Avo 85th Anniversary 2011 Limited Edition

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1 review for Avo 85th Anniversary 2011 Limited Edition

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    C**** I********

    Avo 85th Anniversary 2011 Limited Edition

    Avo CigarsOrigin : Dominican Republic
    Format : Diadema
    Size : 6.6 x 50
    Wrapper : Dominican Republic
    Filler : Dominican Republic
    Binder : Peru
    Hand-Made
    Price : $17.50 MSRP

    Avo 85th Anniversary is the annual release celebrating Avo Uvezian’s birthday. The first one was released 10 years ago and since then it has become a tradition. I have tasted several of these releases and it has been hit or miss. In particular, the 2008 Tesoro didn’t impress me much. However, the 2011 release has collected mostly positive reviews and I couldn’t resist picking a sampler when I stopped by the Davidoff shop in Geneva. Unlike most other Avo smokes, this is not a Dominican puro. The 6.6 x 50 Diadema (sort of a long perfecto) sports a sun grown Dominican wrapper and is filled with San Vicente and Piloto Dominican tobacco. The binder is, however, Peruvian. Let’s see how it smokes, shall we?

    Appearance : [rating:4/5]
    The format is interesting and the cigar itself is a pleasure to look at. Its soft brown wrapper shows several prominent veins and exhales a spicy smell with dry wood notes at the foot. Rather hard to the touch, it creaks slightly when pressed with fingers. The classic (Domaine-like) band is complemented with a second 85th anniversary band.

    Construction : [rating:3.5/5]
    Have you ever had a plugged Avo? I seriously don’t remember having one and this was no exception (at $17.50 MSRP I sure hope there aren’t many plugged sticks…). The perfecto is easy to light and burns slowly, needing a correction here and there as the burn line wanders a little. It produces generous amounts of thick white smoke. Some people even found this smoke too thick as I was once (gently) asked to move to the last table in a café – apparently a family couldn’t enjoy their dinner properly.

    Flavor : [rating:4.5/5]
    After the initial (and very short) spiciness, the usual Avo cedar flavors are progressively appearing, but these are definitely not the only ones present. The first third allows the cigar to slowly deploy its array of notes – dried fruits, coffee, raisins, gingerbread, all nicely balanced and interlinked. The smoke is very creamy and marks a huge difference with the Tesoro, which I found rather rough and unrefined. In the second third, the body is still medium and I note with satisfaction that there is almost no grassiness/hay that I sometimes experience with Avo smokes. Is this due to a sufficient amount of aging prior to the release? The coffee/cocoa sweetness is very present on the tip of the tongue. The last third is still creamy, despite a noticeable strength increase. After approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, I put it down almost nubbed.

    Value : [rating:3.5/5]
    Yeah, it costs $17.50 (without taxes…), but it’s not a petit robusto either. I found the price/quality ratio acceptable and wouldn’t hesitate to pick a few more sticks, considering the creaminess and the richness of palette.

    Overall Rating : [rating:4/5]
    This is one of the best (if not the best – I need to smoke some more Heritage to decide) Avo smokes that I have recently smoked. If you’re a fan of Mr. Kelner’s flavor profile, you won’t be disappointed with the 85th anniversary. This medium-bodied smoke with abundant, complex flavors, should become even better with 1-2 years of age on it.

    [sz]avo 2011[/sz]

    Helpful?
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    • C****

      I have smoked 3 of these now and I have mixed feelings.

      The construction is less than perfect and the burn is very uneven – burn line wanders quite a lot. I have found it quite a challenge to smoke these because of it.

      But the flavors of this cigar is very much to my taste. It is a wonderfully varied experience from strong and spicy to very mild to full-bodied with a wonderful peated after-taste.

      So even though I find the cigars far from perfect, I enjoy the flavors so much that I have just bought a box of ten (and a beautiul box it is too…)

    • n****** n*****

      great cigar, even at the price. I found a local shop that was a little more reasonable than your price, Denis, so all the better. Can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed this stick after dinner with a glass of vanilla cognac.

    • C********

      great review, Denis…sounds like something I need to get. AVO was a cigar early on in my career and it didn’t do much for me but this sounds very different that what I experienced before.

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Cigar Region Dominican Republic
Filler Dominican
Wrapper Dominican Republic
Binder Dominican Republic
Length 6.6
Ring Gauge 50
Vitola Diadema
Construction Hand Made
Price Paid $17.50