Europe in which one could purchase cigars during World War II. After the end of the war, in 1946 Davidoff arranged a meeting with a Cuban delegation to find out whether it was possible to launch exclusive production for himself and his clients. This is how the production of the Château series began with the Hoyo de Monterrey brand, also called Premier Cru Classé. However, the cigars were no longer sold in the then beautiful colorful boxes but in boxes of untreated wood. The Davidoff tubos in the Laguito No.2 format. They were released on the market in tubos – especially invented by Zino to store cigars the correct way In total, the series consists of five different vitolas: a Château Haut-Brion (Perlas* 102 x 15.9 | 4 x 40), Château Lafite (Franciscanos 116 x 15.9 | 4 5⁄8 x 40), Château Margaux (Marevas 129 x 16.7 | 5 1⁄8 x 42), Château Latour (Coronas 142 x 16.7 | 55⁄8×42), Château Yquem(152 x 16.7 | 6 x 42). The vitola de galera of this last cigar was never officially declared and is still unknown. Zino Davidoff’s idea of giving his cigars the name of great French wines proved to be an important innovation for the cigar market. All cigars from the Château series were sold in a slide-lid box (SLB) with 25 or 50 cigars without rings. In 1969, a few years after the meeting between Cubatabaco and Davidoff executives, the first three proposed vitolas of the Davidoff brand were presented: the No.1 (Laguito No.1: 192 x 15.1 | 7 1⁄2 x 38), the No.2 (Laguito No.2: 152 x 15.1 | 6 x 38), and the Ambassadrice (Laguito No.3: 115 x 10.3 | 4 1⁄2 x 26). They were all produced in the El Laguito factory. The cigars produced were decorated with a white ring, on which the brand was emblazoned with gold lettering in the middle. On the side are the words “Habana” and “Cuba.” In 1970, Davidoff introduced a new series, Mille, with five formats: the 1000 (Panetelas 117 x 13.5 | 4 5⁄8 x 34), the 2000 (Marevas 129 x 16.7 | 5 1⁄8 x 42), the 3000 (Ninfas 178 x 13.1 | 7 x 33), the 4000 (Co- ronas Grandes 155 x 16.7 | 6 1⁄8 x 42) and, finally, the 5000 (Coronas Gordas 153 x 18.3 | 6 x 46). In 1977, a certain cigar went down in the history books – because of both its proposed dimensions and its name: the Dom Perignon. The cigar is a Julieta No.2 measuring 178 x 18.7 | 7 x 47. It was presented in a Semi Boîte Nature (SBN) of 10 to 25 sticks and in petacas with four cigars each. Zino Davidoff also used this opportunity to christen his cigar with a name of French excellence, this time inspired by one of the best champagnes in the world. In addition to this, Zino Davidoff introduced innovative packaging, which should be mentioned here: the No.2 was also marketed as Davidoff Tubos, since the SBN contained 20 tubos made of aluminum. The special feature is that, due to a slot in the tubos and by turning this special packaging, air circulation is allowed to pass through and the cigars inside can be ventilated in an ideal way. In 1982, the Château Yquem series was discontinued and shortly afterwards, in 1983, another cigar for the Château series was introduced: the Mouton Rothschild (Coronas Grandes 155 x 16.7 | 6 1⁄8 x 42). In the mid-1980s, the name of another cigar was also changed: the Château Lafite became the Château Lafite-Rothschild. It was also rumored that the name change of these two cigars was due to a legal dispute about the use of the name. The entire Château series continues to be produced in the La Corona factory. In 1986, on the occasion of Zino Davidoff’s 80th birthday, a majestic cigar was presented: the 80 Aniversario (220 x 19.1 | 8 5⁄8 x 48). This vitola de galera was also never declared and is still unknown today. Highly sought after by cigar collectors: the Davidoff Dom Pérignon – a genuine rarity For this limited edition in the literal sense of the phrase, different packaging was provided. The first cabinet features an elegant opening like a book and contains 10 cigars, two of which are in cedar tubes. The second cabinet, a box with a sliding lid, also contains 10 cigars, but these are all preserved in cedar cases and lined up in two rows of five cigars each. Finally, there is the version with 20 cigars, likewise with an opening like a book, and these also contain two cigars in cedar tubos, while the others are lined up in a single row. Davidoff cigars became more and more popular, and demand for them increased accordingly. Nevertheless, after a few years Zino Davidoff became increasingly dissatisfied with his cigars, because there were problems with the draw and burn, which was not ideal. The high quality that had hitherto distinguished the manufacture of Davidoff thus suffered losses. In 1989, together with representatives of Cubatabaco and Swiss customs officials, Zino Davidoff set fire to about 130,000 Havana cigars. (N.B. This last anecdote may be apocryphal.) Due to disagreements with Cubatabaco, the production of Davidoff cigars in Cuba ceased in 1991 and the parties signed an agreement to sell the remaining supply by the end of 1992. At that, production was then moved to the Dominican Republic – but that’s another story. To this day, Davidoff’s Habano cigars are highly coveted among collectors from all over the world and obtain extremely high prices at cigar auctions. Even today, we are grateful to Zino Davidoff, who left us in 1994, for his life’s work, which has made it possible to enjoy unique, high-quality cigars. And in honor of this great man, who dedicated his life to the world of tobacco, we can hopefully continue to light one or two other Davidoff Havana cigars in the future. Source: https://www.cigarjournal.com/davidoff-the-story-of-a-legend/

