Davidoff 535 Madison 20th Anniversary Cigar - A Review

[BillyCigars]

The propaganda from the DavidoffMadison site:

"To celebrate our 20 years of business at 535 Madison Avenue we have on offer a box of 10 Limited Edition Robustos. The unique blend is full bodied with an inviting aroma and taste."


Joe, (carbonbased_al) mega-blasted me with a box of these from his own stash and I decided that I couldn't hold out any longer without firing one up.

Firstly, these are friggin gorgeous. The lightly mottled Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper is perfect; without flaw.

Joe likes his cigars on the drier side. He keeps his sticks at around the 62% RH mark; generally too dry for my tastes, but I risked lighting it up because I have absolutely no will power.

To test for dryness, I typically give the foot a very gentle squeeze. If it sounds like dry leaves rustling, I know it'll be too dry for my tastes and therefore will put it back in storage until it's more "bread-like" (I actually prefer mine to be around the 70% RH mark).

I went to give it the dry-leaves-rustling test and found that this thing was SOLID. It wouldn't give at all! I thought to myself that I could probably pry open a window with this thing - it was extremely hard. I figured, "Ahh nuts, these things are dried out" but gave it a go anyway.

I lit it up and Wammo! No dried-out-cigar taste at all! It was absolutely DELISH on lighting. These things are apparently just constructed like iron girders.

As has been my experience with all Davidoffs, the burn was laser-like and the smoke was rich, creamy, & voluminous. The smoke has got this wonderful, almost perfume-like aroma that I've come to love with Davidoffs. Completely elegant.

The flavor isn't too robust, but it isn't a Macanudo either. It's wonderfully balanced and has a richness to it that I can't quite put my finger on. All in all, the chocolatey, almondy, creamy flavors just blend so well together that I'm really unable to pick any single element that stands out above the others.

The ash is solid and snow-white and the flavors just get richer & richer as the cigar reaches it's finish.

In typical Davidoff-like fashion, the 535 Madison 20th Anniversary is elegant, well-contructed, and absolutely delicious!!

[PUFFNMO]

Nice review Billy. Makes me want to try one. Larry.

[ScottishSmoker]

I have been wavering back and forth for the last two months over buying a box of these...I have heard only good things about them...

[boonedoggle]

Very nice review. Who do I have to kill to get one of these?

[awsmith4]

Nice review! I have never tried a Davidoff but know I'm gonna have to.