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| Avo 25th Anniversary Edition |
The Avo 25th Anniversary Edition was launched at the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show. In one of our reports from the trade show floor, we provided one of the first looks into this new limited edition cigar from the brand that bears Avo Uvezian’s name. The name of the cigar is exactly what it indicates – it commemorates Uvezian’s 25 years in the cigar industry. I recently had an opportunity to smoke this cigar, and it adds another solid edition into the Avo portfolio.
Since 2001, the Avo line has released a special limited edition cigar that has been known as the Avo Limited Edition series. In fact, in 2010, we named the Avo Limited Edition 2010 our Cigar of the Year. In 2012, the Avo Limited Edition 2012 La Trompeta was released – paying homage to Avo’s musical roots. However, the Avo 25th Anniversary Edition adds a second limited release into the portfolio for 2012.
The Avo 25th Anniversary Edition will be limited to 2,000 boxes of 25. Like the La Trompeta, this cigar will also pay homage to Uvezian’s musical roots. The La Trompeta did this by creating a cigar to resemble a trumpet. The Avo 25th Anniversary Edition pays homage in terms of its packaging. The cigar is packaged in a unique grand piano shaped humidor. Each grand piano is individually numbered and may be re-used as a humidor.
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| Piano Humidor for the Avo 25th Anniversary Edition (Cigar Coop photo from 2012 IPCPR) |
Let’s take a closer look at the Avo 25th Anniversary Edition and see what this cigar brings to the table.
Blend Profile
The Avo 25th is a Dominican puro. Consistent with the Avo line, the cigars are blended under the watchful eye of master blender Henke Kelner. Here are the particulars:
Wrapper: Dominican Criollo Sun-Grown
Binder: Dominican Piloto
Filler: Dominican
Vitolas Available
The Avo 25th will be available in a single vitola. A 6 x 52 Toro size. Each cigar will have an SRP of $16.00.
Appearance
The Dominican Criollo sun-grown wrapper to the Avo 25th Anniversary Edition is visually stunning. The color to the wrapper is a medium brown color with a colorado red tint. While there is a little bit of oil to the wrapper, the complexion of the wrapper is more silky. There still is a bumpy feel to the wrapper despite the silky complexion. There are some visible wrapper seams and some visible veins. From the footer, there is an aroma cedar sweetness.
There are two bands on the cigar. The first band is similar to the brown, gold, black, and white band that has been seen the past few years on the Avo Limited Edition series. The Avo logo is front and center on that bend. To the left of the logo is the text “AVO UZEVIAN” in gold font. To the right of the logo is the scripted “Avo Uvezian” also in gold font. The band has white trim. There is a secondary band below the Avo logo band that is primarily brown in color with white trim. A large “25” is postioned front and center on that band. To the left of the “25” it says “Anniversary”. To the right it says “Edition” – all in gold.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
For my smoke of the Avo 25th Anniversary Edition, I went with my usual style of cut – a straight cut into the cap. It was then on to start the pre-light draw. The dry draw notes yielded me a combination of cedar sweetness and coffee. Overall while it wasn’t the most dynamic pre-light draw, it still was a satisfactory on. It was now on to toasting the foot of this cigar and seeing what the smoking experience would bring to the table.
Flavor Profile
Once lit, the Avo 25th yielded a mix of cedar sweetness and spice to start. This would be then be joined by some coffee notes. At the same time, I detected some grass notes in the background. In the early stages of the first third, the cedar sweet notes separated from the spice. The coffee and cedar sweetness remained in the forefront. The spice became more peppery. I could detect the spice on the draw, but it was much more present on the retro-hale.
By the end of the first third, the coffee notes remained primary while the cedar sweetness joined the pepper and grass as secondary notes. The pepper was still more present on the retro-hale.
As the Avo 25th moved into the second half, some cream notes emerged. The cream notes, along with the pepper notes moved into the forefront. The pepper was now present on the full draw. The coffee notes moved to the background joining the cedar sweet notes. This would be the flavor profile for the remainder of the cigar experience. Toward the close of the cigar, I did detect some harsh notes – although it wasn’t overly harsh. The resulting nub was cool in temperature, but it was soft to the touch.
Burn and Draw
In terms of the burn, the Avo 25th did have some pitfalls. The Avo 25th tended to burn on the jagged side – and did require multiple touch-ups to keep it going straight. It definitely had more touch-ups than I would have preferred. I had a slight tunnel on this sample, but the touch-up quickly corrected this. The resulting ash was salt and pepper colored. While the ash was firm, it did have some flaking. The rate and temperature of the burn were ideal.
There were no issues with the draw. I found the draw to be ideal – and it made the Avo 25th an easy cigar to puff on.
Strength and Body
For the most part the Avo line is not known for overly powerful cigars from a nicotine standpoint (the Avo Limited Edition 2010 is an example of one exception). The Avo 25th Anniversary Edition stays true to the Avo line’s roots here as it is going to deliver a medium strength smoking experience. From a flavor standpoint, the notes definitely have some depth to them. I assessed the Avo 25th as having enough flavor depth to be considered a full-bodied smoke. When balancing the strength and body, I definitely give the body a moderate edge here.
Final Thoughts
The Avo 25th Anniversary Edition does deliver a good cigar experience. When compared to some of the previous Avo Limited Edition cigars, it does fall a little short here. While the Avo 25th didn’t deliver the best burn, this isn’t why it falls a notch below those cigars. I just felt the flavor profile of the Avo 25th wasn’t as interesting as cigars such as some of the more recent Avo Limited Editions. This isn’t a knock of the Avo 25th as many of the other Avo Limited Edition cigars have been very highly rated by me. This is a cigar I would recommend to both the novice and experienced cigar enthusiasts. Cigar enthusiasts who enjoy Dominican puros will most likely enjoy this cigar. As for myself, this is still a cigar I would smoke again.
Summary
Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: Nice to Have
Score: 90
Source: The cigars for this assessment were purchased from Burners Cigars in Huntersville, North Carolina.
Coop, you stated on Prime Time Episode 271 that this was an awful cigar. Is this the same Avo 25th you were referring to in Episode 271?