Hope everyone is having as good an evening as I am, or whatever time of day it is for you. BBF TUE JUL ‘20

PSD4 - EGT AUG 21. Thanks @DX1185

Very nice Well constructed Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

Nudie N7

Last night, the company's annual party ended and I am preparing to welcome the Lunar New Year!

C&C time. RYJ Short Churchill (2017) from our gracious host.

H Upmann Double Claro No.24 Dunhills from 1961

Decided it was time to wade into my box of La Gloria Cubana Turquinos. UBL Dic 22 production, confirmed to be smoking well.

Good afternoon with Partagas Presidentes...

Really enjoying these lately. So satisfying!

..........because I am still pissed off.

What a great idea by J.C. Newman and Co. This would be fun to do if done properly. J.C. Newman Cigar Co. is launching a new experience for visitors: a tobacco tasting class. https://www.cigarjournal.com/j-c-newman-cigar-co-launches-tobacco-tasting-classes/

Had a couple super robustos (Epi2 and D4) over the past few days, so was curious to see how this stacked up. It’s from a FOH prize sampler and has maybe 30-40 days rest. My first time trying it. Some notes below. Overall: - most Cuban open I’ve had from a NC - great construction (even dropped it once!) - classic tightish / Cuban draw - heaps upon heaps of smoke output - no harshness / acrid notes -1- brown sugar, oats, honey, a complex nuttiness that I can’t precisely describe (pine nuts if forced to pick one, but maybe more like a bowl of mixed nuts you might see at a bar in the US?), hints of cream in the background - but not upfront - the nuttiness was the standout / unique note for me mild to medium -2- less of the nuttiness, some orange / citrus (made me think about an old fashioned cocktail), white rice, bread (like traditional French baguettes), milk coffee, blackcurrant jam, still same honey note and hints of other fruits (maybe raisins?) medium at most -3- similar to second third, but I felt the flavours concentrate more around the bread and jam notes - generally intensified and was really enjoyable medium plus Was it better than my great Epi2 or D4? It wasn’t a million miles off. Am I glad I have a bundle currently resting? Absolutely.

Happy Australia Day! I love this country and I love this day Public Holiday in Oz today and so the next regular 2424 will be Monday night NY, Tuesday local at the regular time. However, today we launch the 5 pack Nudie and MOFOH samplers. To launch the samplers and celebrate Australia day, we are happy to provide the coupon code 5PACK for a 10% discount on the samplers and only on the samplers. Free shipping for orders over $125 USD (post discount) COUPON ENDS MONDAY MIDNIGHT NY. Give them a run at this link https://fohmarketplace.com/ Happy Australia Day!!!

