Winston Churchill The Late Hour Series From Davidoff Gets A Belicoso

[JohnS]

Winston Churchill The Late Hour Series From Davidoff Gets A Belicoso

The Dominican brand is getting a short new size at relatively lower price

Dec 5, 2025 - By David Savona 

Photos/Davidoff 

If you named Sir Winston Churchill as history’s greatest and most passionate cigar enthusiast, few could argue with the logic. The famed British Prime Minister guided his country through the horrors of World War II, staring down the menace of Nazi Germany and smoking cigars all day long while doing so. Davidoff of Geneva has two lines named after him, and the more powerful of the duo will soon be getting a new size. 

Come late January, Winston Churchill «The Late Hour Series» will have a new, short size called the Belicoso. It’s not only small, it’s fairly inexpensive. That’s because it’s not a long-filler cigar but a mixed-fill cigar, meaning it’s made with a combination of short-filler and long-filler tobaccos. When you make a long-filler cigar, there are cuts and scraps, smaller pieces that are left over from handmade production. Short filler burns hotter and faster than long filler and is considerably less expensive.

The blend is an Ecuadoran wrapper, Mexican binder and a mix of Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. Some of the Nicaraguan filler is aged in casks that once held Scotch whisky.

The Belicoso (the first figuardo in «The Late Hour Series») will retail for $12.40 a cigar, and measures 4 1/2 inches long by 46 ring gauge. They come in metal tins of four cigars and are rolled in the Dominican Republic. 

By comparison, it’s less than half the price of the larger, long-filler versions in the line: Robusto (5 by 52, about $27), Toro (6 by 54, about $30) and Churchill (7 by 49, about $31). There is also a Petit Corona, which measures 4 1/2 inches long by 41 ring, which is made with mixed filler. That cigar retails for about $16.

The Belicoso is meant for quicker smoking, given its short and relatively thin size, and the mixed filler inside. In a statement, Davidoff estimated that it was a 20-to-30-minute smoke. 

Winston Churchill The Late Hour cigars have historically scored in the mid to upper 80s in Cigar Aficionado’s blind taste tests. 

Look for the cigars starting on January 22.

Source: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/winston-churchill-the-late-hour-series-from-davidoff-gets-a-belicoso

[JohnS]

Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Belicoso Launching in January

December 4, 2025 - Charlie Minato

In January, Davidoff will introduce the first non-parejo vitola to its Winston Churchill The Late Hour line.

The Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Belicoso measures 4 1/2 x 46. Blend-wise, The Late Hour uses an Ecuadorian habano oscuro wrapper over a Mexican San Andrés negro binder and five different fillers: three from the Dominican Republic—olor, piloto and San Vicente—and leaves from Condega and Estelí, Nicaragua. The Condega tobacco is aged in barrels that previously held Scotch whisky.

Each cigar has an MSRP of $12.40 and they are sold in metal tins of four. In the U.S., the cigars are scheduled to go on sale on Jan. 22, 2026.

Notably, in a press release, Davidoff says that the cigar is “medium filler,” which means that at least some of the filler is short filler tobaccos, small pieces of tobacco from leftover leaves. The wrapper and binder are longfiller. The cigars are made by hand.

“I am thrilled to add the Belicoso to our «The Late Hour Series», which has become a true favourite for aficionados in the industry,” said Edward Simon, csmo at Oettinger Davidoff, in a press release. “The launch of the figurado underlines our commitment to delivering exceptional craftsmanship and versatility. Belonging to the growing category of cigars for shorter enjoyment, it is ideal for moments when time is limited yet the desire for an exceptional cigar remains. As Winston Churchill once remarked, ‘Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others.’ In that spirit, the new format allows the depth of this blend to be savoured even when the evening’s final hours are few.”

The Late Hour was introduced in 2017, a bolder extension to the then recently revamped Davidoff Winston Churchill line. Despite being on the market for nearly a decade, Davidoff hasn’t expanded the line much though in 2020, it added a Petit Panetela, which is also sold in tins.

Source: https://halfwheel.com/davidoff-winston-churchill-the-late-hour-belicoso-launching-in-january/457933/

[Allroz]

Are there a lot of people who enjoy this size? I am personally not one of them. I’ve smoked a handful of the Late Hour and find myself gravitating more towards the WSC line and Grand Cru (Robusto is great).

