Aside from some of the Avo LE's that have been around in prior years, I have never been a real fan of this line of smokes. They have always just seemed too overpriced and too underdeveloped for me to think of any of them as more than average. As is usually the case with cigar lines that I have no positive feelings for someone recommended this cigar to me and I reluctantly agreed to give it whirl, after all it only takes an hour or so to smoke a robusto, I had an hour and being a glutton for cigar punishment I settled in with low expectations.
The cigar itself is typical of most Avo's I have seen. It is beautiful. Well constructed, flawless wrapper, distinct color, nice firm structure and I wish all cigars were made this way. I have always found the visuals of Avo to be nothing short of stunning. Even the band work has a simple elegance. The pre light aroma is all oak and spice. The pre light draw is all oak as well.
The cigar opens with a profile that is obvious, you guessed it, wood! With all the oaken essence in the inspection I would expect nothing more. This is one of the woodiest profiles I have ever experienced, I am getting the suspicion that if other were around they would be calling for the helo drop of water because it would smell like a forest fire with all the burning wood essence I am getting. The flavor is pleasing, but one dimensional, and I would like some more complexity and depth here. At the back of the palate there is a touch of toasty tobacco flavor, but it is mostly of wood as well. The draw is solid, delivering nice amounts of smoke with each draw. I prefer it to be a but tighter, but that's just my subjective view. The burn is solid also, exactly what I would expect from a cigar that is well made as this one does.
The first half of the cigar continues to show strong flavors of wood. There are some fleeting toasty tobacco flavors and a touch of spice, but the wood is still center stage here. At the back of the palate there are some light hints of earth and touches of cinnamon, but wood maintains it's leading role here as well. There is some additional complexity and depth, but the balance is still way off, there is just too much wood in this smoke at this point for me. The draw is opening some more and it becomes borderline for me as it gets looser. The burn is still very solid, but the ash is flaky.
The final half of the smoke continues to show mostly wood flavors, they have become more robust and a bit spicy, but it is still wood. The additional robustness of the woody flavors masks some other flavors that may be going on and I find that disappointing. At the back of the palate there is some light tobacco flavor and some more light cinnamon, but the woody flavor continues here as well. I am just wanting more from this smoke throughout. The draw stays acceptable, but it is too loose for me by the end. The burn was excellent throughout.
The finish was long and woody, almost hickory like.
This is one of the better Avo offerings I have smoked, and I could see doing it again if I wanted this particular flavor profile.
Appearance- 93 really enjoyable to look at
Taste- 85 very average for me and lacking in depth and complexity, but the wood flavor is a nice change of pace
Construction- 89 draw was too loose by the end, the burn was fine
Strength- 87 a nice medium, more strength may have helped the cause
Overall- 88 A solid score for cigar that did not offer much but one solid one dimensional flavor
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