Vitola: Robusto- 5” x 50 ring gauge
- MSRP $9.50
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
I mentioned a few days ago that 2018 is the 30th anniversary of the Avo cigar brand (hey…Avo was founded the same year I graduated high school!). They first released the 2018 Limited Edition…the 30 Years Improvisation…and now the first re-release of the year has made its way to store.
Avo Maduro was discontinued during the rebranding process several years back. I don’t recall it as a terribly popular cigar during the last few years of its original run, but I also don’t recall it being a bad cigar at all. Why did they discontinue it? I really couldn’t say for sure, but I’m guessing they just wanted to pare down the releases a bit and refocus the brand in the process. As a bonus, it gave them the opportunity to release them later on as a re-release, or “greatest hits” type of program. Which is what 2018 is turning out to be for the brand. In late April we saw the Avo Maduro make a return. Later this year, the Avo Signature (also discontinued during the rebranding) and a couple of very popular Limited Editions will be showing up in premium cigar shops nationwide.
Like the others in this 30th Anniversary series of releases, the 2018 Avo Maduro is a limited release affair. Only 600 boxes of each size (Robusto, No. 2 Toro, No. 3 Churchill and Piradmides) were made. They were all made in the Dominican Republic and featuring Dominican filler and binder, along with a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper.
I bought a couple of these sticks at Burns Tobacconist, where I work. I smoked one immediately and saved the other for this review.
Prelight
The Avo Maduro features the slightly updated Avo bands that it never got when it was discontinued before the rebranding. The band looks quite handsome in cream, gold and black. The secondary band is the same as we saw on the 30 Years Improvisation LE (and we’ll see it again on every other re-release from the brand this year). I guess if the company ever decides to bring the brand back as a regular item, the secondary band will give proof of the 2018 release.
The wrapper leaf was dark chocolate brown and managed to feel both rough and oily smooth at the same time, which is something I love about good Broadleaf. It had some lumpiness in a few places and darker mottling. In short, it’s an ugly leaf and you’ll probably never see one on a Davidoff-branded cigar…but those who know about the flavor will love seeing one of these.
The aroma from the wrapper was a fairly strong barnyard earthiness with a sweet note in the back. On the foot, I picked up grass and cedar and bread, along with a touch of earth in the mix. The cold draw was good and tasted of cedar with a slightly fruity sweetness.
Flavor
The Avo Maduro started off with a very grassy flavor that had cedar and dark fruit notes coming in just behind. There was a bit of black pepper on the finish and the retrohale was nutty with a touch of sweetness to it. Progressing through the first third, I got an increase of cedar and dark fruit, while the grassiness tapered off quite a bit. There was a bit of a bread note that I get occasionally with Dominican leaf, as well as just a hint of the Davidoff funk that comes through on many Avo blends, but very little pepper, which I found unusual for a Connecticut Broadleaf.
In the second third I started to pick up on some earthiness to go with the cedar and fruit. Toward the end of the third, there was a little bit of a espresso bean note and a touch of cocoa powder.
The flavor took a turn for the better in the final third, with chocolate coming into the mix more wholeheartedly, along with earth and pepper spice, which rode just underneath. Notes of bread and wood were accents in the mix.
Construction
Construction was very good, featuring a draw that was just a bit tighter than I would like, solid ash up to half an inch or more, and an even enough burn line.
Value
The price tag for these was just about right.
Conclusions
I found the Avo Maduro to be a good cigar, but not nearly my favorite from the brand. For me, it started off too mellow with Dominican bread and grassy notes leading the way before the wrapper really started to shine with earth, chocolate, coffee, and pepper notes. It just felt unbalanced to me…all of one thing to start, all of another to end. It’s possible they need some more time to rest. I would recommend getting one or two sticks to see if you are picking up what the Avo Maduro is putting down before you ante up for a full box.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5 /10
Great review, I have rarely smoked an Avo that I thought was sub-par… some may not have been my favorite but I could always appreciate the quality put into them.