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| Avo 80th (Avo Limited Edition 2006) |
For those who are cigar fans of Avo Uvezian Cigars, when the month of March has comes around, they have been able to count on an annual limited production cigar from Avo Cigars. The series began back in 2001 with March being selected for the annual release to coincide with Avo Uvezian’s birthday. In this cigar assessment, we go back in time and take a look at the 2006 release. This one was particularly special in the series because it coincided with Uvezian’s 80th birthday. This limited edition was appropriately called, the Avo 80th. While I don’t think as strong as the limited releases we’ve seen from 2010-2012, this is still a good cigar and is a worthy of being part of the tradition of this line of cigars.
For readers of this web-site, they are aware of the Avo Limited Edition 2010 (Avo LE 10) was our selection for 2010 Cigar of the Year. The Avo LE 10 was a radical departure for the Avo line because it probably was the most full cigar from both a strength and body perspective. The Avo 80th is more traditional when it comes to the Avo line as it is not heavy on the strength, and not going to be overwhelming in terms of body. At the same time, this delivers a wonderful smooth cigar smoking experience.
Let’s break down the Avo 80th and see what this cigar brings to the table:
Blend Profile
Avo Cigars are blended by Davidoff’s Henke Kelner. For the Avo 80th, this has a classic Davidoff style-blend. It features Dominican binder and filler covered by an Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Vitolas Available
Par for the course with the Avo Limited Edition series, the Avo 80th is only available in a single vitola. In this case it is a 6 x 52 belicoso.
Appearance
The Avo 80th has a classic natural colored cigar wrapper. The wrapper is not oily. I would categorize this wrapper as a rustic style wrapper. It is a bumpy, toothy wrapper with several visible wrapper veins. This shouldn’t be categorized as a negative as it gives the cigar a classic charm. At the same time, this is a well constructed belicoso.
As with many of the Avo Limited Edition cigars, the Avo 80th features two bands The first band features the classic Avo logo with gold trim on an ivory colored background. The second band is located below the first band. It also features an ivory background. On that background is the text “Avo 80th” in a blackish font. There is also some additional gold striping going around the whole second band.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
Given the Avo 80th is a belicoso, I defaulted to a straight cut through the tip. Once the cut was completed, I commenced with a pre-light draw. The dry draw notes provided a nice sweet buttery cream flavor with some classic wood notes. Overall, the pre-light draw reminded me more of an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper cigar than an Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper cigar. At this point, it was time it was time to fire up the Avo 80th and see what the remainder of the smoking experience would bring to the table.
Flavor Profile
When I lit my Avo 80th, one thing I was really surprised about was how much pepper was in the aroma from the foot of the cigar. At the same time, I was surprised that the early flavor profile consisted of cream, toast, and nut. Around the five percent mark was when I started tasting the pepper on the tongue, and it mostly was on the after-draw.
By about the 20 percent mark, the nut flavors emerged as a primary note with the cream secondary. The pepper was also a secondary note, but was more present on the after-draw. As the Avo 80th approached the midway point, the pepper started to kick it up a bit. By the last third, the pepper (a classic black pepper) was the flavor in the forefront with the cream and nuts in the background.
The finish had both spicy and smooth characteristics. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and slightly warm.
Burn and Draw
Readers of my web-site know I am not a fan of torpedos or belicosos. I usually find they have an inferior burn and draw to a classic parejo shape. While I would have rather smoked the Avo 80th blend in a toro, there were no issues with burn or draw on this belicoso. The burn was sharp throughout the smoke. The burn rate was ideal from start to finish. The burn temperature was ideal except for the finish where it was a little warm. As for the draw, it was excellent – making the Avo 80th a great cigar to puff on.
Strength and Body
From a strength and body perspective, I found both attributes changed along the way. The start of the Avo 80th is not going to provide a ton of strength from a nicotine perspective. I assessed this cigar as mild to medium to start. By about the midway point, the Avo 80th progressed into the medium area of the strength spectrum. The body had a similar pattern. The depth of the flavor notes of the Avo 80th start as mild to medium, but also build up into medium in the second half.
Final Thoughts
The Avo 80th smoked like a classic Avo brand cigar – not a lot of strength and not a lot of body. I don’t think is as good as the Limited Editions by Avo from 2010 through 2012, but I still found this one of the better Avo Limited Edition cigars. These are not easy to find, but if you can find one, this is worth picking up. This is a nice special occasion cigar for the novice cigar enthusiast as it is not going to overwhelm with strength and body. As for the experienced cigar enthusiast, I’d probably say that this is going to appeal to a cigar enthusiast who likes that classic Avo cigar. I hope I can find some more of these to smoke in the future.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Body: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Finish: Good
Assessment: Nice to Have
Score: 89
Source: The cigar for this assessment was purchased from Charlotte Cigar Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
