AVO

Classic

It's been quite some time since my last post and, without delving too deeply I can only blame a chronic gastrointestinal issue I've dealt with off and on most of my life. The world, sadly, won't be rid of me soon it seems. Just like my situation with and hospital bills hahaha. Deciding to start trying to put more reviews up again and since I find these Avo Classics about as consistent as a Swiss watch, this ought to be a good way to restart writing. Anyway, less about me. I've had a couple packs of these Avo Classics in my humidor for a while. I don't always aggressively keep my stock properly rotated so I think the oldest one is, at worst, 18 months. If I'm honest it's probably too much for a Davidoff blend, but c'est la vie. It's 97F out, I'm in the shade with a good drink and company, and the local college football game is up on the radio. Cedar on the nose and a subtle pepper from the foot. Cold draw is perfect with a single punch, as is my usual, so I don't need to poke it. Lighting is uneventful. I got a pair of gift lighters you can just spot. They're honestly more show than go, but sometimes you don't need a blowtorch so they work fine. First third is smooth and light, as always. There's a slight white pepper sensation just under the tip of the tongue and a sweet, nutty leather on the nose. I'm used to these having a bit of dried hay flavor and a hint of dried orange peel on the retrohale, but this one doesn't. It's probably on the older side of my stash. Burn is even and smoke is light and airy. The punch hole tightens up a bit as it exits the first third, but not enough to be a problem. Ash holds on over an inch-and-a-half before it falls off. Second third starts to get earthy. Dried soil on the nose and a good steady cedar. Sips of Irish coffee and I get a pop of worked and worn leather creeping from my mouth and through my nose. The same sort of sensation as visiting an old cowboy's gear stall. The smoke production picks up here into pleasant white puffs with the faintest oily blue. As always with Avos, no harshness. The finish is smooth tobacco ending with a neutral creamy mouth feel. Avos are, if nothing, consistent and pleasant. One of my go-to conversational cigars. Almost to the end of this third and the nuttiness on the nose is gone. I do get pockets of hay here though, so it's not entirely gone. Final third and I'm getting a good steady cedar flavor on the nose and tongue that overtakes any subtle notes. The dried soil on the nose remains fairly constant with the occasional wave of dried hay overtaking it from time to time. The white pepper on the tongue hasn't changed since the beginning. I'm used to it picking up by now, so I've probably aged this stick well beyond what I should have. Whoops. There's a minor molasses or toffee flavor I'm detecting but it's a bit vague. Burn gets a little wavy, but I think that's on me. Been burning just the occasional cigarillo (cohiba red dot miniatures are a pleasant, and easily available option where I am) since my hospitalization and easing back to a full size has me feeling an early nicotine buzz well earlier than normal. The smoke is noticeably oiler than before in this third, so I didn't entirely age this out haha. The mild cream notes I was getting ease back into the usual creaminess I expect. I can tell because my mouth will actually salivate on a nice creamy cigar. It's one of the ways I can tell a slight like to a definite like. Finishing off at 45 minutes when I feel heat on my tongue and it feels like the punch hole is plugging up. If you've skimmed my other reviews, you know that's it for me haha. I never did quite learn to enjoy that sensation. Alright hopefully I can get back into this habit of writing again.

Consistent review. This is still my least favorite of the Avo brand. Let this one age about a year and it still is just missing something compared to their others. Smooth, creamy, leather notes with barely any spice. Burns decent just misses the mark on flavor intensity.

Aged 4mo. Smooth and creamy. Cedar nut and sweetness. Great burn and draw. Paired with chamomile tea for a relaxing Sunday evening.

As always the usual opener: I consider myself an amateur at this AND my nose is kinda bad at its job. So your mileage may vary. Anyway, so this is my first taste of the AVO brand. I'd gotten recommended them, but just never tried it. Unfortunately, my attention this evening is split as I get to be remote assistance for some migration work. Frome field engineer for over a decade to remote engineer is a weird transition. At least I'm not puffing Swishers in the gut behind hotels anymore haha. Anyway enough rambling from an old bloke. After a 3 week stabilization, here we go I guess. Construction is above average. There's obvious little veins and seams but no risk of lifting and you can barely feel them. Preflight smells are good. Dry hay and a hint of cocoa. Can't tell if it's sweet or not yet. Should pair well with my coffee. Guillotine cut and I find the head is pretty tight so I do have to hit it with one of them PerfecDraw (recent gift to myself hehe) and it opens up without fuss. Lighting is uneventful. First third burns crooked right away. And whoo-whee is the first half inch bitter. I thought it was me at first and purged a few times, but it lingered. Thankfully it gives way and the rest of the third has some flavors of hay barn and cedar. Retro is pretty benign with a little fresh bread (not burnt! Yay!). Second third starts without any fanfare and the crooked burn is straight now. Smoke has been clean and plentiful and the volume increases a bit in the middle here. The flavor profile hasn't really budged. At the end of this section, a little white pepper comes up right on the lips and tongue. The final third picks up a little bit. The smoke gets creamier, glimpses of coffee and cream eases in, and the pepper comes up. Thankfully there's no burnt toast, which my palate seems particularly sensitive to. A little baking spice peaks out on the retro now but otherwise the flavor remains as hay barn, cedar, a little fresh bread on the retro and a flash of white pepper at the end. Approaching the end of the session some fleeting tastes of burnt toast tells me I'm done. Wrapping up I do have to say aside from a little overpacked head, the construction was great. I ashed it twice. The ash stuck around some inch and a half each time. The first half inch notwithstanding, the flavors established themselves early and remained completely consistent throughout. The cigar was like a driving down between fields in a convertible. Easing around in 6th gear with a slow conversation with a passenger, not a breakneck 3rd gear romp down the backwoods with a passenger holding on for dear life.

Reliable quality midweek smoke.

Nice medium bodied smoke. Ecuadoran wrapper, Dominican Olor binder, Dominican Piloto filler. Cream, leather, cedar, raisin. Balanced, no one flavor dominates. Good draw, much better than on the Ritmos I've tried. Second third had the strongest flavor with a bit of pepper, but it backed off and introduced a cinnamon touch for the finish. More complex than I had imagined going in.