Davidoff 5000 Re-Released in U.S.

Gregory Mottola
Posted: July 21, 2006

The Davidoff 5000, which is the largest ring gauge cigar of the Davidoff Mille Series, has been reintroduced to the U.S. retail market after an absence of nearly four years. It was part of the original Mille Series lineup, which was launched in 1990, but dwindling global sales as the decade progressed led to its removal from the Davidoff lineup.

"Worldwide sales dropped below what Davidoff considered to be viable. It was always a huge seller in the U.S., but the U.S. makes up only 10 percent of Davidoff's market," said David Kitchens, proprietor of Davidoff of Geneva's Madison Avenue retail store in New York City.

According to Kitchens, pressure from Davidoff's U.S. sales managers led to the cigar's comeback, and this time, the 5000 is being produced for the U.S. market only -- a first for Davidoff, which has never produced a market-specific cigar under the Davidoff name in the company's history.

"They never do unique cigars for specific markets because Davidoff wants the product offering to be consistent worldwide," said Kitchens.

The 5000 measures 5 1/4 inches by 46 ring and has a Connecticut-seed wrapper with a Dominican binder and filler.