Ever since 1967, when Zino Davidoff launched his eponymous Cuban cigar brand, through the transition to the 1991 release of the Dominican-made Davidoff Aniversario, the Davidoff White Band has been a symbol of excellence and luxury for the global family of cigar connoisseurs. The simple yet elegant gloss white band, with the name Davidoff rendered gracefully in gold script, represents the pinnacle of the cigarmaker’s art. So universal has the acceptance of Davidoff’s supremacy become, that the country of origin is of less relevance than the name on the cigar band, a truly unique accomplishment. But now that familiar icon has a darker sibling: the Black Band Collection
With such a dominant foothold in the luxury marketplace, why would this storied Swiss company look to deviate from their long-established marque? Davidoff Director of Global Product Innovation and Global Brand Ambassador Sam Reuter explains the segue from the White Band Collection to the Black Band Collection, and how the two can mutually exist:
“We wanted to tap into new territory, regarding taste, regarding blend, and also format. We targeted a new consumer, a younger generation of aficionados, stepping a bit away from our White Band Collection.” Reuter explains that while the established Davidoff customer was typically well acquainted with the brand’s history and heritage, “the Black Band consumers were really focusing on the taste, on experiencing something new, but with the Davidoff quality that we are known for. And interestingly, we got new consumers to our brand.”
The year 2013 saw the launch of the Davidoff Nicaragua, the first Black Band release. And while the original White Band still accounts for the bulk of the brand’s sales, “the Black Band is really performing well,” Reuter adds, “especially Nicaragua, which is the best performing line in the collection.” The success of Davidoff Nicaragua led to the 2015 introduction of Davidoff Escurio, notable for its complex Brazilian blend. Per Reuter, “Here we took a bit more of a pioneering position by crafting a premium long filler with Brazilian tobacco.” A year later saw the release of Yamasa, showcasing Davidoff’s proprietary Dominican wrapper leaf. Here Reuter explains the challenges of cultivating that particular leaf: “Yamasa is a region that took us 20 years to grow tobacco in. There’s great soil, perfect Ph, but the climate is difficult to master.”
And now, a full 10 years later, Davidoff will be premiering their newest Black Band line at this year’s PCA Convention and Trade Show. Puro Dominicano, a cigar composed entirely of Dominican tobacco, filler, binder and wrapper, is a landmark achievement for the Swiss company. Reuter explains that the finished product is the result of combining tobaccos from six different growing regions, or “terroir,” a term used to refer to the soil, topography and climate. “The tobacco is quite oily and quite thick, so there were certain challenges in the blending, to make sure that each tobacco is rightly placed for the proper combustion.” He adds that “the various varietals of tobacco have a combined age of 32 years, and the aged tobacco is very balanced. Each terroir benefits from its own microclimate. That’s why you have these complex flavors.”
The motivation for creating a Dominican puro was in part to showcase how far the Dominican cigar has evolved since Davidoff originally located there. “When we launched back in the ’90s, Dominican tobacco was known as being mild,” Reuter says. “Now we have so much more variety of tobacco, we can go full-bodied, we can develop certain aromas that it was not possible to have 30 years back.” For these reasons the Davidoff Puro Dominicano was put into the Black Band Collection.
A distinguishing feature of the series is the shape selection. There are three vitolas in the collection: Short Robusto, 4 1/2 x 52; Corona Larga, 5 7/8 x 44; and Perfecto, 5 1/2 x 50.
The Corona Larga and Perfecto shapes are unique to the Puro Dominicano line, not appearing elsewhere in the Davidoff portfolio. Reuter points out, “We wanted them to be distinctive, and so to please our consumers with these new formats we thought let’s go little bit more sophisticated, a bit more elegant.”
Another notable feature is the price structure. The Black Band Collection is priced lower than the White, and despite the laborious process to create this cigar, Puro Dominicano is priced in line with the rest of the collection. The MSRPs are Short Robusto, $19.80; Corona Larga, $23.30; and Perfecto, $25.20.
Puro Dominicano was created with a concept in mind. Reuter says, “The title of our story is ‘A Gem Raised From the Ground.’ The color on the cigar ring is amber, referring back to the amber stone grown exclusively in the Dominican Republic. We took inspiration from this jewel from the Dominican ground and linked it to the importance of the soil used for the tobacco in this cigar. All the tobacco is from the DR, a parallel with the amber gemstone.”
– Photography courtesy of Davidoff. Story by Larry Wagner.
This story first appeared in PCA The Magazine, Volume 1, 2026. To receive a copy of this magazine, you must be a current PCA member. Join or renew today at premiumcigars.org/membership.