You don’t drink anymore AND you’re a Bears fan? Double Respect!,,🏆

Fume d’Amour Capistrano the other day, and a Romeo No. 3 today

Plenty of Guinness to go around should ye ever visit. I’m lucky to live next door to a pub with decent Guinness and a heated smoking area. Always feels more attractive than my back garden.

One of my friends out there sampled this box of cigars. He's a longtime Cuban cigar smoker His comments were that it was a decent smoke and was worthy of adding to his rotation.

.............you may be a minute late and a dollar short Prices aren't coming down. Folk have been waiting since 2022. FOlk can bitch about CC QC as much as they like. It doesn't affect sales. In terms of Trinidad, I purposely cut my orders some 95%. Each week I get asked if I can take more Trinidad. I say "No. You guys screwed the market and they are now largely unsellable". Other retailers are doing the same. End result. Trinidad is the only brand without a proposed price increase this year.

CoRo. Shitty picture, outstanding cigar.

Good evening everyone...

....for the love of god..... please stop.

Just in case I haven't upset enough people this week.

This was a decent smoke. Sig II from 2018. But the idea that these are $35 cigars is ridiculous. And half this box has been plugged.

I know Kirby would love the 6K views this thread has had

Carlota

Siglo VI

Very cool. There was something similar around 2012/13. The Tesa Taster box. A B&M out of Chicago had these made up. It was a sampler of 6 cigars with "puro" rolls of various tobaccos that made them up.

I would prefer the FOH/Nudies version Tour of Fabrica 5 .....a tobacco tasting with hamlet followed by a long lunch with Rob and a champagne tasting led by Ken. That sounds like one hell of a day.

Anyone else!? I've never seen this before. It's a few hours late being 2424. I mean I know you put up with a lorry load of snark and drivel from me. But this was a bit of an eye opener. Maybe I need a bit of an FoH break! 😳😳 Kirby videos will be showing up next...

That's why everything sells out so fast.

Today, distributors in Germany got new pricelist for 1th of March. Same increases like Spain few weeks ago. F. E. a D4 will be 19,5€ 🫣

This was right down the road from me. I think the pilot reacted poorly - ejecting too soon. If the plane flew for as long as it did after punching out.

Simultaneously love and hate your posts... always seems an idyllic spot, a few Liffey waters in the backdrop... makes me want to be in Ireland when I can't! Grand stuff.

CC prices never go down. Best we can hope for is they don't raise them for an extended period allowing inflation to catch up. That's what I expect with Trinidad. I think prices will remain unchanged for years until supply & demand start to equalize.

Couple of poker wins - one from last game of 2023 and one I’m a little behind on posting! Thank you @MoeFOH for hosting and FOH as always!

Home base -Truro Massachusetts Holiday - Jackson Hole Wyoming

Never before in the history of man have the words "over the calf" been repeated so many times in such a short (much shorter than the socks) period of time.

The forum has come up with all sorts of flavour notes from recent Trinidads. Some of the most frequently raised ones are: Donuts, Sandalwood, Cashew nuts, Cake, Tea I am a huge fan of Trinidads and they are fabulous cigars, with a fabulous blend, but they appear to have been lumped into HSA's Cohiba's elite pricing policy. The only problem being is that hype works for Cohiba, and it's target audience. The same audience are not as bothered about Trinidad, so the hiked prices look to have been poorly set.

South West Sri Lanka Cote d’azur, France Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Monte Especiale No. 2 REG ABR 19. One moldy stick in this box, for whatever reason. Cleaned it off, cut the bottom 1/3 to examine the innards. Looked good, smoked that bit a couple weeks ago, then the rest today - muy excellente! Maybe the best one I've ever had.

If your bottle is sound, you are in for a treat. Had this right before COVID and the best glass was the last, a few hours after being opened and into a decanter.

Ninfa

Probably different reasons for different people, but they might include: The Adult Irony - having been a responsible adult and practised deferred gratification for so long, you've forgotten how to get to the point where the gratification is due The Anti-Loreal Syndrome - deep down, you don't believe that You're Worth It The Nicholson Concession - if you smoke/drink your best one, you're conceding that "this is As Good As it Gets". Then how do you face tomorrow?