Belicoso, 6" x 48 ring gauge, approx. $12This review was written on December 5, 2009. I woke up that morning to a thin blanket of snow on the ground--the first significant snowfall the Tennessee Valley has had in a while and the first we've seen since we moved here in January. The temperature was in the mid-30s and the entire neighborhood had a magical quality that only the soft fall of snow can give. I got up and ready as quickly as I could so I could enjoy my first-ever "cigar smoked while it snows." I decided to choose a cigar that I had received a few weeks previously at the CBC/Burns membership renewal event, a cigar I had never smoked before but a brand with a reputation that is hard to top: the Avo Signature. This cigar was originally created as the Limited Edition 75th Anniversary to celebrate Avo Uvezian's 75th birthday in 2001. Customer demand drove the company to adapt those sticks for this new format. The filler is Dominican from the Cibao Valley and consists of a high proportion of ligero. The wrapper is a sun-grown Ecuadorian leaf, fermented several times in the Dominican Republic.
The wrapper was very nice-looking, but not all that smooth. There were quite a few lumps and bumps and a few stretched and wrinkled places. The aroma was alfalfa with a little barnyard from the body along with a little cocoa from the foot. The draw was very good and had flavors of hay, caramel and just a tiny bit of spice.
It was surprising to me how difficult combustion is when it is snowing and the temperature is hovering around freezing. When I was finally able to light it, the initial puffs had hay, cream, and hints of nutmeg and clove. As the first third went on I got flavors of creamy coffee, more hay, and raw peanuts; later on there were hints of black pepper as well.
During the second third, the draw tightened a bit and by midway through it, I was getting a buildup of sap coming out of the end of the stick. I re-cut it with no apparent ill effects. The flavors were of roasted nuts with bits of leather and coffee. The smoke was very smooth so far, with an excellent draw and straight burn. I would have to put the body in the medium category, most likely aided by the sungrown wrapper, which also imparted a little more spice as the second third came to a close.
That spice really kicked in during the last third: a nice peppery tone that left a lasting burn on the tongue. Overall, the Avo Signature was a very good cigar, but just did not have the fullness of flavor or complexity to justify its premium price tag. The construction was flawless and it was definitely an enjoyable experience, but not so much that I would seek these sticks out at $12. If you were somehow able to score these for $6 or 7 each, you should do so; otherwise, I would give them a pass.
Body: 5/10
Strength: 4/10
Complexity: 6/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 0/1
Total: 7/10
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