Cigar Review: DAV Cigars Aristocrat Robusto – Rated 94

Today we take a look at another blend from DAV Cigars, the company founded by Valot (Val) Atakhanian and Armen Caprielian. Today’s choice is known as the Aristocrat, whish was one of the blends exhibited at  this years IPCPR. and it is available in a single 5 x 58 robusto gordo vitola. The company describes the blend as:

• Wrapper – Ecuadorian Habana 2000
• Binder – Olor Dominican
• Filler – San Vincente, Piloto Cubani, Habana 2000

The DAV Aristocrat comes packaged in 10 count cedar boxes and carries an MSRP of $9.50/cigar.

Earlier in the week, I posted a question asking; What determines a quality cigar for you? Well, after many responses I looked at the DAV Cigars website and they offered an answer:

“.. there are many things one can attribute to that – climate, soil, ideal tobacco leaves and so on.  However, to get to the finished product you need people with passion, skill and the drive to create a perfect, premium cigar every time. True artists who take pride in their work as they create the perfect cigar.  We are blessed to have such a talented staff at our DAV factory, whether they partake in growing, sorting, fermenting, stripping or rolling, we demand the highest level of excellence at every stage.

As we get into today’s review of the DAV Aristocrat I would say that is true for this cigar.

I only received one sample of the Aristocrat so I can judge it only by the hour plus experience I enjoyed while watching my beloved Red Sox cruise to 90 wins for the still ongoing season, but it was a fine one hour journey.

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Pre-Light Experience

The DAV Cigars Aristocrat is a thick, medium brown/tan robusto  that has a bit of a veiny wrapper and is finished with a simple cap. The cigar is solid in the hand and has a nice weight to it.  There is a light sheen when held in the light.

The band on this cigar uses the same design as the rest of the DAV Cigars line, but this one especially grabs the eye, with a deep rich blue color.

Running Aristocrat  across the nose I picked up a sweet baking spice note along the barrel and the foot had a mildly pungent fermented leaf scent to it.

I used a punch to open this up, looking for a nicely concentrated smoke through the draw. The punch allowed for a perfectly restricted draw that offered a earthy set of notes that was as expected from the aroma off the foot.

So far so good, I like how the pre-light went and now it was time to torch it up. I used my four flame torch lighter to warm the foot to a nice orange glow and took a few good puffs to get it going, blowing gently on the toasted foot to ensure a solid starting burn.

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Cigar Review Notes

• Right of the initial light, my palate was greeted with a full and creamy smoke
• The initial notes were a mix of spice and cedar
• A solid white ash develops on a medium char line
• Fruit enters to add to the spice as the cedar builds
• About an inch or so into the burn, the fruit reveals itself as a black cherry note
• The burn starts to get a little wavy but no need for a touch up
• The ash held solid for an almost half the cigar before falling
• A well centered and formed burn cone is revealed
• Dry leather notes appear midway 
• A loose seam appears deep in the second third
• Ash started to get a little flaky in the second half
• Strength is registering in the mild – medium range
• Herbal spice enters as the leather pulls back
• The final burn brings a chocolate note to the profile to offer a terrific finish
• After laying it to rest I detect a pleasant nut lingering on the palate
• Total smoking Time was 1 hour and 10 minutes

Overall, I rate the DAV Cigars Aristocrat Robusto an 94. This cigar had some unique and delicious flavors with an excellent finish of nut and chocolate. The black cherry note dominated the profile, but not so much as to mask the other nuances, which added to the pleasure. I was concerned about the wrapper pealing near the final but it held together to allow me to finish the journey. At a price of $9.50 this is one of the more expensive offerings from DAV cigars and I would say it is worth a fiver.

Point Deductions:

(-1 )  Loose Seams in the wrapper at the end; (-1 ) Flaky ash