[cnov]

The other belicoso that team Lizard recommended was a winner. I'd pick them up in duty free to give them a whirl. 

[NYGuido]

2 hours ago, cnov said:

The other belicoso that team Lizard recommended was a winner. I'd pick them up in duty free to give them a whirl. 

Yep, and that one is actually pretty full bodied for a Davidoff. I’d love one of these for the Millennium Blend, too—there’s gotta be plenty of scraps lying around to make them with, and I think they’re priced pretty reasonably when viewed alongside the short robusto. 

[Hoosh]

I really like the Belicoso size but while these Late Hours may be strong for Davidoff, they for sure aren’t a strong cigar. Well constructed, but honestly not a bold cigar for anyone looking for such. Having smoked quite a few of these in the Churchill size, you can trust the PKG leader when I tell you these aren’t bold, but are expensive. I have a few just taking up space in my humidor…🙂

[NYGuido]

@Hoosh totally fair. My palate leans medium to medium full at most (with the occasional exception for Padron Maduro) such that the Millennium is basically perfectly in my wheelhouse. But I get how Davidoff can be too mild for someone looking for more oomph. I actually think the Late Hour is full bodied in the sharpness but not in the cocoa and such that Padron does well and that Davidoff shines when it leans into what it does well—refined, medium, creamy, chocolate, deliciousness. The Maduro line they have is excellent but expensive. And millennium is my go to (I find them internationally and get them sent to the US for basically half of what we can get them for here). But they’re never gonna be like Foundation or Liga or Padron, or anything like that. Though I do like a Nicaraguan kick in the taste buds every now and then 😂 

[Ford2112]

Every Davidoff I have smoked has left me underwhelmed considering the price of them. 

[Hoosh]

1 hour ago, NYGuido said:

@Hoosh totally fair. My palate leans medium to medium full at most (with the occasional exception for Padron Maduro) such that the Millennium is basically perfectly in my wheelhouse. But I get how Davidoff can be too mild for someone looking for more oomph. I actually think the Late Hour is full bodied in the sharpness but not in the cocoa and such that Padron does well and that Davidoff shines when it leans into what it does well—refined, medium, creamy, chocolate, deliciousness. The Maduro line they have is excellent but expensive. And millennium is my go to (I find them internationally and get them sent to the US for basically half of what we can get them for here). But they’re never gonna be like Foundation or Liga or Padron, or anything like that. Though I do like a Nicaraguan kick in the taste buds every now and then 😂 

I find that in general, Davidoff is a well refined brand, known by NC smokers as a solidly constructed, but mostly mild cigar. I  don’t work for them but I’m sure they wanted a cigar that would be known as something stronger, ie., the Late Hour line. I guess it is for Davidoff type smokers ( I can imagine the guys at the Davidoff shops getting offended by that but I’m certainly not putting those smokers down - let’s just call a spade a spade), but for most Nicaraguan cigars smokers, it will barely -if at all - scratch the itch.  It makes me laugh a bit  when people say the cigars are a medium plus or full strength cigar. They aren’t.  Davidoff is appealing to their smokers, not strong cigar smokers in general.  Great for targeted marketing. Bad for those relying on the “bolder” hype.

54 minutes ago, Ford2112 said:

Every Davidoff I have smoked has left me underwhelmed considering the price of them. 

I guess this means we won’t be working out a trade for my Late Hour Churchills?😆

I 100% agree with your statement, and would do so even without the pricing figured in. An opinion here of course, but I believe as there are so many great tasting NCs (without trying to be a homer, the N7 immediately comes to mind), you never even have to come close to spending Davidoff money to be pleased.

I find it entirely lopsided that Davidoff believes they need to create a mixed filler cigar with a $12 price point to be competitive in that NC market. Targeting prior Davidoff smokers again. They are like the Ruth’s Chris of the cigar world… It’s a great place for a celebratory prime steak, but otherwise, you can buy prime meat anywhere, fix it yourself, add the melted butter and be in a better environment - all for a third of the cost. 🤷

[ElLoboLoco]

The PKG Leader summed it up!🤣