Tag Archives: Avo

by Craig Vanderslice | July 19, 2020 · 9:08 am

Avo Classic, Regius Orchant Seleccion and Perdomo Habano Barrel Aged Cigars

Another week has passed with some progress made around the house, some applications submitted, and several cigars smoked. I came across a couple Avo Classics while scavenging around the humidors, and it occurred to me that I had never actually smoked and Avo Classic. Sure, I’ve smoked the newer Avos, the Ritmo, Syncro, the odd XO here and there, but never smoked the Classic. Well, it was about time I remedied this situation, I suppose, and I had two Classic No. 2s sitting right here, and the’ve been here for quite a few years! I’m not even sure where they came from! This is a 6″ x 50 toro with a sun-grown Ecuador Connecticut wrapper and DOminican binder and fillers. I’m not sure what I was expecting, perhaps I was expecting a mild, Connecticut shade style cigar, but I was surprised to find that it was a very rich tasting, sweet tobacco flavorful cigar. Naturally, the construction was perfect, it’s a Davidoff product, after all, and solidly medium bodied. This was a great cigar that I regret missing out on all these years. It was loaded with sweet, creamy flavor and quite enjoyable!

Regius Cigars is a brand that’s been around for a decade, but doesn’t have a huge footprint in the US. They are carried by a lot of the bigger retailers, and they are made by Placencia, so they aren’t small potatoes by any stretch. I was introduced to Akhil Kapacee. the principle of the company, several years ago at the IPCPR show by Mitchell Orchant, who, as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve known for over 20 years. Mitchell owns C.Gars Ltd in the UK, one of the more prominent retailers of Havana cigars on the planet. Last January at the TPE show I ran into my old friend Ann, who is with Sutliff Distribution Group (who was with Villiger for a long time), who, in addition to distributing Platinum Nova Cigars and introducing me to them, mentioned that they were also distributing Regius. So I went to their booth to say hello to Akhil, and he gave me a Regius Orchant Seleccion robusto, since Mitchell never gave me one ;-). (Note: There’s a Drew Estate Seleccion Orchant that I’d love to sample, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more). Regius cigars I’ve sampled in the past have been exceptional, and this one was no different. I found it to be extremely smooth, with a very clean finish, I’d almost say refreshing. It had a nice sweetness, that is a quality I like, and burned perfectly. As a company with UK roots, and a cigar that made for a UK retailer, I can see how this would appeal to a palate that’s used to Havana cigars, although I think it has more complexity, at least to my palate that’s used to a more diverse flavor wheel. It was very good, highly recommended.

Finally, as I’m typing this, I’m having a cup of black coffee and enjoying a Perdomo Habano Bourbon Barrel-Aged Connecticut Robusto. It’s infrequent that I light up a cigar at 7:30, however for some reason I was up super early and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I got an early start and decided to sit on the porch and write. As long as I’m on the porch, I might as well have a cigar. The selection process for me wasn’t easy. Sometimes I choose a coffee infused cigar, last week it was a Macanudo M. I had a Tabac Especialle in my hand, then I figured I’d look for a milder Connecticut robusto just to thin the herd of cigars that seem to get passed over more often. I might have had other cigars that would be milder, but this Perdomo stood out to me. You have to admit the bands on these are pretty eye-catching. The wrapper is a 6 year old Bourbon Barrel-Aged Ecuador Connecticut and the Binder and fillers are Nicaraguan. I’m three for three here on good smokes, although I generally don’t write about the sub-par cigars I smoke, and I try not to smoke that many sub-par smokes to begin with! To be honest, some of my choices that I decided against were the Don Juan Calavera Connecticut and the La Sirena LT, both Honduran, both excellent Connecticut cigars that I love, but I passed on them because I only have them in Toro sizes and I wanted a robusto. Considering this Robusto is 5″ x 54, it might have been a wash, but I always consider length to be more of a determining factor when it comes to time than girth anyway. This cigar is not without body, it’s no mild cigar. It has plenty of flavor, rich, creamy, nutty flavors with a little bit of spice. Nice smoke. I still favor the maduros in the Perdomo line, but this is probably my favorite Connecticut in their range. Not bad at all.

For my local golfing friends, come out to Goose’s Golf Even for a great day of eating, smoking, golfing and all that goes with it. I’ve been to many of Goose’s events and they are always top notch. You can’t beat the food, cigars and golf offered with this deal! You can download the registration form here. I plan to be there to offer encouragement and smoke along with the golfers!

