Another Prime Living Article: Ora Vivo World Edition

It’s the holidays and I’m, once again, being lazy and digging into the archives to republish an article I wrote for the November/December 2014 issue of Prime Living Magazine. I think there may be another release in the Ora Vivo line in the near future!

Life is a fleeting glance and taste of beauty. We honor it… in all its forms. Ora Vivo is our salute. — Armand Assante

Armand Assante is an accomplished actor who’s appeared in more movies than I can count, some notable films are Judge Dread, Gotti, American Gangster, The Mambo Kings, I could fill this space with his body of work. One thing many of his characters have in common is cigars, and this is because Armand Assante is truly a cigar lover. Somehow he managed to fit partnering in a cigar brand into his busy schedule. Mr. Assante partnered with Victor Vitale, an ultra-boutique cigar manufacturer based in Philadelphia (now New Hampshire) and Gary Macchione, a Chicago area cigar broker, to create his legacy, the Ora Vivo Armand Assante brand. Mr. Asante says: “What we wish for ‘Ora Vivo’ is it to be our tribute and honor to the Cigar industry’s brotherhood… of cultures. We want those nations that have created the magic of cigars to be honored together, and shared, by one, such as the one Victor and Gary and I have created.” The brand made it’s debut in July of 2013, the original blend having sold out, as well as the European blend. The latest release is the World Edition, of which the 6×56 is the subject of this review. The cigar is a Nicaraguan Puro, manufactured in Honduras. The blend is comprised of tobaccos from three growing regions in Nicaragua. The wrapper is from the Jalapa valley, the binder is from Condega and the fillers a blend of Esteli and Condega tobaccos. I find this cigar to be smooth, medium bodied, well balanced, and refined. The flavors are sweet and earthy tobacco, and the construction is perfect and consistent as one would expect from a premium boutique cigar. The Ora Vivo Armand Assante World Edition is Armand’s tribute to the cigar industry, and a cigar he truly loves, and it’s a great smoke.

Don’t forget to enter the Gurkha contest!  I’ll pick a winner on Sunday and have another great contest.  Until the next time,

CigarCraig