AVO

Avo Uvezian, the talented jazz pianist and cigar blender, utilized the services of Davidoff’s Davidoff’s Hendrik Kelner to create a cigar of his own. As the years went on, more blends and brands were created for the virtuoso with many becoming classic hits. I was fortunate to see the man as he was promoting his cigars and love of music, even well into his nineties. Known for his white suit and hat, Avo was a gentleman and a true lover of the leaf. Sadly we lost the man in 2017 at the aged of 91. His love and legacy continues through Davidoff in cigars that honor the man’s spirit and passion for a fine smoke.

The Avo Syncro Nicaragua Fogata which is Spanish for “Campfire” is another example of the style the man had in his life captured in a cigar. I was fortunate enough to smoke his Toro and quite pleased. Enjoy!

Blend Specifics

• Cigar Reviewed: Avo Syncro Nicaragua Fogata Special Toro
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
• Binder: Mexican Negro San Andrea
• Filler: Nicaraguan/Dominican
• Size: Toro (6 x 54)

Here is some additional background from the Avo website:

Inspired by the cosmopolitan lifestyle of Avo Uvezian, our Master Blender has ventured to the untamed heart of Central America. Capturing sweet and spicy flavors from the rich, volcanic soil of Nicaragua and blending them with the soft, creamy notes of the finest Dominican leaves. Resulting in a smooth and balanced box-pressed cigar with unexpected depth and complexity.

As the first in our Syncro Series, AVO Nicaragua is truly a one-of-a-kind experience. One that begins on the remote island of Ometepe; a unique landscape where a rare and exceptional tobacco is grown. Known for its wild character and peppery notes, we carefully fuse this tobacco with earthy flavors from our estate in the Dominican Republic. The composition is an experience that is perfectly in sync with the moments worth sharing.

Appearance and Construction

The band has the classic “AV” noting his initials on top of each other with a white and orange backdrop. The word “Nicaragua” is featured on the band in orange and a secondary band with “Fogata” on it. There are no soft spots and the cigar feels packed just right. The wrapper is dark and smooth with minimal veins. As usual with a Davidoff product, the construct is spot on.

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

The Avo Fogata begins a bit dry up front with some leather on the back end. Some spice develops with sweet cedar from the binder. As it builds some earth and graham cracker comes through along with sandalwood. The Fogata at this point sits in the medium range and the development seems subtle. Pencil lead and sweet cream balance out the start of the cigar.

Midway, the spice continues to build as well as earthiness on the finish. The burn is slow and with that a creamy texture envelopes the palate and lingers on for a while. Some almond is detected with a distinct pine nut flavor as it continues. A strong earthy finish hits you as the cigar builds up in strength and flavor. The Fogata is at the medium to full bodied range at this point.

The final third delivers lots of fresh earth and forest floor and the strength has pleasingly increased. The burn line and ash have been excellent which demonstrates once again the quality of Kelner’s work at Davidoff. Sweet cedar balanced by rich tobacco flavor makes you wish this was the beginning of this smoke and not the end. The sweet wood and tobacco is left to linger on the palate until its finish. A fun cigar to smoke.

Conclusion

Sadly Avo is no longer with us to personally continue his creativity and vision in cigar and his music. Thus far it is apparent that Davidoff is respectfully committed to honoring the man by what they are producing. The Avo Nicaragua Fogata Special Toro delivers a medium to full bodied experience dominated by sweet cedar, earth and some rich tobacco. I would recommend this Fogata to the smoker who appreciates nuances in their cigars and a quality premium smoke.

The AVO 22 released in 2018 is a re-release of the AVO 22 which was originally released in 2002. Why 22? The cigar is a tribute to the day of the month Avo Uvezian was born on, the day of the month his sister was born on, and the day he came to the USA, a 22nd. The cigar comes on the heels of the Avo Improvisation 30 Years, a cigar that was highly anticipated but (for me) fell flat.

So, I’m hoping the AVO 22 can cover some of the areas the Improvisation 30 Years needed some development in. In particular, balance (the Improv. 30 Years was dominated by salt and wood). But first, some background on the tobaccos…

Blend Specifics

• Company: Avo Cigars
• Cigar Reviewed: AVO 22 30 Years Limited Edition
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
• Binder: Dominican
• Filler: Dominican
• Size: Perfecto (5 7/8 x 50)

Appearance & Construction

The Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper has a couple of major veins but maintains a completely silky texture. There’s a ton of aroma coming directly off of the wrapper: salty spiciness, dry cedar, paper, and peanuts. The bands, as always with AVO, are spot on: an elegant combo of white, black, silver, orange, and gold.