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Avo, cigar, cigars, Goose's, Orchant, Perdomo, Regius

by Craig Vanderslice | December 15, 2019 · 10:08 am

New Undercrown Shade and Flor de Cesar Cigars and an Editorial

I have been looking forward to smoking the Drew Estate Undercrown Shade Suprema since it’s announcement last summer, and finally had my chance this week. This large perfecto is 6″ x 50-54 and uses the same molds that the old Chateau Real Gran Cru Perfecto used. I smoked a bunch of the Chateau Reals in Maduro before they were discontinued in 2010 or thereabouts. I love the format, an I actually have a couple of the Chateau Real Maduros left from the box I bought in 2010, and a Connecticut as well. So I was looking forward to smoking the Shade in this size, and I really like the Undercrown Shade anyway. I’ll start out saying I think this is the best representation of the Undercrown Shade blend to date, in my opinion! It was slightly underfilled, which was which was OK, I just needed to slow my draw so as not to overheat it, after having a few overfilled cigars this week, I appreciated the effortless draw and the abundance of smoke! The smoke was rich and creamy and loaded with the flavors I expected from the cigar. It had me wondering if we might expect a limited edition of this shape in the Maduro and Sungrown versions of the Undercrown? What the heck, how cool would a Liga Privada be in this shape? Willy? Joe has my address, I’m between jobs, I have time to sample 😁. The Undercrown Shade Suprema is a wonderful smoke!

Editorial

It was a funny week with lots of news! One interesting controversy that arose was the Avo Unexpected line being revealed to actually be the Avo core lines repackaged on Cigar Dojo’s Smoke Night Live. I’ll admit that the Smoke Night Live show hasn’t been on my podcast playlist until now, I have too many to possibly listen to as it is. But I had to listen to this one, and I was rather surprised to hear four prominent members of the Davidoff team reveal this news. Important to the story is that these four cigars were positioned as limited releases with a higher price point, and then were revealed to be the exact same cigars as four of the regular production Avo line. This prompted a rather visceral response from some very prominent retailers, one with especially close ties to Avo Uvasian himself, prompting him to sell off said stock as cost. I have smoked a few Avo cigars, they are OK, not a huge fan but I don’t dislike them, and I don’t have any ties to Davidoff at all, other than the fact that they make some great cigars and have been nice to me a few times in the past. I don’t think that the marketing plan behind this was a good idea at all, and it ended up tarnishing a prestigious brand. In all honesty, the repercussions probably don’t reach the rank and file Avo consumer so much as the few retailers that bought in to the Limited Editions and felt like they got burned, and maybe lost sales on something else because they had basically eight boxes taking up the shelf space where it normally would be four. Someone thought it would be clever, someone went about it the wrong way, and someone should apologize to the retailers who feel betrayed. That’s my unsolicited two cents.

Last week when I was at BnB Cigars in Chestnut Hill, PA (which is actually within the Philadelphia city limits), Vince there implored me to sample a few of their exclusive Flor de Cesar cigars, which I’ve enjoyed in the past. I managed to smoke the “lancero” last night, and I put “lancero” in quotes because it’s actually 7″ x 42, so it’s not really a lancero technically. It’s actually a whole four ring gauges larger than a lancero, maybe it’s a super corona, or something. Call it what you will, if you put it next to a Gordo, it’s a lancero. The Flor de Cesar line is made by James Brown at Fabrica Oveja Negra, but, in my experience, it’s very different from other cigars I’ve smoked from that factory. First, I’ll say that this format, whatever you want to call it, was very comfortable to smoke. It didn’t need quite the babying that a 38 ring lancero needs, yet it still had that elegant feel. You know I think that small ring, wrapper to filler ration bullshit is poppycock, it all has to do with combustion, so the 42 ring strikes a nice balance for me, slow draws to not over heat and it’s a nice cool smoke. I loved the flavor. This had that rare flavor of spiced hard candy that I like, I gotta get a bag of grandma candy and figure out what exactly that is, but I love it and when I find it in a cigar I really dig it. I believe this was the 2019 Flor de Cesar Silver The Novin Lancero to be technically accurate, and it was delicious. I kinda want to try the Corona Gorda now!

