Vitola: Perfecto- 5.875” x 50 ring gauge
- MSRP $15
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
The Avo Cigars brand is celebrating 30 years in 2018 and a big part of the celebration is the re-release of classic Avo blends that are no longer available. The first re-release was the Avo Maduro, which used to be a regular production item until its cancellation several years back. The immediate follow-up to that was the re-release of the Avo 22.
The Avo 22 was originally the brand’s limited edition release for 2002 and celebrated the number 22, which seems to have popped up frequently in the life of Avo Uvezian, whom the brand was named after. He was born on a 22nd, his sister was borns on a 22nd, and he arrived in the United States on a 22nd. I couldn’t find “official” information about the makeup of this release, but the general consensus is that it uses Dominican filler and binder leaves, along with an Ecuadorian sun grown wrapper.
The Avo 22 comes packaged in round wooden canisters containing 19 cigars (and I can’t help wondering “why not 22?”) and 3,200 boxes were made. They should be available in stores nationwide that carry the Avo brand. I bought mine at Burns Tobacconist
Prelight
The barcoded sticker on the cellophane of this cigars called this the Avo 22 30 Yrs Redux US (there were two different Avo 22s originally release for the US and European markets). The band just says “22” with a secondary band that reminds you that this is the 30 year anniversary of the Avo brand. The email from the rep that originally informed me of these cigars just says “Avo 22 LE.” And I’ve seen more designations in other places. Someone recently said that when writing cigar reviews it is “very important” to get the name of the cigar correct…I wonder if it really is, though…even a company as large as Davidoff seems to not care if they stay consistent on the matter. (The same someone said that editorial comment should not be included in cigar reviews…I say “poppycock!” Cigar reviews are ONLY editorial comment!)
Aside from the fact that this cigar really doesn’t have a proper name (I’m just going to call it the “Avo 22, 2018 release” if someone asks), the packaging the presentation is excellent. The round wooden canister is unique and the bands on the cigars themselves look good with the color of the wrapper and like they belong with the rest of the 30th anniversary series.
The wrapper is supposed to be Ecuadorian sun grown, but it has such a wonderful golden hue, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if someone had said it was shade grown. The build quality was excellent with smooth seems, a minimal amount of bumpy veins, and a nice oiliness on my fingers when I touched it. The aroma from the wrapper was pure earthy barnyard goodness. The foot was more neutral, with just a touch of hay and natural tobacco.
The cold draw was excellent and had flavors of graham cracker, hay, and some Davidoff funk.
image courtesy Avo/Davidoff
Flavor
The Avo 22 started off with milder Dominican notes of grass and graham, with just a slight sweetness and an accompanying slight pepper heat. Both this time and with the first one I smoked, the start of the cigar just seemed really unremarkable to me…yes, it’s a nice Dominican smoke…no, it’s nothing spectacular. As the cigar burned through the narrower segment at the beginning, though, it changes rapidly. What started as a truly mild cigar became more medium-plus in body. There was an addition of saltiness and an enhanced sweetness in the form of graham and citrus, while the retrohale got intensely peppery.
As I got into the second third, there was a definite light earthiness in the mix, which went well with the citrus zing and saltiness I continued to get. The graham notes faded a bit but the pepper heat stayed in there on palate and nose. Even as the second third burned through, the flavor profile got better and more intense. The citrus developed a more orange note for more sweetness, but the saltiness increased at the same time.
The first third started out with the introduction of cedar into the flavor profile while the sweet and salty notes faded a bit. There was still some earth and pepper in the mix.
Construction
Build quality was excellent on the Avo 22. I had a great draw, solid ash up to an inch and very even burn line that needed no touching up.
Value
The price on the Avo Limited Edition line has not moved much over the years, which is really refreshing to see with so many other cigar prices seeming to skyrocket.
Conclusions
The Avo 22 is a great cigar and after smoking two of them, I would put it right up there with the 25th Anniversary LE and just behind the LE10 on my list of favorites. After starting off a little slow, it exploded with flavor about 5 minutes into the first third and never let up, delivering great complexity in a medium-bodied smoke for the rest of the cigar.
At the time of this writing, Small Batch Cigar (a Leaf Enthusiast sponsor) had Avo 22 available.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
