AVO Expressions Limited Edition 2024

Today, we review the AVO Expressions Limited Edition 2024. For many years, the AVO brand has been synonymous with its founder, the late Avo Uvezian. Avo was also a pianist and jazz composer, so his brand has many ties with the music business. The AVO Expressions project represented a major change in direction with the brand. For Expressions, the brand teamed up with DJ D-Nice. D-Nice is a record producer, disc jockey, and rapper. This marked the first time the AVO brand has ventured away from AVO the musician. It also represents a more contemporary direction the AVO brand is taking.

For 24 years, AVO Cigars has released a limited edition cigar. Historically the series has undergone many changes over the years.

2001-2014: AVO Birthday Cigars: Limited edition cigars usually released to coincide with brand founder AVO Uvezian’s birthday (March 22nd)
2015-2022: AVO Improvisation Series: Limited edition cigars that drew inspiration from previous AVO releases
2023: AVO Seasons: Limited edition cigar paying homage to each of the four seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter)
2024: AVO Expressions: Collaboration with D-Nice

The AVO Expressions Limited Edition 2024 is the result of the D-Nice collaboration. It is not clear whether there will be more AVO Expressions projects with either D-Nice or other artists.

Without further ado, lets break down the Expressions Limited Edition 2024 and see what this cigar brings to the table.

AVO Expressions Limited Edition 2024 – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The blend of the Expressions Limited Edition 2014 features an undisclosed Ecuadorian wrapper, a Mexican binder, and a combination of fillers from the Dominican Republic and the United States. Production comes from Davidoff”s OK Cigars factory in the Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Mexico
Filler: Dominican
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: OK Cigars

Vitolas Offered

Presented in 15-count boxes, the Expressions Limited Edition 2014 is a 50 x 6 1/2 Toro. AVO says the production is limited to 6,900 boxes.

Appearance (*)

The Ecuadorian wrapper of the Expressions Limited Edition 2024 was quite pristine looking. It had a light brown color with a slight rosado tint to it. Upon closer examination, there was a light amount of toothines present. There were some visible veins. Any visible wrapper seams were minimally visible. A small pig-tail was affixed to the cap.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

Instead of pulling the pig-tail off the cap of the Expressions Limited Edition 2014, a straight cut was used to remove the cap and pig-tail simultaneously. Once the cap was removed it was on to the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw brought notes of cream, cedar, and. slight natural tobacco sweetness. Overall this was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point it was time to toast up the footer of the Expressions Limited Edition 2024 and see what the smoking experience would deliver.

Tasting Notes

The Expressions Limited Edition 2024 picked up where the pre-light draw left off and had more notes of cream, cedar and natural tobacco notes. The creamy notes moved into the forefront with the cedar and natural tobacco settling into the background. The natural tobacco contributed sweetness to the overall flavor profile. Meanwhile there was a layer of black pepper on the retro-hale.

When the Expressions Limited Edition 2024 entered the second half, the creamy notes were still primary. The black pepper that was on the retro-hale now made its way on to the tongue as a secondary note with the cedar and natural tobacco. The cedar gradually increased in intensity. Around the 40% mark of the smoking experience the cedar joined the creamy notes in the forefront. Just past the midway point, the cedar took over as the primary note. The cream notes receded into the background and started to diminish in intensity slowly.

The final third didnt see much change. The cedar notes remained primary while the natural tobacco, pepper, and cream were secondary and helping to round out the flavor profile. This is the way the Expressions Limited Edition 2024 came to a close. The cigar finished with a slight soft, but cool nub.

Burn

The Expressions Limited Edition 2024 had an excellent burn. Minimal touch-ups were required for this cigar to maintain a straight burn path and keep a straight burn line. The resulting ash was a silver-gray with some darker spots mixed in. This was an ash that was skewed toward the firmer side. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the AVO Expressions Limited Edition 2024

Draw

The draw of the Expressions Limited Edition 2024 also performed excellently. This is a cigar that had a touch of resistance to it – which is something that I consider a positive. At the same time, this was a lo-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Expressions Limited Edition 2024 is a cigar that delivered mild strength and medium-bodied flavors. Along the way there was a slight increase in intensity of both attributes, but in the end the Expressions Limited Edition 2024 stayed mild in strength and medium-bodied.

In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained the edge throughout the smoking experience.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

One thing I have to bring up again are the AVO bands – these were difficult to remove. This seems to be a continuing problem with AVO bands for as long as I can remember. The bands themselves look quite nice. There are two bands, the primary classic AVO logo band, and a secondary band for “Expressions.” The white, antique white, charcoal, and metallic red really works quite well. In fact, this might have been one of my favorite color combinations on an AVO band.

The woods boxes do a great job at blending the classic AVO look with a contemporary spin.

AVO Expressions Limited Edition 2024 Packaging (Photo Credit: Davidoff of Geneva)

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The AVO Expressions project is one that excited me. I loved the idea of bringing the AVO brand into the world of contemporary music. Unfortunately, it seemed to me D-Nice was somewhat disconnected from the project – especially compared to other mainstream celebrity collaborators. At the same time, I hope that changes and I hope they do more of these projects. Finally, the AVO brand did a great job with the packaging.

As for the cigar, it was good, but it wasn’t great. This wasn’t a bad cigar, but I was hoping for something more. I kept waiting for this cigar to build up to a “crescendo of flavor,” but it simply didn’t happen. At $18.00, this cigar needed to deliver more. In the end, this is a cigar that scores a respectable 88, but its one I would recommend trying a sample of before deciding to purchase.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cream, Natural Tobacco, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Mild
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good