Well, that’s all for now, it’s coming up on Christmas all of the sudden. It’s occurring to me that I don’t have much in the vault for giveaways this year! There were a few years there were giveaways were going crazy this time of year, sadly no longer. I’ll see what I can do to put something together! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Avo, BNB Cigars, cigar, CigarDojo, cigars, davidoff, drew estate, Editorial, Flor de Cesar, lancero, Oveja Negra, Suprema, undercrown

by CigarCraig | May 5, 2018 · 9:18 am

News: Avo Improvisation 30 Years

Some news from Davidoff, it’s a few days late though. They originally sent the release in German, and I toyed with the idea of posting it that way, but I didn’t want to be a complete ass…Oddly I’ve been eyeing some Avo cigars in the humidor lately.

“Celebrating 30 Years of AVO Cigars”

AVO Cigars, the globally renowned brand, is celebrating a remarkable milestone – 30 Years of AVO Cigars. To commence this special year, AVO Cigars is proud to announce the sixth release of the prized AVO Improvisation Series, a limited series inspired by unexpected combinations of music and cigars that create rich noteworthy experiences for all to celebrate: The AVO Improvisation 30 Years.

The AVO Improvisation 30 Years makes its debut as the first release in the highly anticipated AVO 30 Years Collection. Limited to only 3,400 boxes worldwide, this special release emerges from an improvised blend based on the renowned AVO Classic No. 3. The blend utilizes the same wrapper leaf from Ecuador, but the Dominican binder and filler tobaccos differ from the original blend, allowing for a remarkable progression in both flavour and complexity. Further building exclusivity the stunning white packaging is inspired by the textures from Avo Uvezian’s hallmark hat and white linen suits.

“As we celebrate 30 Years of AVO Cigars throughout 2018, there is no better way to honour the brand and its legendary creator, Avo Uvezian, than to offer this special improvised blend of the AVO Classic No. 3 for all to experience,” states, Scott Kolesaire, Sr. Brand Manager at Davidoff of Geneva USA. “The AVO Improvisation 30 Years release strikes two major chords: it commemorates the foundation of the AVO brand and builds on its mission to continue delivering harmonious and noteworthy cigar experiences consistently, as it has for the last 30 years.”

CIGAR INFORMATION
Length: 7 1/2”
Diameter: 50 RG
Format: Double Corona
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic

LAUNCH AND AVAILABILITY
The AVO Improvisation 30 Years will arrive in US stores on March 22, 2018 with a limited production of 3,400 boxes. It will launch in European and other markets from June 2018 onwards.

ABOUT AVO CIGARS
In 2018, we celebrate a remarkable milestone: 30 Years of AVO Cigars. It all began when the brand’s founder, Avo Uvezian, a legendary jazz and cigar composer of global fame, met the cigar master blender Hendrik Kelner in the Dominican Republic. A fruitful collaboration between cigar pianist and cigar composer began to develop, resulting in the 1988 launch of the AVO Classic Series. It was an almost immediate success. Two creative masters joined forces with one purpose: to help aficionados “SAVOUR EVERY NOTE” in life through delightful cigars. For the next three decades, the AVO brand went on to compose cigars that are meant to be savoured individual note by note. AVO Cigars is honoured to invite fans throughout the world to celebrate 30 Years with us.

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Tagged as Avo, cigar, cigars, davidoff

by CigarCraig | September 10, 2017 · 11:12 am

Gurkha, La Palina, Avo and a Quick Draw Cigar

I took the easy way out on Wednesday with the La Sirena video, so I have a bunch of cigars to talk about this week. Not unexpectedly, the video is now in the number three spot in views on my YouTube channel, behind a La Sirena interview from the 2012 IPCPR. That shows something, I have to figure out what that is…Anyway, I started the week with a teeth cleaning followed by a Gurkha Founders Reserve in the Rothschild 6×58 size. That’s what the box (of 10) that they gave me at the IPCPR show says, I initially thought it was the XO size, 6″ x 60, like there’s a huge difference between 58 and 60…and usually reliable sources list the sizes as Robusto (5 x 50), Rothschild (6 x 55) and XO (6 x 60), yet it says 6 x 58 right there on the box, and I measured one and it was close enough to the 60 hole to make me think it was a 60 (my ring gauge checker is old, it jumps from 56 to 60 and doesn’t go any larger). Gurkha fails to list the sizes on the website too, which is frustrating. I’ve bitched about it before, but the manufacturer’s website should be the last word in specifics on a cigar, not blogs of retailers. I’m worked up now, maybe I need to smoke another of the Gurkha Founders Reserve whatever size it is, because it was a really tasty Connecticut shade wrapped cigar. I really enjoyed the crap pout of the cigar, it was a really tasty medium bodied cigar with a great burn and draw. I suspect this is a brick and mortar exclusive, like the cellar reserve line, and is in the $10 price range, but it very enjoyable. Here’s a few pictures I took a the Gurkha booth at the show.

