Cuvee Grand

This is a Cuvee Grand I smoked on 1/31/07. They were bought originally on 1/25/07.

Tonight I had the pleasure of smoking a Cuvee Grand I picked up from a local B&M recently. This is a release from Hendrick Kellner, who selects blends for the Davidoff line of cigars. Here is a link to an interesting article on Kelner.

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar...47,128,00.html

Price: $12.95

The following is the description posted on Cigar.com. (http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=495)

My Review of the cigar follows the descripton....

With only 17,000 cigars made annually, the Cuvee Grand is not only one of the rarest cigars found at Cigar.com, but it also one of the richest and most complex.

Debuting in 2006, the Cuvee Grand proceeded the release of the Cuvee Blanc and Rouge which are its regular production counterparts. Only available to select dealers in Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, when this cigar first graced the shelves of fewer than 100 of the top stores in the world, it was an instant hit (this cigar is still only available to the worlds top 100 tobacconists). Aficionados hail this cigar as one of the best, blended for experienced cigar enthusiasts who enjoy a complex and very well refined medium to full bodied cigar. In fact, this cigar was originally made for the European market and blended to compete head to head with Cuban brands like Montecristo. To achieve its one of a kind flavor and aroma, the Cuvee Grand uses two separate Cuban wrappers that are grown in Ecuador. As you may know, Cuvee is a term frequently used in reference to wine and champagne to describe the vineyards most premier bottle. Similarly, the Cuvee Grand is considered the world’s most premier cigar. When it was launched in the US, it made its first appearance at the Grand Havana Room in New York where connoisseurs paid $50.00 a head just to taste the cigar.

Rolled only in a classic Lancero size, this cigar represents everything that culminates a classic cigar, one which rivals even the best brands being made in Cuba’s top factories. Production of this cigar is extremely limited. Not only are the boxes numbered, but each cigar is individually numbered by hand. Only the most qualified rollers at the Tabadom factory in the Dominican Republic are qualified to roll this masterpiece.





I took this stogie out of it's cello wrapper and spent a bit of time taking in the aroma. It smelled heavy of mocha and chocolate. I decided to pair this with some Starbucks coffee, little sugar since I'd be smoking this outside on the front porch temperature in the 30's.

After the cap snipped off cleanly I tested the draw. Draw was easy. I expected the cigar to feel loose between the fingers, but it was pretty tight with very little give, unexpected for how easily the cigar drew.

Pre-light, the Cuvee tasted of spiced mocha with a touch of persimmons.

Toasting the foot emanated a rich nutty aroma. The intial draw when I lit the foot was heavy in spice, overwhelming spice. After the first couple of draws the cigar settled into a creamy finish.

The predominant characteristic is spice but other flavors are easily discerned and enjoyed. The first third produced hints of bitter melon and sour grass with a mildly creamy finish.

This cigar produces a alot of thick smoke leaving a fluffy medium gray ash behind. The smokes produces an aroma of smoked salmon with a light fruit bouquet from time to time.

The ash fell cleanly at about an inch long. I decided to snork a pull at this point. The cigar left a taste/scent of smoked salmon! never before had I experienced this in a cigar.

The second third was unexciting, nothing jumped out. I was in conversation with a friend who was enjoying a La Flor Dominica Double Ligero. The Cuvee remained predominately pepper with a sweet creamy finish.

The last third picked up licorice. The spicy finish left my tongue and lips tingling like I was chewing on a peppermint toothpick. I snorked the cigar once more at this point and the smoked salmon was still there. The cigar finished as spicy as the first draw I took.

This is definately a very interesting cigar. I'm interested to see how the same cigars smoke with a little more age. Not my favorite cigar to date, but I would recommend trying one due to the different flavors I noticed while smoking.

I smoked another one of these the other night.

I smoked another one of these tonight from the original release - band #10,078. I did not notice any smoked salmon in this one. Althogh I'm wishing I picked up more of these when I had the chance.

I don't smoke very many non-cubans anymore. The one's I have been smoking have been lacking. This is still complex in flavor, medium bodied. I enjoyed this is not more than the previous one's I've smoked.