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Wednesday, September 28, 2016

AVO Cigars - "Classic Covers LE 2015 Vol. 2" [Dominican Republic]

This cigar is a special one I picked up at the Drew Estate / Joya "Doubleshot" event at Fine Cigar & Tobacco in Glastonbury, CT. It's Avo Cigars' "Classic Covers Limited Edition 2015 Vol. 2", a 6x54 toro from Avo's Improvisation series. It measures 6" long by 54 ring gauge - so almost an inch in diameter.

Interesting story on the name - the cigar company is named for Avo Uvezian, is a 90-year old jazz musician and cigar manufacturer who forms the inspiration for the company. You may know Avo's music - he wrote the song "Strangers in the Night" for Frank Sinatra. Legend has it that Avo, after traveling to Switzerland and being unhappy with the price of a Cuban cigar he bought, decided to make his own. Fast-forward 28 years, his cigars are now sold by the millions around the globe.


This particular cigar is Avo's super-premium limited edition series, and I'd seen this around a couple of times, in both catalogs and stores. I'm a huge fan of their other smokes, including the "XO", the "Domaine", the "Heritage", to name a few, so I was very interested in trying it. Unfortunately, they were only sold wholesale by the box, which was too expensive ($265 for 10, that's a bit much.) But I found a single cigar locally, so I figured I should give it a try. It cost $16.95 retail.

This cigar uses the AVO "Heritage" as an inspiration, and contains an Ecuadorian Marron 702 wrapper with longfillers from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua. The "Classic Covers LE 2015 Vol. 1" uses a similar blend, but has long-leaf ligero fillers from Ometepe. Sounds good! Let's light up.

The draw is nice; and burns quickly through the first few puffs. Initially, there's a bit of acridity. That doesn't last long, however, and after a few more puffs, I'm noticing some deep, refined flavors - like tobacco, leather, and a strong woody note. It's really delicious. The construction is fine and even, and it burns solidly. Midway through, there's a note not unlike baker's chocolate. I wrap up the cigar around pinkie length, when it started tasting a bit acrid.

Overall, an enjoyable cigar with a good set of flavors. The construction was nice, draw was good, and the burn even. The only thing working against it is the price. I would happily pay $10 or $12 per cigar, but $17 makes this a rare treat.



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