Toro, 6" x 54 ring gauge, $13.15Avo Uvezian is a modern-day renaissance man who started out as a musician and composer before lending his name to one of the Davidoff Co.'s highest-regarded cigars. Avo describes the 787 as an "edition for cigar aficionados." It features Dominican filler and binder combined with an Ecuadorian wrapper. Considering the fairly exorbitant price tag, you might consider it quite unlike me to purchase one of these and you would be correct in that assessment: I owe a debt of thanks to Tracy at CBC/Burns for gifting me this fine stick.
The cigar is beautiful to look at with a wonderfully flawless wrapper, light veins, and a generous cap. The foot looks a little damaged, but that could have happened at any time so I won't subtract any points there. When I took it out of the cello, the first impression I got was a light citrusy aroma coming from the cigar. When I sniffed closer I could pick up some hay as well and there was just a faint hint of cocoa from the foot.
The prelight draw is as exceptional as you would expect for a cigar of this price and made by Davidoff. The citrus aroma was definitely not anomalous; the prelight tasted like hay and sweet citrus fruit and there was just the smallest amount of spicy tingle on the lips. The Davidoff heritage is also obvious after lighting--the flavors of hay and the smooth creaminess of the smoke are one of the hallmarks I have learned to associate with ultra-fine mild to medium cigars.
The second third started mostly the same--hay and cream--but also featured some fruit flavors, both the orange/citrus from earlier and something a little harder to pin down. The draw was utterly perfect and the burn line was as straight as I have ever seen on a cigar smoked outdoors.
The surprising thing about this stick is that it did not just stay in that "Davidoff mild" zone but moved on. In the last third I got flavors of pepper and cedar that eclipsed the hay and cream. There was also some honey that complemented the fruit essences. The 787 smoked slowly and evenly needing only one minor touch-up. The body built throughout as well until it finished as a solid medium-bodied stick. This is a truly excellent cigar that actually seems worth the high cost of admission, if only on a special occasion basis. It is rare that I give extra-high praise to a stick that costs over $10...honestly, they really have to bowl me over in some way at that price and very few have. The Avo 787 was as flavorful and complex as it should be for the price, and the construction is absolutely peerless.
Body: 5/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 9/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
I thought you might enjoy one of these as these are my favorite Avo's too.
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