The Davidoff brand has become famous as a cigar manufacturer, but the Davidoff Luxury Group was founded over a hundred years ago and has expanded its range over this time. It found a place not only for cigars, but also for pipes, leather accessories, silk neckerchiefs, and perfume.
Historical reference. The idea to create a signature cognac belongs to Zino Davidoff, who shared it with Kilian Hennessy, and both came to a consensus: the drink can be an ideal addition to cigars and another product for people who know a lot about a beautiful life. It was Hennessy who became the supplier of spirits for the drink, which, having appeared in the middle of the XNUMXth century, surprised the world with its unconventional richness of taste and aroma. Cognac “Davidov” has a narrow line, it has only two flavors – Classic and Extra. But recently there was a limited release of Davidoff XO, Cognac AOC.
The drink was created in the cognac house Hine, which since 1962 has been the official supplier of cognac to the English royal house. The history of the house began in the XNUMXth century, when the son of an English linen merchant, Thomas Hein, went to France to study cognac. After several years of study and wandering, he ended up in the town of Zharnak, where he met the daughter of the owner of a small cognac factory. Young people got married, and the son-in-law’s ability to run a business was very quickly appreciated by new relatives. After the death of the owner, his wife passed the company into the hands of Thomas, who gave it a new name – Thomas Hine & Co. The company is still family owned and is owned by the seventh generation of Hines.
The company owns 120 hectares of vineyards in the south of Grande Champagne. Among the features of production: microdistillation, which is produced from the best varieties and only on an open fire; huge copper cubes for alambic Charentais, distillation according to the Charente method, a special algorithm for creating blends. For blending, the master selects grape varieties from two sites – Petite Champagne and Grande Champagne, approximately in equal proportions.
Blending takes place in large oak vats, and then the blend is poured into new barrels, where it spends from six months to nine months. New casks must be dried for three years in open space before use, so that the wood loses bitter tannins that spoil the taste of the drink. Cognac acquires color and taste during aging in old barrels. After that, the drink is bottled for sale or left for storage in bottles braided with a vine.
In Zharnak, where the main storages are located, the cellars are located close to the river, they have a high level of humidity and fluctuating temperatures, which can reach +6 ° C in winter and +20 ° C in summer. These conditions predetermined the complexity of the Davidoff structure, its rich bouquet, pronounced tart-spicy notes and the taste of aged wine, characteristic of old cognacs.
Davidoff drink only clean, as a digestif.
Types of cognac Davidoff
Davidoff CLASSIC (40%). Drink with twenty years of exposure, noble mahogany color. Powerful aroma with notes of oak, honey, vanilla, violets. Spicy oily taste with hints of honey and citrus. Long warming aftertaste with hints of dried rose petals.
Davidoff EXTRA (43%). Cognac of the color of old gold with red gleams. Complex powerful aroma with notes of oak, vanilla and candied orange. Intense but well balanced oily taste with hints of vanilla and honey and a long warm and slightly tart aftertaste.
Davidoff XO, Cognac AOC (40%). A chestnut-colored drink made from one white grape variety – Ugni Blanc. The blend is aged in oak containers for at least 20 years. Complex honey-fruity aroma with notes of cloves and licorice. Deep velvety taste with apricot-peach hints and heady nutty aftertaste.
