The story of the legendary aficionado.
Dear readers, the story begins in Kyiv in 1906, where Zino Davidoff was born.
Zino was naturally predestined to work in the tobacco industry; his father (Henri) was passionate, and the smell of tobacco was ever-present in the household.
Due to political factions, the Davidoff family had to leave the country in 1911, and they chose to go to Geneva, Switzerland, where Father Davidoff opened a small tobacco shop on Rue du Marché in Geneva. Davidoff Geneva was born!
After studying in Geneva, Zino didn’t choose the easy way. He left Geneva in 1925 without money to discover South America and Cuba, fulfilling his passion for cigars.
There, he learned about the culture of cigars and the cigar trade. After five years of working in Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba, he came back home.
In his words, this period was “a discovery, a wonder”.
He learned everything about the cultivation, storage, and exploitation of the incomparable Cuban “Puro.”
He also made good connections in Cuba, which would prove very useful in the future…
Cubans cigars in Geneva
In 1930, he returned to his father’s shop in Geneva.
A shop that was missing... well, cigars.
But he knew that the Swiss climate was fundamentally different from the Cuban climate, which would cause problems for the conservation of his cigars.
This is when Zino Davidoff invented the first desktop humidor, allowing him to store and sell Cuban cigars of much better quality conservation than what was available on the market at the time.
In the years that followed, Davidoff’s tobacco shop earned a reputation mainly through the import of Cuban cigars and was soon regarded as the world’s premier address for Havana cigar lovers.
Because he acquired good relationships with the Cubans, he was given the opportunity to buy off all SEITA stock when the war started in 1939.
SEITA was the only Cuban distributor in France, and seeing the threat of occupation, Cubans wanted to save the 2 million cigars present in France.
A golden opportunity that made Davidoff the only dealer able to supply Havana cigars during the war.
Davidoff masterpieces
With this great reputation now acquired throughout Europe, Zino Davidoff went on to work with the Cubans and launched exclusive production for himself and his clients.
Inspired by French “Grand Cru” wine like “Château Latour” or “Château Lafite” the new series quickly became one of the many Davidoff masterpieces.
This original idea by Zino Davidoff, supported by the Cubans, was a stroke of genius!
The glamorous aura of the Davidoff brand was sublimated and Davidoff became a brand linked to Epicureanism, synonymous with the good life and high social status, particularly in Europe.
In recognition of his great services, his Cuban partners offered to produce his own line in 1970.
This was the moment the renowned “Davidoff No. 1” “Davidoff No. 2” and the “Ambassadrice” were born. In 1989, the relationship with the Cuba broke down, and Davidoff cigars were thereafter sourced from the Dominican Republic. But that’s another story!
On 14 January 1994, Zino Davidoff passed away in Geneva at the age of 88, leaving a motto for the cigar connoisseurs of the world: "Smoke less, but better and longer - make a cult of it, even a philosophy!"
