January 2018 (Basel, Switzerland) - In 1968, the cigar world welcomed a new name and a new philosophy. The journey of Davidoff Cigars from the origins of its flagship store in Geneva to a global brand with millions of followers had begun. At the head of this journey was Zino Davidoff. It was his sense of pioneering and innovation that set Davidoff apart from the outset. His restless pursuit of new tobaccos and blends has been the inspiration for all the fine cigars that have since carried the iconic Davidoff ring over the last five decades. Establishing a center for excellence in the Dominican Republic in 1991, Davidoff has allowed its Master Blenders to create some of the most original and rewarding cigars in the world.
“This is a very special year for us. We look back with pride on 50 years of creating exceptional, original cigars and accessories, but more importantly, we look forward with a great sense of exhilaration to new, unknown horizons that will bring exciting, undiscovered experiences for those who love cigars,” said Charles Awad, Senior Vice President – Chief Marketing Officer at Oettinger Davidoff AG.
Davidoff Cigars will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with a series of events, as well as specially commissioned cigars and accessories that reflect the continued philosophy of enabling its customers to taste the wider world. Cigar lovers that are eager to enlarge their repertoires with different types of aromas and experiences will particularly enjoy these celebrations. All activities about Davidoff’s 50th anniversary will be presented on davidoff.com, and will be actively accompanied on social media: @Davidoff_Cigars | facebook.com/DavidoffCigars1911
Availability As part of the celebrations and for a limited time only, a selection of five iconic Davidoff cigars will carry a commemorative 50th anniversary white ring inspired by the original white ring which first graced memorable creations such as the Ambassadrice, the No. 1 and No. 2 back in 1968. The blends of these exceptional and highly acclaimed cigars will remain unchanged.
The five iconic cigars (Davidoff Signature No. 2, Davidoff Signature 2000, Davidoff Aniversario, Special R, Davidoff Aniversario No. 3 and Davidoff Aniversario Entreacto) will carry the commemorative Davidoff 50th anniversary main ring. They will be available at Davidoff Depositaries and Davidoff Flagship Stores in the first quarter of 2018. After Davidoff’s 50th anniversary year, the cigars will go back to their original white ring.
A brief glance at Davidoff Cigars’ major milestones
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1968 – Launch of the first white label cigars The iconic oval white cigar ring heralds the birth of the Davidoff cigar brand. Created in Cuba, the first formats are the Ambassadrice, the No. 1 and No. 2. New formats created by Zino Davidoff himself and the first premium cigars in the market with the elegant pigtail. There is now a new name to delight the cigar aficionado.
1971 – Launch of Mini Cigarillos The cigarillo devotee celebrates the arrival of the first premium cigarillo made with 100% tobacco, the Davidoff Mini Cigarillo.
1976 – Launch of Mille Series Davidoff launches the Mille series, including the legendary Davidoff 2000, one of the bestselling Davidoff cigars.
1991 – Davidoff ventures to the Dominican Republic Davidoff cigars travel to new horizons, as they begin production of the Mille and Grand Cru series, as well as the signature Classic series at Tabadom Holding Inc. in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic.
1992 – Launch of the Davidoff Special R Davidoff Special R is launched. Universally welcomed by the cigar community, it has become the most popular Davidoff cigar in the US. Davidoff recognized the need for bigger ring gauges, adding the first Robusto cigar with a 50 RG to the Davidoff portfolio.
2001 – Launch of Millennium Blend To explore new taste experiences, Davidoff creates an unique and flavorful wrapper in Ecuador, a hybrid of Connecticut and Cuban seeds and launch the Millennium Blend series, the first line of Davidoff cigars to wear this exceptional wrapper. Many years of experiment and development had led to this breakthrough.
2006 – Zino Davidoff’s 100th Birthday In the year marking the centenary of Zino Davidoff’s birth, the famous Davidoff Diademas Finas were launched, recognized as the quintessential Davidoff blend.
2008 – Davidoff and the Churchill family The collaboration with the Churchill family sees the launch of the Winston Churchill cigar series. This would go on to reach new heights of success when it was given a renaissance in 2014 and fully integrated into the Davidoff brand. Today, Davidoff Winston Churchill has its dedicated accessory line to delight fans of the cigar, as well as a second series, called The Late Hour, the first cigar blended with tobacco aged in Scottish whisky casks.
2009 - First cigars with 702 wrapper Davidoff 702 Selección – the first release wearing the famous and proprietary 702 hybrid wrapper from Ecuador. This achieved the seemingly impossible, a smooth cigar with a punch. The 702 would later be used for the 702 series launched in 2017, the re-imagination of Davidoff’s iconic cigar blends.
2012 – Davidoff ventures into art The Davidoff brand ventures into art, announcing the sponsorship of Art Basel, and starts its philanthropic engagement with Caribbean artists via the Art Initiative. In 2014, the first Davidoff Art Edition is launched as the outcome of a collaboration with the Dominican artist Quisqueya Henriques.
2013 – Davidoff ventures to Nicaragua Davidoff ventures into Nicaragua and launches the Nicaragua series – 100% Nicaraguan tobacco refined in the Idea Hub and Innovation Centre in the Dominican Republic. This is the first step on the road to Davidoff’s Discovery series, where Davidoff will journey to Brazil and the more unforgiving parts of the Dominican Republic in search of new stimulations for the adventurous cigar lover. The exciting results will be Escurio in 2015 and Yamasá in 2016.
2016 – Chefs Edition is born After several years of successfully combining enjoyment of fine food and fine cigars, the first globally available Chefs Edition was launched. This cigar was developed in collaboration with renowned Chefs from around the globe.
2017 – Innovation for travelling cigars The revolutionary light-weight travel humidor hits the store shelves. The ultimate stylish, high-performance cigar care for aficionados on the move.
2018 – Davidoff’s 50th Anniversary Davidoff marks its 50th anniversary by looking forward to many, many new milestones in the story of cigars created to surprise, stimulate and delight.