Calums trip to the Dominican Republic

At the start of February, I was very fortunate to be picked to go on the “Davidoff – Viaje al Origen” trip to the Dominican Republic, to experience the world of Davidoff cigars first hand. So at the start of February, 22 members of the cigar trade from all across Europe all met in a Santa Domingo hotel, for an unforgettable week.

Our first day was spent readjusting after the long flights, with a guided tour of Santa Domingo, before travelling north into the heart of the Dominican Republic, where the main Davidoff Factories and farms are located. We settled down for the night, before jumping on a coach to head out to our first main stop on the journey of Davidoff Cigars: The farm. As soon as we pulled up, we knew we were in for something special; tobacco plants that were taller than me (not hard when I stand at about 5’8”, admittedly, but it was still impressive) surrounded us completely. I have visited tobacco farms in Cuba, but due to the time of year, I have never seen plants at their full height before, so this was especially stunning. After a quick breakfast, washed down with delicious Dominican coffee and hot chocolate (honestly the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted!) we were taken around the corner to a freshly ploughed field, where to our surprise, we were put to work! I guess we had to pay Davidoff back somehow… 

Our guide and host, Klass, gave us an explanation of how to plant the tiny, delicate shoots, so they would flourish in the best possible way. Then we got to work in the fields! The shoots are planted exactly halfway down the side of the ploughed incline, to give the roots the ideal amount of space to move and develop. After our brief stint of field work, we were shown the rest of the farm, where we experienced first-hand how much effort and thought goes into every stage of development of a Davidoff cigar, even before the tobacco is planted! We were shown how the seeds were sorted and planted, taught how Davidoff develop their own crossbreed/hybrid seeds for new and exciting blends, inhaled the amazing smells of the curing barns and the various stages of quality control checks, before ending in the ageing warehouse. After we stopped for lunch, we were treated to a tutored tasting, where we had the unique experience of smoking “Tobacco cylinders.” These look a lot like cigars but cannot technically be called cigars are they only contain one type of leaf rather than a blend. This taught us how to identify the different characteristics of each leaf, based on its region and location on the plant. Based on this, we were then put into groups to come up with our very own cigar blends.

After that very full day, we headed back to our hotel before popping out for dinner and then to bed, ready to be up and out early again the following day. This time, we were heading to the main Davidoff factory. We picked up on the tobacco’s journey, exactly where we had left it: bundles of leaves that had been left to age. We were shown the rolling floors, sorting rooms and the insane levels of quality control that the leaves and cigars repeatedly go through. After the tour, we worked our way back to the main rolling room, where we had another surprise: we were split back into our groups from the previous day, given our selections of leaves and told we were going to be shown how to roll our very own cigars! Having seen rollers in Cuba, I was quite intrigued by a couple of major differences in the way Davidoff rollers make their cigars. Namely, the fact that they forgo the traditional “Chaveta” blade when cutting out the wrapper leaf, in favour of a circular rolling blade, which closely resembles a pizza cutter. They also use a form of rolling mat when putting the bunch together, rather than doing it totally freehand, which gives a far greater consistency in the blend and massively speeds up the process. It also helps explain why we almost never have any complaints about the draw and construction of Davidoff cigars. Finally, when applying the cap, they use an elongated part of the wrapper leaf, rather than cutting out a separate “Flag” as is the norm for other cigars. After a brief demonstration by a professional roller, I had a go at doing my own. I was surprised at how approachable making the main bunch of the cigar was (although I doubt I would’’ve passed quality control) thanks to the mat, but when it came to applying the wrapper, I saw how much skill was involved… I’m sad to say I definitely ruined at least one wrapper leaf… Sorry about that, Davidoff! You can see my colleague Anthony rolling his own cigar on a video on our youtube channel if you’re interested!

After our attempt at rolling, we headed out via the final levels of quality control checks and sorting rooms, where we saw the cigars up to the very end of their journey, where they are boxed and ready to ship out to eagerly waiting shops and distributors. What really struck me was just how many people are involved with the production of each and every cigar. Each has been touched by hundreds of different hands. Each with their own unique job to help ensure the finest possible cigar.

This brought us towards the end of our trip, but we still had a few more things to do. However, this blog has already wound up being far longer than I intended and I could easily write another thousand words about how incredible the trip was. So, to keep it brief; after a very full few days, we took it a bit easier towards the end of the week, finishing with a private food, cocktail and cigar pairing, to understand how cigars best interact with different food and drinks. Huge shout out to the chef for especially preparing me a vegetarian alternative to each of the courses! For our final day, we were treated to a catamaran tour along Dominican Republic’s North coast, where we could relax in the sun and enjoy the exceptionally blue water surrounding us. For the final evening, we all got together for a “white party” where speeches and toasts were made to celebrate the trip including a surprise appearance by cigar legend Hendrick “Henke” Kelner. We were given a final surprise: we were all given a box of our very own blend cigars from the previous day, that had actually been made by professional rollers. We then headed back to bed, ready to start the long trip away from the glorious Dominican sunshine, back the familiar UK drizzle, our heads buzzing with excitement and bulging with new information.

It was genuinely one of the best weeks I’ve ever had and I’ve left with a whole new appreciation of Davidoff cigars, that I will certainly keep with me forever. It’s great to know that even after 10 yeas in this trade, there’s still so much more for me to learn. I cannot thank C.Gars and Davidoff enough for sending me on this incredible experience.