Cigar Review: Davidoff Puro d’Oro Gorditos

Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Size: 3″ x 58
Strength: Full
Wrapper: Dominican Yamas
Filler: Dominican
Binder: Dominican
Presentation: Boxes of 25 cigars / 4-packs
Location smoked: (1st cigar) Bar
Location smoked: (2nd cigar) Office
Paired with: Grand Marnier (1st cigar) / Coffee (2nd cigar)

Davidoff USA was kind enough to send me a Puro d’Oro Four pack and I smoked two of them for this review. The first one was smoked at a cigar bar during the evening, and the second was smoked in the morning about two weeks later in my office.

Construction and Overall Appearance: Beautiful wrapper with a slight reddish patina. Well packed throughout. Nice presentation, too, with double gold banding at the neck and foot. Attractive little pigtail at the cap. The dimensions are 3″ x 58, but, once placed between the teeth, it feels like the ring is slightly bigger.

Draw: Very good.

Pre-light flavor: Slightly grassy and spicy.

Toasting & Light: Took a while to toast due to the wide ring, and I didn’t want to incinerate the foot. First puff was very creamy with a delicate sweetness. Once lit the draw improved a little more. You really want to get this cigar burning evenly from the get-go.

Base flavors: Dark wood, white pepper, and some sweet tobacco

Retrohale: Very peppery.

Aroma: Excellent.

Burn / Ash Quality: The burn was a little uneven, but not problematic, with a dark grey ash that was somewhat flaky when tapped-off.

Balance of flavors: Very good.

Consistency: Excellent

General Observations: The first few puffs were smooth, creamy and slightly sweet but non-descript. However, shortly afterwards, the cigar began to show its true colors. The taste was primarily woody with a nip of peppery spice on the finish. I also discovered that you really have to take your time with this cigar. It’s dimensions almost beg you savor each puff. That said, this cigar will go out quickly if you rest it longer than two minutes. Both cigars needed a couple of relights during the smokes, but the Gordito help up nicely, and did not get bitter. As I approached the mid-section, the flavors had become much more robust with a dominant woody flavor underpinned by a trace of sweetness that was more bittersweet than sugary-sweet. This profile remained pretty much consistent to the nub.

Summary: Though both “nub-like” cigars were tasty and quite full-bodied, I think this cigar went better with the Grand Marnier as an after-dinner smoke than coffee as a first-of-the-day smoke. This is a very “heavy” cigar in terms of flavor. The Grand Marnier seemed to bring out more complexities in this cigar. Overall, an enjoyable, spicy little number if you like a really robust smoke. I would not recommend the Gorditos to newer smokers who may have not yet acquired a palate for this flavor profile. Veterans will get a lot of bang for their buck.

Rating: ???

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Rating scale
? = Fair to Middling
?? = Good
??? = Very impressive
???? = Excellent
????? = Spectacular!