My eye was drawn to the La Palina Nicaragua Oscuro robusto next. La Palina’s website gives the sizes and nothing else. This is a 5″ x 52 Robusto, made at the AJ Fernandez factory in Nicaragua, and wrapped with a Ecuador Oscuro wrapper with Nicaraguan fillers. I’m not sure what “Ecuador Oscuro” exactly means, and the rest of the make-up is vague. Again, it hardly matters as it’s a tasty smoke. It’s up my alley with the rich, coffee/cocoa flavors I like, with a hint of spice. It burned well, had a good draw and was a very nice experience. I smoked a prototype of this a few years ago I think. On a side note, I’ve been obsessed with the Adorini Double Punch cutter, and have been using it all the time. It features two punches, 9mm and a huge 13mm. I find myself using the 13mm (which is about a half an inch, or 32 ring gauge) almost all the time, it opens up the cigar almost as much as when I use a guillotine cutter. It’s sharp and has a strong magnet that keeps the three pieces together. It’s a quality piece and I’m using it a lot. The La Palina Nicaragua Oscuro is a good smoke, I look forward to smoking the Nicaragua Connecticut.

Next up was a new offering from Davidoff’s Avo line, the Ritmo in the Syncro line. I’ve smoked a few Avo cigars, most aren’t in my wheelhouse, frankly, I don’t “get” a lot of them. Some people love them, everyone has different tastes, most of the Avos don’t do it for me. This one, on the other hand, was delicious. This cigar boasts a seven country blend, Ecuador wrapper, Mexican binder and fillers from Peru, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Brazil and Honduras. Yep, that’s seven, I counted. I really enjoyed this cigar, it was very good. Did I mention the size? It was the 6″ x 60 Special Toro, and the box press was very comfortable. It was creamy, with some wood and citrus notes, as well as some spice and bitter chocolate. This was definitely my favorite Avo ever. It’s sad that Avo isn’t with us any longer, and I hope Davidoff continues to pay homage to him by creating great cigars in his name.

Finally, I got home late last night and took a quick dog-walk with a Quick Draw Pennsylvania Petite Corona from Southern Draw. This is a 4½” x 44 cigar with a pigtail cap and a covered foot. This was perfect for my late walk. The Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper really has some oomph! It’s grown about 20 miles from where I live, so I’m drawn to cigars with Pennsylvania tobacco in the blend. Since this one had the pigtail cap, I skipped the punch and lopped off the cap with a Palio, and took torch to foot without toasting to get that blast of the PA Broadleaf that the covered foot offers. This was an hour of bliss, it had a nice kick, certainly satisfying and really quite a cigar. This is another cigar from Tabacalera AJ Fernandez. I don’t think I’ve had a Southern Draw Cigar that I didn’t like a lot. I’m sad that I missed Robert Holt on his recent swing through PA, I need to hurry up and become independently wealthy so I’m not stuck at work when all the fun stuff is happening! This little cigar has a big flavor and had an impressive burn time, I think I spent about an hour with it!

That’s all for now. Thoughts continue to be with our friends in the Houston area, as well as the many friends we have in Florida, which is being pummeled by mother nature as I write this. I hope everyone get through safely and with minimal destruction. Give what you can for the relief efforts, people need help.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Avo, cigar, cigars, Founders Reserve, Gurkha, IPCPR, La Palina, Quick Draw, Ritmo, Southern Draw

by CigarCraig | March 26, 2017 · 10:01 am

La Aurora, a Cornelius and Anthony Event, Avo and a CAO Cigar

Don’t forget to go back to Wednesday’s post and enter to win a ticket to the Philly Cigar Festival being held on June 3, 2017! I will select a winner on Wednesday, so if you think you can make the trip to south-eastern Pennsylvania, put your name in the hat! This promises to be a very cool event!

