Vintage Cigar Review
Davidoff Dom Perignon (1985, Cuban)
Vitals
RG: 47
Length: 178 (7")
Date Jan 11 2014. 10:50AM local time
Pre-light observations
Spongy. Well stored. Sweet aroma on wrapper. Slight cocoa.
Milk chocolate wrapper cold draw is firm
1st Third
First puffs are toasty tobacco. Slight sweetness. Good draw. Light tobacco smooth. Clean finish. Honey sweet. Toasty. Smooth and mild thus far. Easy to smoke. Cocoa. Slight tart draw. Light pepper finish. Cocoa on the next few puffs. Clean tobacco. Minimal smoke great burn. Dark gray ash falls unexpectedly. Vegetal notes. A succession of clean tobacco draws. Slight pepper buildup ensues. Dusty draw. Clean tobacco. Pure white smoke thus far. Cocoa returns. Tangy tobacco.
2nd Third
Cocoa opens up this third. I tap the delicate ash to avoid another accident. Clean tobacco. I clean my palate with soda water to see if it helps me pick up more flavours. Toasty tobacco. Hint of baking spice. Smooth draw. Light cigar thus far. Cocoa hit. Pepper getting stronger over time. A fed minty/menthol draws changes things up. Floral and minty. A see saw of floral and Vegetal noted over the next four puffs of so. Back to toasty tobacco. Floral followed by an ash tap. Tangy tobacco. A bit more flavour now. Mint. Clean tobacco. Overall a light cigar. Wonder if it was blended that way?
3rd Third
Toasty. For a few puffs. More pronounced tobacco flavour. Very slight anise and beany flavour. Doesn't last more than once. Followed by rich tobacco notes. Not terribly exciting a cigar but q good experience. Beany again. Anise toasty. Pepper. Clean tobacco on the next few puffs. Beans. Toasty. Rich beany draws as i near the nub. Good rich tobacco flavour. Too late? I drink some Don Julio Reposado Tequila to change things up. At this point, it's safe to try a pairing. And fortunately, it pairs well. Nub is burning hot. Will need to finish soon. Some anise again. Toasty tobacco.
My final puffs are toasty tobacco. Time to wrap this up.
End time:12:00PM local time.
Score: 90
Final thoughts
I've been holding on to this single cigar for about five years. I was torn between holding it as a keepsake vs smoking it. Better heads prevailed. All cigars are meant to be enjoyed even white whales. Id like to hear from people who smoked these fresh. Was the blend meant to be light and accessible? Did time weaken this? My previous experience with vintage cigars tell me that a strongly blended cigar can manage to keep its vigor. The Dom Perignon may have been blended to be smooth and light.
A 1970's Davidoff No 1 i smoked years ago had a good punch to it at the halfway point. A recently smoked 80's Château LaTour certainly was more robust. Maybe this a dud or the norm for the Dom Perignon? Did they blend this to be their Champagne of cigars? Sweet, dry and subtle? Id love go smoke another sample but to be honest this underwhelmed me. And the price point on these certainly keeps rising. Nonetheless i am glad and fortunate to have tried at least the one.