DAVIDOFF Zino Eau de Toilette 125ml

Product Information

Products bearing the DAVIDOFF brand must represent the finest quality, style and positive lifestyle embraced by the company founder Zino Davidoff himself. Zino Davidoff (1906 – 1994), the cultivated, open-minded and sophisticated gentleman, the visionary businessman and the enthusiastic traveller explored the world for inspiration, always in quest for superior quality. He was an artisan of a happy life, enjoying the simple pleasures life offers and sharing them with friends. His expertise, tenacity and intuition combined with his unique personality earned him the status of a legend. Today, the DAVIDOFF brand resonates throughout the globe as one of the ultimate touchstones for exclusivity. Superior quality and authenticity make DAVIDOFF a synonym for cosmopolitan luxury.

Inspired by France’s top wines, Davidoff created the elegant Château Series | Photo: Oettinger Davidoff Group In 1924 Zino Davidoff travelled in Argentina, Brazil and Cuba, where he spent two years gaining experience of the cigar trade. He returned to Switzerland taking control of the family shop about 1930. He is credited with inventing a desktop humidifier in which cigars could be kept at the same degree of humidity and temperature as in Cuba. His business expanded during the Second World War where, when trade of all kinds was disrupted, he provided one of the few channels through which leaders on both sides of the conflict could obtain quality cigars. Smoking time is said to be between 50-60min. I made mine last 1 hour and 45mins, leaving just about 1cm left and not once did it go out There were no issues with the draw, which is consistently perfect, offering what seems like the ideal amount of resistance from beginning to end.The store was founded by Edward Sahakian, an Armenian refugee from revolutionary Iran who realised his business interests—he held the national concession for Coca-Cola—had little place in the realm of the ayatollahs. He decided that a venture selling Davidoff cigars, to which he had been introduced in Geneva by Zino Davidoff himself, would be an agreeable way to earn a living. Day-to-day management is now the responsibility of Eddie, his son, whom I spoke to from his office beneath the shop. One response to the financial crises was quantitative easing and the availability of credit says Eddie: “Money became so cheap for anyone holding assets, anyone with wealth, there was so much more of it. And that raised the price of a Rolex, you know, the price of a good car, the price of fine wine, art, of course, to some degree, of a good bespoke suit. All these things have gone up spectacularly in the last 12 years.”

Next take a new sponge that hasn’t been used before and dampen it with distilled water. Place the sponge inside the bag and allow it to sit for at least a full week if not longer. This will begin to introduce humidity to the cigars slowly but won’t cause the wrapper to burst.

When Zino died in 1994, Davidoff had become a trademark for flair, luxury, refined living, and pleasure. Today, Davidoff-Oettinger is a globally active, family-owned corporation. Around 2,700 employees work at the headquarters and in the 30 daughter companies operating in 120 world markets. In the 54 Davidoff shops worldwide, at 550 specialty shops and 1,700 bars and cafes, perfect cigars lie in boxes, waiting for that moment of truth – that precious hour in which the consumer tips his hat to “the good life“. Younger employees report that colleagues who have been at Davidoff for a long time constantly talk about Zino. Culturally, you know, Armenians, like Mediterraneans, are very guest-host conscious. Inviting people into your home is a crucial part of our culture, and giving them everything that’s your best is a very important mark of respect. Your guests will always get the best food, the best drink, the best seats, the best accommodation, and you will be second. And so that approach was just applied very naturally.” The dynamic Duo Dr. Ernst Schneider and Zino Davidoff, turned Davidoff into an established worldwide brand | Photo: Oettinger Davidoff Group A Queen Loses Her Throne

A personal favorite, for many years now. An absolutely masterful perfume from Michel Almairac - without doubt, one of the greatest perfumers of our time. And Zino is definitely one of his best creations. Cocao-dusted Patchouli with some sublime Sandalwood, Lavender and Geranium - sweetened with just a touch of Vanilla and Labdanum. Incredibly well balanced and quite refined for a Patchouli fragrance from 1986. Being a smoker is not, however, essential. It is helpful if the staff can talk customers through the products from personal experience, but what is most important is “a natural love of cigars and tobacco. That’s, I think, important… you must have the interest in the product. Because you cannot fake an interest in a product.” The satisfyingly velvety nature of the smoke (it makes you almost want to chew on it when the smoke is in your mouth!), along with the well-balanced nature of the blend results in a very flavorful, complex and harmonious experience.For alcoholic beverage pairings, I would suggest Sake, Riesling, a Rosé from the South of France, Pilsner or Wheat beer, a floral Single Malt Scotch, or a delicate Bourbon. The Zino Davidoff Group is a Swiss-based family business that manufactures exclusive watches, writing instruments and leather goods for a sophisticated clientele in addition to prestige fragrances, eyewear, cognac and café. DAVIDOFF has committed itself to bring together the finest materials and ingredients the world has to offer. From design, inspiration and craftsmanship – the goal is to provide ultimate quality and reliability. It’s all part of the DAVIDOFF philosophy of perfection. Zino Davidoff, the Russian-born Jew who opened his tobacco shop in Geneva in the 1930s, was known as the “King of Cigars”. It would be a hotly contested title now, and Eddie would no doubt defer to his father, but Sahakian may at least be the crown prince. How long will the industry last? Given the direction of travel in public health, further restrictions may be on the horizon; maybe even, one day, outright prohibition. Until then, Davidoff of London, on the corner of Jermyn Street and St James’s Street, remains an outpost of Armenian hospitality in central London, a carefully managed and elegantly presented business. If anyone can survive, the Sahakians surely can.

The smell of a Davidoff coming out of such a tube has become an intoxicating experience for me. I always know that there are wonderful things to come!

After the first chypre fragrance, it would have been logical for the brand to move towards fougère compositions, following Azzaro Pour Homme, or to create a real big tobacco fragrance that highlights the brand's origins. I'd love a Davidoff perfume of cigar or tobacco leaves! But Davidoff has not chosen that path, instead ending up in a blue sea of freshness with their hit fragrance Cool Water in the late eighties. Sahakian is now 76, and he’s clearly in no rush to retire. It’s not yet spring in London, and Sahakian’s cigar store is closed to visitors due to pandemic rules, but looking at the man one would never imagine it’s not business as usual. His tie is perfectly knotted, a proud Windsor knot sitting just below his close-cropped, gray beard. His three-piece suit is elegantly pressed, and he’s sitting comfortably in a chair, a skinny cigar in one of his hands. There was a single hurdle in the Oettinger-Davidoff success story. In 1989, after a struggle with the Cubans, Zino Davidoff, who once crowned the Cuban cigar as his queen, was forced to de-throne his beloved. He remembered the old Brazilian planter who told him that his own destiny would always be intertwined with Cuba – “there will be nothing else for you” but now it seemed as though that prophecy would not be fulfilled. On the Davidoff side, word spread that the desired quality of cigars – the foundation of the Davidoff philosophy-was no longer being met. Furthermore, the islanders attempted to keep hold of 51 percent of the Cuban daughter company. Cubatobaco contested the allegations of inferior quality, but did indeed insist on co-ownership. When the conflict came to a head after Davidoff publicly burns 130,000 Cuban cigars, his relationship to Cuba went up in flames as well. As for who finally terminated the contract, that’s still a secret today.