Davidoff JR 50th Anniversary – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

2021 is the 50th Anniversary of JR Cigar. As such, the company has released a series of cigar to celebrate this achievement. One of the most exciting releases to come out of this was the Davidoff JR 50th Anniversary. It is of course rolled at Davidoff's factory TABADOM in the Dominican Republic. The blend uses an Ecuadorian wrapper, Mexican Negro San Andrés wrapper, and filler from Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

JR describes the Davidoff JR 50th Anniversary as medium-full bodied. It comes in their signature soft packs of 10 and in one size, a 6 x 52 toro. Only 350 of these soft packs were made and each cigar sells for $33.20 which means each 10-pack sells for $332. You can find them to buy right here.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: San Andrés Negro
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Factory: TABADOM
Blender: Eladio Diaz
Number of reviewers: 5 – Sean F. (fullermaine) Matt Cade (CadeTNCC) Kevin A. (Kevin A.) Allison T. (The Yoga Ash) Vance T. (Vance)
Price: $33.20
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: May 2021
Contributed by: JR Cigar

Initial Impressions – Davidoff JR 50th Anniversary

Appearance: 91

“Holy hell this wrapper is super sexy! Extremely oily to the touch, the wrapper feels like you're running an old brown leather jacket between your fingers. The cigar is well filled with just a slight amount of give when gently squeezed.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)

Aroma: 93

“The aromas coming from the foot are dark and earthy. Hints of barnyard, natural tobacco, and stone fruit are present in the foot, with the stonefruit lingering in the sinuses. The wrapper itself is mostly barnyard and espresso. Pre-light draw, which as I was concerned of, seems a little bit open, and has faint hints of barnyard and natural tobacco, along with quite a bit of raisin.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

First Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“After soaking in a pleasant cold draw that is equal parts earth and mint, I torched the foot and was immediately greeted by a medium-strength, crisp pepper spice and some mineral through the nose accompanied by a very rich, bold coffee note via the draw. At about the one-inch mark, that distinct mineral also began to appear on the draw as well. Construction is good early on with a very smooth draw and a burn line that's slightly uneven but easily correctable at this point.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)

“The first few puffs after lighting on this cigar are very interesting. The barnyard and natural tobacco from the prelight are there and prominent. The retrohale is what is out of this world! Call me crazy, but in addition to raisins and white pepper, I am getting hints of banana. Not a fresh banana mind you, but Banana Heads candy banana that is very sweet and lingers for quite a long finish. This is starting out to be a very great-tasting cigar. There have only been one or two cigars I can remember that I ever got banana on and I don't think this is either of those so now there is three LOL. The draw is just a little loose, so I am smoking a little slower than I normally would keep it from heating up. Smoke output is very light as well, which I attribute to the open draw. At just past the one-inch mark, the banana notes are gone, but the rest remain. There is still an overall sweetness to the cigar at this point, and the first part of this cigar has been very enjoyable.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

Second Third

Flavor: 94
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Tasting notes really came to play on the second 3rd, but the burn issues are well… laughable. 1176 does NOT like wind or even a breeze. It's almost silly. But back to the tasting notes, Quick milk chocolate, browned butter Carmel & a hint of white pepper. This was so enjoyable however the ash is falling everywhere & it won't stay lit.” –Allison T. (The Yoga Ash)

“Heading into the heart of the cigar not much has changed. We have a tempered pepper on the retro and charred wood on the front with a light sweet note.
Right at the midway point, that sweetness opens up and I get a distinct vanilla custard. It actually plays nicely with the charred note and comes across like a creme brulee. Once again I touch it up post ash to keep us in line. This isn't my normal practice but with the soft spots and general construction concerns, I can sense there will be trouble if I'm not proactive. Much to my surprise, I'm actually really digging the flavor profile in this third. It's on the dry side, but the sweetness has really picked up and I'm getting vanilla all the way through the retro where it transitions from a woody charred sweetness to a peppery blast with lingering white cake. I can't quite tell if the harshness from the beginning was so overpowering that is still coating my palate, or if it's lingering around throughout the cigar, but I can say if it wasn't for that nuisance I'd be seriously vibing with the profile in this third.” –Vance T. (Vance)

Final Third

Flavor: 86
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Once again, a lot of interesting notes coming through with each puff. Notes of earth, licorice, burnt toast, peanut butter, and oak.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

“The flavor profile remains the same in the final third: cedar, mineral, and coffee on the draw paired with that phenomenal retrohale consisting of mineral and spice. The overall strength and body also rose up to flirt with medium-full territory here in the final stretch. Construction remains very good down to the nub with a smooth draw and no burn issues.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)

Overall Impressions – Davidoff JR 50th Anniversary

Draw: 90

“No problems from beginning to end.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

Burn: 86

“While the burn line needed to be corrected a few times in the first third, these issues (once corrected) never arose again throughout the remainder of the smoking experience.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)

Construction: 86

“The cigar looks great, though very soft and possibly underfilled. The bitterness almost turned to harshness at the end.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 85

“Interesting smoke from start to finish. Notes of spice, bread, nuttiness, and oak. A nice addition to your humidor. Great smoke to have when you just want to relax and think.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

“The sexy wrapper utilized on this cigar really seduced me from the get-go and thankfully the smoking experience that followed didn't disappoint. A fantastic mineral-heavy retrohale partnered with an always present spice and strong core flavors of rich coffee and cedar on the draw… this cigar is a winner from start to finish.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)

“What started out as a phenomenal cigar faded quickly to bitter then harsh. There was such a great sweetness and fruit profile at the beginning I settled into what I thought was going to be an epic cigar. Instead, the cigar turned dry and earthy with heavy ground coffee and wood notes on the finish. I will be curious to find out what this cigar is and determine if I just got the “one-off” from the floor that was just not great, or if this is a common profile of the cigar.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

“Maybe the roller had a bad day or something cause this cigar was a lot of issues & the off-gassing it needed to be able to be smoked was pretty harsh.” –Allison T. (The Yoga Ash)

“Unfortunately this cigar was hobbled by construction issues which, no doubt, impacted the performance and flavor. That said the middle third really shined for me. So: did a roller at the factory have a bad day, or is this a brand that's laden with QA challenges? Depending on who makes the cigar and its price point, I may give it another go – there was enough there that I loved, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find more.” –Vance T. (Vance)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 78

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Davidoff JR 50th Anniversary – Blind Cigar Review