After clipping the cigar with a straight cut, I test the draw and find it is fairly restrictive, though I image it will likely loosen up a bit after the tapered end burns through. There’s quite a bit of flavor on the pre light draw, mainly wood and spice, which gets me excited to light up.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

The AVO 22 kicks off with mild bodied, lush smoke. Smoke production is good, and gets even better as the ember burns through the tapered foot. The character of the smoke is interesting: very creamy, noticeably sweet and floral, but with a toasted cedar note that complements the cream out nicely. Touches of spice on the retrohale round the whole profile out.

The ash holds for about an inch and a half, which is surprising given that tapered vitolas tend to be a bit more precarious on the construction side. The flavor and strength heading into the second third are both below medium though not quite mild. The flavor has shifted a bit, with the creamy floral note turning into something a bit closer to sweet cake dough. The aroma is also fairly sweet, but has a cracked black pepper note.

At this point, the AVO 22 is starting to remind me a bit of the AVO Improvisation 30 Years (one of the few AVO cigars I’m not fond of). The difference here is that the AVO 22 seems much more thought out, with more flavor and complementarity.

The final third is where this cigar gets more interesting. The black pepper note ramps up a bit, and there’s also a new flavor, something like lemon meringue that’s subtle but definitely there. The creaminess in the texture fades quickly, replaced by a dry cedar texture. In the last inch and a half, the strength ramps up to medium, with the palate dominated by cedar, black pepper and undertones of sweet grass and floral.

A nice end.

Conclusion

I can see why the AVO 22 was so popular when it was originally released all those years ago. It has a lot of finesse, even though the flavor profile doesn’t change radically throughout the course of the smoke.  At around $17, this cigar has some tough competition. But it’s worth purchasing, and, if you’re an AVO enthusiast, maybe purchasing a box.

Fun little kicker here. Avo Uvezian was a masterful piano player. He’s known for having played with Frank Sinatra and written many of his own tunes. I found out just tonight while writing this review you that you can listen to the man himself play by searching Avo Uvezian on spotify.

Final Score: 88

Up for review today is the AVO Maduro Robusto, a cigar that was discontinued by Davidoff in 2015. But you may have seen this cigar in stores lately: Davidoff decided to bring back the AVO Maduro as part of its celebration of 30 years of AVO cigars (reported by Halfwheel here).

The blend itself is identical to the original, so there really isn’t anything new here per se. But, I for one am glad that the cigar has made a return to the market as I’m a big fan of many of AVO’s cigars.

Now that’s out of the way, let’s get to the review.

Product Specifics

• Cigar Reviewed: AVO 30 Years Maduro Robusto
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Binder: Dominican
• Filler: Dominican
• Size: Robusto (5 x 50)

Appearance and Construction

The AVO Maduro wrapper comes dark, rustic, and with some noticeable veins and seams. It’s also quite rough to the touch as you can probably see in the photos. You’ll also notice that the branding on this cigar is quite beautiful. It sports the classic black, gold, and white band on top of a secondary band indicating the celebratory backdrop for this cigar. I’ve always been a huge fan of the primary AVO band, regardless of line. The texture, interlocking of the letters (the band spells “AVO” if you look front to back), it’s all spot on.

Smelling the foot of the cigar, I pick up whiffs of old oak, earth, leather. The pre light draw is just the right amount of restrictiveness, with few notes, mainly a bit of sweet earthiness.

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

The AVO Maduro kicks off with loads of mild/medium bodied, medium strength smoke. The profile is a combo of two quite traditional sets of flavors. The AVO stamp is clear on this profile: there’s an overall lightness to the smoke (it’s also amazingly smooth), with mustiness, some cedar, and light floral notes. On top of that is the typical Maduro profile: earthy spice, savory, almost meat-like chewiness, and in this case a bit of creaminess. Layered on top of each other, the two sets of flavors complement each other quite nicely. It offers a complexity that many other Maduro smokes can’t match.

