Georgina's trip to the Dominican Republic

I was recently lucky enough to get the opportunity to go to the Dominican Republic with Davidoff on their annual Viaje al Orign trip, the trip is an amazing chance to get a real, personal insight into the hard work which goes into each and every Davidoff cigar. The aim of this trip is to add a more personal experience with all the Davidoff cigars we sell, smoke and touch every day.

I got flown off to the Dominican Republic and the week kicked off by getting to know the other 20 people who were on the trip, all from different cigar backgrounds, that evening was then spent having dinner at our first hotel location in Santo Domingo with of course plenty of cigars.

DAY 1

On our first full day we woke up bright and early ready for a day spent in Santo Domingo having a tour around the city getting an insight to the history of the city and some historical buildings. We saw the Christopher Columbus Park which also has the Colobus statue in, this was a great historical spot with a lot of meaning. Despite all the rain on this day, still plenty of Davidoff cigars were enjoying along the walk. We then had a few hours transit over to Santiago which was the location of our second hotel spot, we settled into our rooms and then headed for dinner. The rain seemed to have followed us along the way which meant we couldn’t go ahead with an outdoor BBQ by the roof top pool, we had dinner inside with an amazing Dominican singer playing for us, which was an extra special tough to the night. We then enjoyed some cigars by the roof top bar once the rain had slowed down a tad, Henke Kelner also joined us this night for the first time and we got to meet him, we had a Davidoff Millennium Toro paired with the Balvenie 12 Year Old Whisky which was amazing, Henke also gave us a speech welcoming us to Santiago and a background on the cigar we was smoking and the pairing he had chosen.

DAY 2

Tuesday was an exciting day, we all woke up nice and early and met ready to get the coach onto the tobacco farms, we drove along seeing the views of all of the fields which went on for ages and were the only thing in sight, all of the tobacco plants, huts and workers along the way. We then had an amazing breakfast on the farm with the tastiest hot chocolate which had been extracted from the mountains close by. We had a tour of the fields by Klaas Kelner, Henke’s son. Klaas showed us the different levels of tobacco plants where some had been harvested more than others, we got the opportunity to meet some of the farmers who showed us exactly how they plant their tobacco plants into the fields then got the chance to plant our own plants, it’s an amazing amount of labour and hard work which is done each and every day. We then went into the fermentation huts and got to see the ladies hanging the freshly picked leaves onto the wooden rods which then get hung up, this process slowly turns the leaves brown, there was thousands of leaves all at different levels and different stages.

DAY 3

On the Wednesday we had a similar day to the day before, we headed over to the Davidoff factory which was close by, by this day the sun had come out and the warm weather had joined us. The welcome we got once we walked into the factory was incredible, a group of Dominican band players were playing music along with 4 dancers who put on an amazing performance! This day was an amazing experience and we got up close and personal to all of the sorters, rollers and checkers in the factory getting to see each step and the incredibly long process each cigar goes through to become the end product. The factory is massive and holds the whole base of Davidoff cigars, we first walked through the sorting and classifying parts of the factory were hundreds of works were, this was real eye opening and interesting getting to see each stage, how its all completely done by hand and the man hours that goes into just one cigar! We then got to the rolling stage were again hundreds of workers were hand rolling all of the cigars, I was lucky enough to even get handed a freshly rolled cigars by one of the rollers after watching them work on it, it was un-banded but it definitely looks like the Aniversario Short Perfecto. We saw each and every stage, the adding of the band, the cigars being hand put in the cellophane and then in their box/pack and everything in between. We then sat down and done a blind taste testing with Henke and Klaas, this included of 5 cigars which we sampled then rated, the first cigar started off light then got stronger and stronger, it turns out that the three first cigars we tried consisted of only one tobacco leaf, the fourth one was a mix of all three and the final one was all three leaves again but with a maduro wrapper. This was interesting as it allowed us to taste what a single leaf smoked like then how it completely changes when a bunch is put together, this led to us going into small groups and picking our very own cigar blend. We got to pick the intensity, wrapper type and a selection of leaves, we just thought we were picking a blend but we soon found out why a few days later…

We then had a long transfer onto the last hotel stop off, back down near Santo Domingo, this was an amazingly beautiful hotel located right on the beach looking out to the Caribbean sea, we arrived in the evening so in the couple of free hours we had, settling into our room and getting ready for the evening, I watched the sun setting along the beach. We then all met back on the beach where we enjoyed a buffet style beach dinner, this was a lovely spot to spend the evening, I got the chance to enjoy the Late Hour 2020 Edition Petit Panatela a day or two before they hit the shelves in the UK, this was a great size and option which Davidoff have added to the small Late Hour range and was delicious to enjoy in the warm breeze on the beach.

DAY 4

The day after we had a presentation by Klaas Kelner about the week we had just enjoyed and Davidoff’s plans for 2020, this was interesting and was great to see what new products and releases we get to enjoy later on this year, although you will have to wait and see for this! After this presentation we had a completely free day, I spent my day soaking up the Dominican sun on the beach with plenty of cocktails whilst Klaas came around often topping us up with cigars, I smoked the Escurio Petit Robusto which is one of my favourite lines by Davidoff. After getting quiet burnt in the sun, it was then time to start getting ready for our last evening on the island, the White Party. This night was amazing, the theme was white clothing and the setting of this dinner was incredible. We pulled up to the restaurant then got walked through to the back which completely opened up to a decking surrounded by the blue sea and bright sky, we got there just before the sun set which was absolutely beautiful. We sat down and the table was dressed with Davidoff napkins, ashtrays which looked stunning, everything was white and gold, we even had a violinist playing some incredible music whilst we ate. We then got a talk from Klaas and Henke, finishing off the amazing week we had, it was an emotional night which won’t be forgotten. We also had another surprise and found out why we got to pick our own blend earlier in the week, this was passed onto the rollers in the Davidoff factory where a box of 10 of our own unique blend was hand rolled for us ready for this night, this was such a special touch and I will be keeping and aging this box in my humidor, this has also been signed by Henke and Klaas Kelner. This night we also got to sample an extra special and exciting cigar which I’m unable to mention the name of just yet but you will be able to get your hands on this one later on in the year…

DAY 5

Friday was our last day in the Dominican Republic and we were due to fly home later in the afternoon, I woke up and had breakfast at the beach spot and got my case ready. We had a couple of hours free in the morning before we were heading off so I had one last dip in the sea and took full advantage of the warm sun one last time. We then packed up the coach and had one last lunch stop off before we all went to the airport. Lunch was located right next to where we had the White Party so was simply beautiful again and we was surrounded by the bright blue sea, we got to sit around in the sun enjoying a cigar before lunch, I had a Signature blend which was nice and light and very pleasant in the sun right before we ate. After this we headed off to the airport, all said our goodbyes and everyone then went off to all of their different countries and we all prepared ourselves for the long journey home. It was amazing getting to meet people from all over the world, all with different cigar backgrounds and of course the phenomenal week which will never be forgotten. I feel like I have a greater knowledge on Davidoff cigars and a lot more respect for each and every cigar and the journey that one stick has been on!