Top 5 Affordable Alternatives to Davidoff Cigars
Davidoff cigars enjoy a distinguished reputation in premium cigar stores worldwide. They’re sold in select retailers. The company promotes its exclusive Davidoff-Appointed Merchants, or cigar stores that reflect the brand’s standards for quality and selectivity, prioritizing Davidoff sales. However, exclusivity comes at a price, and Davidoff cigars are expensive, starting at around $15 to $20, rising to $50 and higher for limited editions. That’s why you won’t find them at every mom-and-pop cigar retailer. The opening investment to carry Davidoff cigars is significant, and Davidoff accounts are required to sell the company’s other brands, Camacho and Avo.
What Davidoff is best known for, though, is its traditional White Label brands, which include Davidoff Aniversario, Grand Cru, and Signature. These popular Davidoff lines are blended from mild Dominican long-filler tobaccos and feature an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper. If you’ve enjoyed a Davidoff White Label cigar before, you know they offer an unmistakably creamy and approachable experience, and they’re exceptionally well made. If you love Davidoff cigars but spending close to $20 or more every time you want a cigar isn’t in the budget, you’ve got some great options. Here are five affordable alternatives to Davidoff cigars that are just as good, if not better.
1. Ashton Cabinet
Legendary cigarmaker Carlito Fuente blends Ashton Cabinet from an elite recipe of premium tobaccos aged for maximum flavor and smoothness. A chestnut-blond Connecticut Shade wrapper embraces premium Dominican long-filler tobaccos matured for a minimum of five to seven years. The additional rest results in a richer, sweeter taste throughout a luxurious profile of cashew, almond, coffee bean, and white pepper. This sophisticated, velvety smoke comes in eleven popular sizes. The critics at Cigar Aficionado gave it a rating of 94 points. Many connoisseurs prefer Ashton Cabinet over Davidoff because its authentic Connecticut Shade wrapper imparts an unrivaled sweetness.
2. Ashton
Ashton cigars are blended and produced by the Fuente family in the Dominican Republic. This iconic cigar is sold in over 75 countries. It comes in more than a dozen classic sizes blended from the finest Dominican long-filler tobaccos surrounded by a golden Connecticut Shade wrapper. The original Ashton blend debuted in 1985 and has been a staple in the finest premium cigar stores for four decades. Luscious notes of cedar, cashew, coffee bean, and almond impart hints of spice throughout a soft and elegant finish. Ranging from around $10 to $17 per cigar, Ashton is a pivotal mild blend, considered one of the best for beginners and a tremendous substitute for the pricier Davidoff brand.
3. San Cristobal Elegancia
San Cristobal Elegancia hails from Nicaragua, where Jose ‘Pepin’ Garcia blends this attractive smoke in six excellent sizes. An oily, blond Connecticut-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador surrounds a stellar blend of premium Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos aged for optimal smoothness. A delightful profile of white pepper, cashew, almond, and coffee bean develops throughout a creamy, mild to medium-bodied finish. San Cristobal cigars are handmade by the most talented and passionate artisans trained by the world-renowned Garcia family. Even fans of more potent blends love Elegancia when they’re craving a good cigar earlier in the day.
4. La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut
La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut is the mildest cigar in the renowned La Aroma de Cuba portfolio, and it’s one of the best bargains in the entire industry, selling in the vicinity of $7 to $9. Celebrated father-and-son cigarmakers Pepin and Jaime Garcia of My Father fame honor their Cuban heritage by blending and producing La Aroma de Cuba cigars according to historic Cuban traditions. A Connecticut-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador covers a vintage amalgam of premium Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos harvested on Garcia family estates. The Garcias insist on triple fermenting their tobaccos, rolling their cigars in entubado fashion, and finishing every cigar with a triple cap. La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut boasts a mild to medium-bodied profile, featuring notes of almond, cedar, cashew, and coffee with hints of buttercream. Savor it in a range of bestselling sizes.
5. Oliva Connecticut Reserve
Oliva cigars have racked up plenty of accolades over the past fifteen years, and most of them are for the stronger Ligero-driven cigars they produce, like the 95-rated Oliva Serie V and 96-rated Serie V Melanio. But the vast Oliva portfolio includes a cigar for every palate. Oliva Connecticut Reserve is extremely popular with fans of mild cigars, and it’s far less expensive than a comparable smoke from Davidoff. Tasting notes of vanilla bean, cedar, and oak precede a malty finish tantamount to a gourmet milkshake. Choose from seven classic sizes handcrafted to superior standards for consistency and quality in Estelí, Nicaragua. Add Oliva Connecticut Reserve to your rotation and save even more when you buy a box on sale.