At an inch in, the flavor picks up just a touch, adding a peppery spice right on the tip of the tongue and a bit more sweetness to the palate. It’s nice to see the flavors moving a bit. An hour with the same exact flavor profile all the way through is not an indicator of quality. Unfortunately, it’s at around the same point that the burn canoes considerably, needing a major touch up to fix.

As the cigar burns into the second third, the body picks up to just above medium, but nowhere near full. The flavor palette has morphed substantially, with a bit more of the Maduro notes dominating the lighter AVO foundation. Two notes have hopped into the mix which I really like: raisin and dark chocolate. There’s also a spicy white pepper that’s eased it’s way in to the retrohale as well, giving the smoking experience even more character.

The final third surprises me a bit because the flavor palette continues to change and develop. Not in terms of strength, but with respect to the flavors present. There’s still a good amount of Maduro sweetness on the palate, but leather takes on a much more significant role as the cigar burns down to the end.

Conclusion

I have to say, in the first ten minutes of smoking the AVO 30 Years Maduro, I was preparing myself for a relatively mild and tame experience. Alas, I was so disappointed by the AVO Improvization 30 Years that it may have initially biased my expectations. Smoking the AVO 30th Maduro all the way through proved me dead wrong. While it doesn’t deliver a ton of strength, it actually presents a complex and well thought out progression of flavors.

Unlike some Maduros, this isn’t an after dinner cigar—it doesn’t have the body or strength to follow up a hearty dinner, especially if alcohol is involved (which can diminish the sensitivity of the palate). But this is a very solid afternoon smoke and would pair very well with espresso or coffee.

Highly recommended.

Final Score: 90

Up for review today is the AVO Improvisation 30 Years, a cigar celebrating the 30th birthday of AVO cigars as a company. It’s a bit of an intimidating cigar to approach, mainly because it’s 7.5 inches long – quite a time commitment.  The limited edition release is based on one of AVO‘s classic cigars, the AVO No. 3, which is the same size and shape, but features an Ecuadorian marron wrapper instead of the No. 3’s Connecticut shade wrapper.

With all that said, let’s get on with the review.

Product Details

• Cigar Reviewed: AVO Improvisation 30 Years
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian marron
• Binder: Dominican
• Filler: Dominican
• Size: 7 1/2 x 50 (Churchill)

Appearance and Construction

The AVO 30 Years is a really gorgeous cigar, particularly the branding. The dual band features sharply contrasting colors of white, black, silver, and bright orange. It’s really perfect. It doesn’t end with the band. The outer wrapper has a few noticeable veins but otherwise is very soft and velvety to the touch, with a slight oily sheen.

Off the foot, I pick up bright aromas of cedar, light spiciness and perhaps some cinnamon. The pre light draw on the other hand is round and soft, revealing some earth and sweet natural tobacco notes.

Flavor and Smoke characteristics

The AVO 30th opens with an interesting profile: just below medium in strength and quite salty, with a very finely textured spice mixed in. A quarter of an inch in, the profile expands with some prominent nuttiness, vanilla, and cedar notes. Smoke production up until this point has been moderate (more would be nice), but the long size helps keep the smoke very cool.

By an inch in, the burn is razor sharp. Dominant on the palate and in the aromas is salted peanuts and something like dusty old wood—enjoyable but I’d love some brown sugar or something sweet in the mix to balance out the saltiness.

Heading in to the second third, the body has remained below medium but the strength of the flavors is at or slightly above medium. There’s a very subtle creamy sweetness, but nowhere near enough to balance out the nutty, woods, and slightly dusty primary flavors. The retrohale has ramped up considerably with a decent dose of white pepper.

At this point I’m just not enchanted by this cigar like I am by most of AVOs limited edition offerings.

By halfway, the first major shift comes in the form of the nuttiness and saltiness drawing back while floral and hay edge forward. It’s a good change, but it is ultimately fleeting, with the salty/savory notes continuing to overassert themselves.

The final third is mostly more of the same, but the strength and body are both above medium. The pepper at this point plays nicely other flavors, but it’s too little, too late for this cigar.

Conclusion

I’m a huge fan of AVO cigars, and particularly of their limited release lines. But I can’t help feeling a bit disappointed by the AVO 30th. It had some enjoyable moments, but by and large the profile was overly dominated by the salty, nutty, and peppery notes. For a smaller cigar, it might be more manageable of a smoke. Seven inches is just too long for so little progression in the flavors.

I won’t be returning to this particular line.

Final Score: 84