The History of Davidoff Part 3

What many modern smokers fail to realize is that long before the creation of the famed Davidoff White Label, Zino had established himself as a driving force in the retail industry, particularly with cigars. With his success at marketing the much sought after Hoyo de Monterrey Chateaux, The Davidoff Shop of Geneva had become the Shangri La for wealthy European cigar smokers. During the late 1960s, the government owned Cuban cigar company, Cubatabaco, realized the great reputation that had become attached to the Davidoff name. They wanted that name attached to a line of Cuban cigars.

In 1967, production began on an exclusive line of Cuban cigars particularly for Davidoff stores. They were rolled in the el Laguito factory, where Fidel Castro had established Cohiba, his own personal brand. This is where the first Ever Davidoff cigars rolled off the line, which included the still popular No. 1 and No. 2. The Hoyo de Monterrey Chateaux was now rebranded and sold exclusively under the Davidoff Marque. The Cuban Davidoff line was a huge success, and deemed by some toady as some of the finest cigars every created. They were responsible for one of the best mild cigars ever created in Cuba, and became world renowned for their light taste, amazing flavor profile and quality. Production of the line increased dramatically in order to keep up with the demand, which is when Zino Davidoff began to voice some of his concerns.

Zino will always be a man who valued quality above all other things. He felt cigars were more than just an consumable commodity. He felt the impact a cigar had on a smoker was profound. He is quoted as saying, “The cigars numbs sorrow and fills the solitary hours with a million gracious images”. It was in this mind set that Zino began to complain about the recent quality of his cigars. With production at an all time high during the 1980s, it was difficult to maintain the same quality control that it once had. It was with a heavy heart to many Davidoff smokers, that in 1989, Zino dissolved his relation with Cubatobaco and burned, in public, thousands of cigars that he felt were of sub par quality. However, it was from the ashes of these great cigars, that the modern day Davidoff was born