Stogie Reviews: Davidoff Colorado Claro Short Perfecto

The Davidoff Colorado Claro is a limited edition line using the same blend as the Davidoff Special, but featuring a darker, richer “Colorado Claro” wrapper. While it was originally released way back in 2002, it hasn’t since been available until its re-introduction in late 2009.

For this review I sampled a few Colorado Claros in the Short Perfecto (4.9 x 52) which, at $13 each, is the most affordable size. These are truly very limited smokes, with only 300 boxes of 10 cigars having been made. There are three other sizes of the Colorado Claro, each made in similarly limited numbers: a “Special R” robusto ($16), a “Special T” torpedo ($18), and a “Double R” double corona ($27).

The blend features a unique Colorado Claro Ecuadorian wrapper. It’s a lush brown leaf with nice sheen and, upon close inspection, impressively few veins.

The Short Perfecto starts off with a burst of savory saltiness, which will be the dominant flavor throughout. There is also a underlying core of slightly sweet cedar. As it progresses, it grows from a medium- to a full-bodied smoke with pleasant caramel notes and an aromatic sweetness. It puts off a good deal of smoke, and has Davidoff’s characteristic excellent construction.

The Colorado Claro has a subtle peppery finish, particularly in the second half when the saltiness fades slightly, even though it never goes completely away. Near the end a coffee bean flavor emerges for an exciting and more medium-bodied conclusion.

One of the most remarkable and defining characteristics about this blend are the salty flavors. In so many cigars, saltiness is a sign of a lack of balance—but here that flavor contributes to what makes it such a distinct and enjoyable smoke.

The perfecto shape does an excellent job focusing all those flavors on the palate and helping along the subtle yet striking shifts in the 50-minute smoke. The interesting flavor, combined with superb construction and an approachable price, is what earns this cigar the year’s first rating of five of stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. A list of other five stogie-rated cigars can be found here.]

-Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys