I was able to get my hands on some 2010 Avo Heritage Robustos recently. I put all of them up on the site for purchase, but the longer they’ve stayed, the harder it has been not to pull one out and smoke. I broke down today and went for it while I worked on some guitar necks in the garage. I figured if I am going to smoke one, I better at least review it, so this will be the third “From the Vault” review. I, for some reason, have never smoked an Avo Heritage… I should probably get one to compare to this soon.
These Avo Heritages were originally released in 2010 as a fuller, stronger addition to the Avo portfolio. They utilize an Ecuadorian wrapper over a Dominican binder and a filler blend comprised of 5 different Dominican tobaccos. An interesting note - when I was doing some research on this blend, it appears Avo price protected this line upon release so that B&M retailers could better compete with online retailers. Anyways, onto the review!
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: O.K. Cigars
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Vitola: 4 ⅞ x 50 Robusto
Price: $? MSRP (unsure of the 2010 release price)
Release Date: 2010
Link to Purchase: Guitars & Cigars Farm
Company Website: us.davidoffgeneva.com/avo
I am quite surprised at how light the cellophane is given the age, but then again, some cigars don’t darken cellophane as much as others it seems. I’m a huge fan of Avos band because their design is simple yet eye-catching and elegant. This wrapper leaf is light brown in color and seemingly fragile and I kind of flaked it at the seam. The texture and vein structure of the leaf reminds me of Cuban wrapper leaf. The cold draw is light notes of musty, slightly floral cardboard. The cold draw is interesting but I can’t quite pin it down. It almost reminds me of a butter bean maybe. It’s odd but intriguing. Lit at 3:40. First light brings about medium-full bodied and flavored smoke with notes of classic Dominican musty earthiness along with some oily wood and toast. There is a bit of cream on the palate and the finish is a savory note that I am struggling to pin down. It’s very familiar but I can’t place it. About a half inch in the retrohale has a nice of level of creamy citrus balanced by some earthiness. Ending the first third things are rolling along nicely. That savory note I couldn’t identify is still there on the finish but I still haven’t placed it. The overall profile is cream, a bit of citrus and oily wood with that savory note and a bit of sweet cream on the finish. Approaching halfway the flavor is near full. There is some more citrus with plenty of cream stoll. The wood has come down and the finish has less of that savory note and more of a musty earthiness. There’s still some sweet cream lingering between puffs. The retrohale has added a bit pepper to the otherwise sweet and creamy earth and citrus. Ending the second third the only change is the oily wood making a bit of a resurgence. Hitting the primary band I am beginning to get the first signs of any pepper, but it’s light. There’s also a touch of brown sugar becoming present. I’m nearing the end and the profile has been relatively unchanged besides some berry-like sweetness popping up. Coming to an end at an hour and 40 minutes there are no flavor changes to mention.
Overall Experience
Overall this aged Avo Heritage did not disappoint. There was plenty of flavor throughout and it delivered a nice profile. It was pretty consistent throughout with cream, wood, citrus, musty earth, and some savory notes I couldn’t quite pin down. There was a little bit of pepper that joined near the end that made for a nice transition. It should be noted that the cigar performed flawlessly throughout the rather lengthy smoke time. I would say that if you see some aged Avo Heritages, they’re worth grabbing. At the time of typing this there are a handful left on the site.
Feel free to reach out to me with questions, concerns, criticisms, or just to talk at @guitarsandcigarsfarm on Instagram, or visit my website www.guitarsandcigarsfarm.com.