Cigar Extra: Avo Heritage Lancero

Vitola: Lancero
Size: 7.25” x 40 ring gauge
Price $8.49
Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

The other night I was at a cigar event, conversing with a couple brand owners, one of who knows Avo Uvezian quite well. Stories were told and it was lamented that since his accident and subsequent hospital stay, Avo hasn’t been able to travel as he has so enjoyed. We talked of the blends that bear his name, especially the LEs which everyone seems to really love, but I brought up the one “regular” line from Avo that I think is just a great everyday smoke, both because it tastes great AND because it’s reasonably priced: the Avo Heritage.

The Lancero is a recent addition to the Heritage line and it just showed up at my local tobacconist a few weeks ago. Of course, when I saw it I had to pick up a couple samples to see how it performs in this new format.

The Heritage blend is composed of Dominican and Peruvian fillers, a Dominican San Vicente binder, and an Ecuadorian “Cuban seed” (Habano?) wrapper. The Lancero is a limited production release, although I didn’t see anywhere noted that it is a “limited edition” with the implication that it’s a “one and done” affair. I get the impression that this will be a regular production cigar, just in smaller-than-normal numbers…which is fair enough because there are fewer of us “Lancero Lovers” out here than one might think by perusing cigar review blogs.

Notes

The wrapper was a medium-brown color that seemed a little lighter than previous Heritage releases…at least in my memory. Not far off, mind you, but a bit lighter.

The aroma from the wrapper was ripe tobacco and wood, while the foot had a bit of musty earthiness and grassiness. The prelight test draw revealed the familiar Avo/Davidoff flavor of a musty earthiness.

That “Davidoff funk” came on strong in the first few puffs of the Heritage Lancero, as did a solid cedar note and some fairly potent pepper spice.

I paired this cigar with a bit of Cumberland Cask Tennessee Whiskey. The whiskey was smooth and mildly sweet, pairing pretty well with the Heritage.

The Heritage definitely works well in the Lancero format, with the Ecuadorian wrapper definitely delivering great earthy notes along with some black pepper to go with that traditional Davidoff flavor that comes from the Dominican leaf used.