So, I smoked a few cigars this week, I’ll mention a few of them, there were some I won’t mention either because I’ve talked about them before, or there was something strange going on…for instance, one cigar I really enjoyed in the past had a very strange and awful flavor about mid way through akin to burning plastic. My guess is that a piece of the plastic string they use to tie the hands of tobacco together in the fermenting process may have gotten mixed in the bunch somehow, at least that’s what I want to believe. It’s easier to wrap my mind around that explanation than think of what other foreign objects might have made their way in there. Stuff happens and it’s just unfortunate that it was my last example of this particular cigar. Fortunately, there are plenty of other great cigars to choose from! Mi Queridas seem to be smoking very well, and a 2015 LG Diez Lusitano from La Flor Dominicana was a real treat this week. Another treat was a La Aurora 1903 Cameron robusto, the third new cigar from La Aurora’s Time Capsule series, following the 1987 Connecticut and the 1962 Corojo. This has a Cameroon wrapper, Ecuador Sumatra binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. I have a special affinity for the La Aurora line, it’s special to me personally, but that’s not to say I enjoy a great many of their cigars. I half expected this one to remind me of the first box of cigars I bought back on 1996, the La Aurora Bristol Especiale (I think it was around $40 for the box). I never really took to those, they seemed to have a vegetal flavor that I didn’t care for. I didn’t find that to be the case at all with the 1903 Cameron, it had that unique Cameroon sweetness (Camerooniness, I call it), and was a very pleasant cigar. I know I’ve enjoyed the Connecticut in the past, but that’s coming up in the rotation real soon, I think, as I somehow failed to make mention of smoking it in the past. Good stuff from La Aurora and thank you to Jason at Miami Cigar and Co. for keeping me up to date on these.

Friday evening I finally made it back to Cigar Mojo in King of Prussia, PA for a Cornelius and Anthony event where I finally met Steven Bailey, the owner of the company. I’ve been pretty high on this newer brand for the better part of a year now, with the Cornelius toro making an appearance on my end of year memorable cigars list, and will be the subject of my Cigar Notes feature in the May/June issue of Prime Living Magazine (due on Texas newstands in May). I learned a few things about Steven, who has a successful cigarette company which basically bankrolls the premium cigar start-up. Steven has experience with the FDA, having one of two cigarette brands that has been approved by the FDA, out of something like 12,000 applications. He has the experience (and the financial wherewithal) to keep his four excellent lines on the market. Of the four lines, I like the Cornelius the best, with the Meridian a close second, with the Daddy Mac close behind. I haven’t smoked enough of the Venganza to make a good judgement yet. The Cornelius is made at El Titan de Bronze in Miami with the other three coming from Eric Espinosa’s La Zona factory in Esteli. As I sat chatting with Steven, Todd Vance and Jose Galvez (Steven’s faithful minions), I smoked a Meridian toro, which I liked better than the robusto, and I liked the robusto a lot. In the toro I think the strength was tempered a little, and there was an interesting cinnamon note midway through. I think buying a box of these is in my future. It was a great time at Mojo, great cigars, and very happy to meet Steven and his crew. Cornelius and Anthony is a brand to watch, and is high on my list.

Yesterday I smoked a little Avo Syncro robusto since Avo Uvezian passed away on Friday at the age of 91. I never had the pleasure of meting Avo, but many people I know knew him and spoke highly of him. The Avo line (not unlike many of the La Aurora cigars) doesn’t line up with my particular tastes all the time, but he’s certainly left a legacy with many fans of his cigars. I do like the Syncro, perhaps the Nicaraguan component works better for my palate than the Dominican. Not only did Avo lend his name to cigars, but he also wrote “Strangers in the Night” for Sinatra and was obviously an accomplished musician. I never shook the man’s hand, but he was beloved by many, another cigar industry icon has left us (at an advanced age if that says anything).

Last night I finally got around to smoking a CAO Amazon Basin. I recently picked up the last one in a box at a local shop, and this is from the second generation of the line I would think. These got rave reviews, it’s certainly unique in its presentation, with a band made from what I guess to be twisted tobacco coiled around the cigar. CAO is another brand that I really love a couple of their lines and other’s are just “eh”, sadly this one fell into the second category. Give me any Flathead over this any day of the week. Not that it was a bad cigar, although it took a bit of coaxing with the lighter to get lit right, then tunneled a little on my at the midpoint. I didn’t find it to be spectacular, although the last third was getting there and by the time I peeled off the band it was pretty hard to put down. Not sure if I got a flukey one or it need more time in the humidor or what. I am an optimist when it comes to cigars, and it takes a lot for me to give up on a cigar, usually seeing it through to the end, with worked in this case, because the cigar redeemed itself, but it’s sometimes tough to poser through when a cigar starts out questionably. CAO’s Rick Rodriguez was in the area Friday night at another of my favorite shops, sadly I missed him this time around.