Agile Cigar Reviews replace what we termed “Assessment Updates”. The concept is the same, but the name is different. Agile Cigar Reviews use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or providing a score for a first time. It might be a blend we are looking at in a different size. Today we look at the Avo XO in the Legato size. This is a cigar we did an assessment in the previously available Avo XO Presto vitola back in May, 2012.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian grown Connecticut Seed
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Legato: 6 x 54
Earlier this year, Davidoff announced it was revamping its Avo brand of cigars. The big changes involve new packaging and marketing for the brand. The remaining blends have remained the same as before with the brand now focusing on four regular production lines. Meanwhile, there are two lines, the Avo Signature and Avo Maduro which have been discontinued. As for the four remaining lines, there were some packaging changes as the boxes and bands were given a more contemporary look. While the blends remained the same, some of the frontmarks were eliminated. Today we take a look at the Avo XO which is one of the four revamped lines. We had previously looked at this cigar in the Presto (a 3 3/4 x 43 petite corona format which was one of the eliminated frontmarks). Today we look at it in the Legato (6 x 54 Toro) format. This was a size introduced to the XO line at the 2014 IPCPR Trade Show.
The Avo XO is a milder offering. It consists of an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper (slightly darker than the light brown wrappers many are used to) over Dominican binder and filler. According to Davidoff, the tobaccos in this blend have been aged for at least six years. Overall I found the Avo XO Legato to deliver a very creamy smoking experience cream, citrus, generic wood, and cedar sweet-spice notes. I did find the cedar increased in the second half. The one difference flavor-wise from this as opposed to the 2012 Avo XO Presto I smoked is that I didn’t really get the nutty flavors.
Like the 2012 Avo XO Presto, I found the Avo XO Legato to be a cigar is what I would categorize as mild strength. Body-wise, I found the Legato a little more dialed back than the Presto and assessed the Legato as mild to medium-bodied.
I found this to be an excellent cigar and one that kept true to the milder, creamier experience I have known the Avo XO line to have. In fact this was a very good size and I enjoyed the Legato better than the Presto. The larger format allowed for more complexity as well. This is a cigar I would easily smoke again – and it’s one worthy of a box split.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild
Body: Mild to Medium
Finish: Good
Assessment: 3.5-Box Split
Score: 90
References
Original Assessment: Avo XO Presto
News: Avo Redesign Announced; Avo Signature and Avo Maduro Lines to be Discontinued
Price: $10.50
Source: Cigars Provided by Manufacturer
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 159
Stogie Feed: Avo XO Legato
Packaging and marketing does not a cigars make. Changing the band or the box will not affect the flavor of the cigar. These sorts of changes will never tempt me to try the cigar. My lost if I don’t try it. There are hundreds of cigars out there in a very crowded market that I probably won’t try, and I’ll still try half a hundred in the course of a year. But which cigars rise to the top? Only time and money will tell.