Happy 100th Birthday to Zino Davidoff!

From Rich Perelman at CigarCyclopedia:

There are many iconic cigar brands, but few cigar people who have risen to become synonymous with their brands and the traits they embody.

Zino Davidoff was such a man.

Born in Kiev, Ukraine in 1906, he would have been 100 on March 11 and the company which bears his name is rolling out a bash he would have been proud of:

• A birthday dinner will be held in Geneva, where Davidoff held court at his store at One Rue de Rive, following in the tradition of his father, Henri, who opened the first Davidoff store in 1911.

• On Monday, March 13, a special anniversary cigar will be delivered to Davidoff appointed merchants. This “Diadema Fina” is a full-bodied, 6 1/2-inch-long perfecto, to be offered in boxes of 10 at about $22 apiece (before local tobacco taxes). Of course, it’s made at the Davidoff facility in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

• A series of dinners to honor Davidoff’s legacy will be held in the U.S.; the New York event will take place on May 10 at the historic Puck Building. There, attendees will be able to try the second anniversary cigar, the “Diadema,” a giant perfecto of 9 1/8 inches long, packed in individual cedar coffins. This size was originated in Cuba by the Fernandez, Palicio y Cia. factory where the Davidoff brand began in 1946.

Reportedly, only 100 cabinets of 50 cigars – all unbanded – will be released (5,000 cigars total), at $46 each or $2,300 per cabinet, to be sold only in Davidoff boutiques: two in New York and the three in Las Vegas.

• A biography of Davidoff by German writer Dieter Wirtz called “Davidoff - Legende, Mythos, Wirklichkeit” was published on March 1 and will be available in English – with the translated title of “Davidoff: Legend, Myth, Reality” – in June.

The Davidoff story is well known, but bears reflection.

From a small shop in Geneva, he became a worldwide force in cigars in the period after World War II. Because Switzerland was neutral, he was able to continue his trade in cigars and his contacts throughout Europe with energetic smokers who had little access to cigars between 1939-45 made him a star.

He teamed with the Swiss distributor of Havana cigars, A. Durr Co., in 1946 to introduce a Davidoff-endorsed series of the Hoyo de Monterrey line, made by Fernandez, Palicio y Cia. in Havana. Without any license in those less legalistic days, he created five sizes of cigars named after famous Bordeaux wineries: Chateau Margeaux, Chateau Latour, Chateau Lafite, Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau Yquem.

The combination of excellent quality, subtle taste and the glossy reference to five of France’s most respected winemakers helped make the Chateau series a sensation and Davidoff cigars – offered in all-cedar cabinets without bands – became the standard by which all others were measured.

Twenty-one years later in 1967, the Cubans created the Davidoff brand as a stand-alone, without reference to Hoyo and now made in the El Laguito factory, which opened a year earlier. Now the line was expanded to include the No. 1, No. 2 and Ambassadrice sizes. But the big changes were yet to come.

In 1970, Davidoff sold his store and company name to Ernst Schneider’s Oettinger Group. This was the beginning of the transformation of the Davidoff name from a store and a cigar brand into a worldwide symbol of luxury. Oettinger began opening Davidoff boutiques worldwide, in Hong Kong in 1974, the famous London shop in 1982 and the U.S. flagship in New York at 535 Madison Avenue in 1987.

The Dom Perignon model, named for the famed champagne, appeared in 1977 and the “Mille” series of mild blends appeared about the same time. Bands appeared on Davidoff cigars in 1980. Davidoff cigarettes were introduced in 1985 and a Davidoff fragrance was created the same year.

In 1986, Davidoff’s 80th birthday was celebrated with the release of a special 80 Aniversario cigar, a mild but big 9 1/4-inch by 47-ring Gran Corona.

For cigar lovers, the big changes came in 1989. After complaining about a lack of quality in Cuban cigar production, Davidoff burned 130,000 cigars in a public bonfire on August 23. About a year later, Oettinger had moved the Davidoff operation out of Cuba and relocated it to Santiago, Dominican Republic and created a new series of Davidoff cigars, available everywhere in the world, including the United States.

In his book, The Gourmet Guide to Cigars, Paul Garmirian recounted his meeting with Davidoff at the launch party for the new Davidoff line on November 13, 1990 in New York:

“I asked Mr. Davidoff how the new cigars from the Dominican Republic compared with those from Havana. He said, ‘Monsieur, that was not our intention. One has nothing to do with the other. This is a new line of cigars we have established. These cigars have their own personality. They are light and have a great aroma. They are excellently made, high quality cigars which do not fight you when you smoke them.’”

The cigar proved as popular as Davidoff had hoped and the legal fracas with the Cubans ended with the cessation of Davidoff production in Havana in 1991 with all distribution ending on December 31, 1992.

The brands, the boutiques and the fragrance line all exploded in the 1990s, but Davidoff passed away on January 14, 1994, aged 87.

His motto of “Smoke less, but smoke better” was a ringing endorsement of his own brand, but also of a lifestyle of pleasure in moderation. In today’s wild times, we would do well to learn from his concept. Happy birthday, Zino!

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of cigar legend Zino Davidoff, the Davidoff store on Madison Avenue in New York will be holding a very special cigar dinner. It is part of a worldwide celebration of the 100th anniversary of Mr. Davidoff’s birth year held by Davidoff of Geneva. The New York event is scheduled for May 10 and will include a multi-course steak dinner from Rothmann’s Steakhouse, fine wines, and some very special cigars in honor of the event. Tickets sell for $175 each from Davidoff’s New York store.

Posted on Friday, March 10th, 2006 at 2:08 pm.