Davidoff Brazil Gets A Name: Escurio
Davidoff's Brazilian cigar, a smoke that's part of the company's "Black Label" series, now has a name: Davidoff Escurio.
The name stems from "oscuro," a cigar term for the darkest shade of wrapper, and "Rio," as in Rio de Janeiro, the vibrant South American city that inspired the creation of the cigar. Cigar Aficionado broke the news about the new cigar in April, but at that time Davidoff was cloaking the name and the details of the blend. The company revealed the name and blend information today.
Davidoff Escurio is being made in Santiago, Dominican Republic, with a mixture of Brazilian and Dominican filler tobaccos, a Brazilian binder and an Ecuador Havana wrapper that is dark, shiny and oily.
"When we built the blend, the inspiration came from Rio nights," says Charles Awad, senior vice president of global marketing and innovation at Oettinger Davidoff Group, "Rio is a melting pot—there's lots happening. When you start somewhere, you don't know where you will end up."
The blend is intended to take the cigar lover on what Awad describes as a series of "twists and turns," with an "element of surprise." The goal, says Awad, was a sweet, spicy smoke. The Brazilian component of the filler is a combination of Cubra tobacco (which has a tendency to be spicy) and Mata Fina (which tends to be sweet).
The cigar, which will make its debut to retailers in July at the International Cigar & Pipe Retailers trade show, has three sizes, none of them more than six inches long. The Short Robusto measures 3 1/4 inches long by 50 ring gauge; Robusto Tubo is 4 1/2 by 54; and Gran Toro is 5 1/2 by 58. Pricing will be similar to Davidoff Nicaragua, which retails for $10 to $18.
