AVO Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023

Today, we review the AVO Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023, the third installment of the 2023 AVO Seasons series.

Ever since 2001, AVO Cigars has done an annual limited edition cigar. The Seasons series marked a significant change to the limited edition series. Back in 2022, Davidoff announced that AVO Cigars would be retiring the annual AVO Limited Edition series as we know it. From 2001 to 2014, the series was used for commemorative birthday releases for brand founder Avo Uvezian. In 2015, the series morphed into the AVO Improvisation Series, which also were limited editions (“improvised” or based on existing AVO products). Many of them coincided with Uvezian’s March 22 birthday. In 2023, the inaugural AVO Seasons Limited Edition series was launched. As the name indicates, this is a series of four cigars that each pays homage to one of the four seasons: spring, summer, fall (autumn), and winter. AVO returned to a single limited edition release with AVO Expressions for 2024.

AVO Seasons Limited Edition 2023 Series

Each of the four Seasons cigars features a different blend offered in a Diadema vitola format. AVO says each cigar blend is meant to be enjoyed in the season for which it was named. Continuing with information on the series, the following are the four AVO Seasons Limited Edition cigars released for 2023 (with the wrapper in parentheses). Each cigar has a unique and distinct blend.

AVO Seasons Spring (Ecuadorian Corojo)
AVO Seasons Summer (Ecuadorian Corojo)
AVO Seasons Fall (Mexican San Andres)
AVO Seasons Winter (Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade)

Incidentally, the idea of a limited-edition cigar series named and released for each of the four seasons is not new. Rocky Patel Premium Cigars introduced a similar concept back in 2008.

Now, let’s turn our attention back to the AVO Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 cigar and see what it brings to the table.

AVO Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 features a Mexican San Andres wrapper, a Dominican binder, and all-Dominican fillers. Production is handled at the O.K. Cigars factory in the Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: O.K. Cigars

Vitolas Offered

The Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 comes in one size – a 50 x 6 5/8 Diadema. The cigars are presented in ten-count boxes. A total of 4,000 boxes were produced.

Appearance (*)

The Mexican wrapper of the Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 has a medium-roasted classic coffee bean color with a slight rosado tint. There was a light sheen of oil and toothiness on the surface. There were some visible veins and some visible wrapper seams. The Diadema has two gentle tapers on each end of the cigar. The head of the cigar has a cap on it while the footer is open.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

I used a straight cut to commence the smoking experience of the Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023, removing about three-fifths of the tip to still allow for a tapering effect on the smoking experience. From that point, it was on to the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered a mix of coffee, cedar, and mineral notes. It wasn’t the most exciting pre-light draw experience. Since the pre-light draw is not factored into the numeric merit score or value rating, there was no loss of points here. Now, it was time to toast up the Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 and await what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 opened up with coffee bean, cedar, and mineral notes. Early on, the coffee bean notes became primary. The cedar and mineral settled in the background, and these notes were joined by citrus and white pepper. Toward the end of the first third, the mineral notes dissipated.

Going into the second third of the Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023, the coffee bean notes were primary, with the citrus notes secondary. Notes of cedar and pepper were still present in the background. As the cigar progressed toward the midway point, the cedar displaced the citrus as the most prominent secondary note. By the latter part of the second third, the cedar displaced the coffee bean as the primary note. There also was some cedar and, to a lesser extent, pepper on the retro-hale.

The final third did not see much change. Cedar notes dominated, with pepper, coffee bean, and citrus rounding out the flavor profile. This is how the Seasons Fall Limited 2023 came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

On the whole, the Seasons Fall Limited 2023 had little trouble maintaining a straight burn path and burn line. It also required minimal touch-ups. The resulting ash was a mix of light, medium, and dark grays. This wasn’t the firmest ash, but it was not loose. There was some minor flaking on the ash itself. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Draw

Of the three samples used for this assessment, two of the Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 samples had a somewhat tight draw. Normally, I like a little resistance on the draw, but in this case, it was a little more resistance than I wanted. The third sample had the perfect amount of resistance. The tight draw wasn’t a major problem, but it still had an impact on the overall cigar experience.

Strength and Body

The Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 started out with medium strength and medium-bodied flavors. Both attributes slightly increased in intensity, but the increase was not enough to push either strength or body out of medium territory. When it came to strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other nicely, with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

As I’ve mentioned, the packaging for the Spring and Summer installments of the Seasons Series has been quite impressive. Indeed, the packaging of the Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 continues this trend. The white, silver and black AVO primary band with the AVO Seasons name on the left side of the band is attractive. The brown and orange on the box and the secondary band effectively convey a summer vibe.

Box of the AVO Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 (Photo Credit: Davidoff of Geneva)

Regarding the bands, the Seasons Fall Limited Edition 2023 has the same problem as most AVO cigars – the band is difficult to remove. Since we do not score banding and packaging, there is no loss of points here.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Judging by overall experience (with the Winter Edition still to be assessed), I put the Seasons Full Limited Edition 2023 a slight notch below the Spring and Summer editions. It had good flavor in the first third, but things became ordinary for the remaining two-thirds. Furthermore, I didn’t get much of an “autumn” vibe from this cigar. The Fall Edition is not a bad cigar, and if you want to smoke through the four-cigar collection, you will probably want to pick this up. If so, I recommend trying a sample (which is getting hard as these cigars become more scarce). Still, in the end, I’m much more likely to reach for the Spring and Summer edition before this Fall edition.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee Bean, Cedar, Mineral, Citrus, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good