The History of Davidoff Part 2

When we last left Zino Davidoff, he had consumed vast amounts of tobacco knowledge in Latin America and was now applying it to his family’s shop in Switzerland. Following the devastation of World War II, Switzerland had remained nearly untouched. It now became the destination for the wealthy tobacco consumers of Europe. The Davidoff store thrived with its new high end client base, and soon became recognized as a player in the industry.

It was during this time that Zino began selling the luxurious Hoyo de Monterrey Chateaux. This was an exclusive Cuban cigar, named after the ever famous series of Bordeaux wines. Zino’s marketing of this cigar is what made Davidoff a household name for the luxury tobacco consumer. He then began to put his knowledge of tobacco into use. He wrote several books on the subject, which included the now, well known “Connoisseur’s Book of the Cigar”. In the manual, Zino outlines proper cigar etiquette, which he then marketed to his wealthy customer base.

Zino is often credited with an invention that completely redefined the cigar industry, particularly the retail aspect. He built the first desktop humidor, a device used for storing cigars in the proper temperature and humidity. Cigar consumers were now able to purchase cigars in a more significant amount and store them at home with out fear of the cigar drying out. To this day, with the exception of the cutter and lighter, the desktop humidor is the most important cigar accessory and is a main stay in every tobacconist in the world.

To show what a magnificent innovator Zino was, you must look at this list of accomplishments. These were all done years before the creating of the first Davidoff cigar, much less the Davidoff White label. The line of cigars to which Davidoff is now become famous for is in reality a footnote in the companies’ history. Zino Davidoff is, in many aspects, responsible for how the cigar retail industry has operated for more than half a century.