Avo Cigars completes its 2023 Seasons Limited Edition cigars with the release of the Avo Seasons Winter. Each of the Seasons releases are limited to 4,000 boxes per Season, with only 1,500 boxes allocated to the United States. The Winter was released just in time for the Holiday Season. This medium bodied cigar comes in boxes of ten cigars and continues the same labeling and box designs as the other three seasons, with each having a dedicated color palette that matches their particular season’s representation.
Under the Lid
The Avo Seasons Winter is a simple, yet elegantly presented cigar. The signature “AVO” band is coordinated with the colors of the Seasons band situated right under it. With a Diadema vitola, the cigar is a golden brown with a smooth feel and quietly oozes “luxury” in its appearance.
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
- Binder: Dominican Republic
- Filler: Dominican Republic
- Vitola: 6 5/8 x 50 Diadema
- Factory: Oettinger Keller Cigars Factory, Dominican Republic
- Release Date: November 2023
- Number of boxes released: 40,000 cigars / 15,000 in the United States
- MSRP: $18.00 ($180 for a box of 10)
Pleasing to the eye, this cigar feels smooth and comfortable in hand. There is a velvety sheen of oil across the wrapper and although veins can be seen, they are not protruding or taking away from the overall softness to the cigar. The band is a mixture of silvers and blues which speak to the season it represents, Winter. With a diadema vitola, the cigar has a tapered, closed head with a tapered and open foot. This gives the cigar a bookend type look with both head and foot matching in their shape.
I’m not always a fan of the tapered foot, as it can be difficult to get a sufficient light without damaging the integrity of the wrapper during the toasting process. One must be extra careful when lighting this cigar due to its shape and its delicate wrapper. Soft flame lighters or matches would be highly recommended over any type of torch lighter
The aromas of this cigar are light with cedar being the predominant aroma to hit the nose when first inspected. With a tapered foot, it is difficult to get full exposure to what the cigar may present but there is a sweet hay mixed with the cedar of the wrapper that is both pleasant and light. With a deep V-cut, the dry draw confirms the previously experienced aromas and adds a hint of sweet herbs. The dry draw experience is very light to the palette.
Performance Notes:
First third: With a slow start, I am met with herbal notes of lemon grass and a smokey cedar as the intro to this tapered foot. About ¾ of an inch in, the cigar smooths out and there is a hint of red pepper that isn’t noticeable if you aren’t paying attention to the finish. The red pepper is just a little tickle on the tongue. There is a creamy cedar noticed with the retrohale. The cigar is on the light side of medium at this point. The burn line is crisp albeit a bit wavy at times.
Second third: The red pepper is all but gone and the herbal lemon grass has toned down removing the borderline bitterness that never crossed the line but muted other flavors. A vanilla cream mixed with smokey cedar take over about midway through the second third. Strength picks up a little but does not take away from the smoothness of the cigar. As I progressed through the body of the cigar, the mix of cream, smokey cedar and oak increased giving the cigar a bit more body.
Final third: Going into the last third the cigar remains creamy with smokey cedar and an added pinch of malt or molasses. The draw has been very good throughout the smoking experience with no issues noted with the burn and construction. Nearing the end of the cigar, the herbal notes reemerge but are more balanced now with the smokey cedar and oak. The acidity that put the cigar on the edge of bitterness in the beginning, isn’t there and the herbal notes add to a smoothness that has a nice amount of body to it.
Core Flavors: Lemon grass, smoked cedar, cream, oak
Strength: Light-Medium
Body: Medium
Complexity: Medium
Smokin Experience: The Avo Seasons LE 2023 Winter is aimed to be a luxury cigar. Designed to be smoked by any level of experienced cigar smoker, the cigar falls a little short in the flavor profile in an effort to keep the understated luxury and creaminess of the cigar intact. With a very slow start, the cigar was borderline acidic during the first third. Mixed with a bit more body of other flavor notes, that acidity would have melded nicely, however in this case, it almost overtook everything else and was teetering on the edge of bitterness. As the cigar progressed, the flavor notes didn’t really change, however, they did switch places and I enjoyed the experience much more as the last third brought more body to the smoke and gave fewer herbal notes with an increase in smokey cedar, oak and a hint of malt. The creaminess and smoothness of the cigar were consistent throughout and lent a hand in sealing the luxury cigar experience this cigar is intended for. The overall integrity of the cigar was great although I did have a bit of trouble removing the cigar band and caused a little crack in the wrapper. It wasn’t worth mentioning during the review as the cigar never flinched and I was able to smoke right through it without loss of integrity to the construction. As a limited-edition cigar, this would be great for a novice smoker who wants to experience a Davidoff produced cigar at a reasonable price point. For the more experienced smoker, this may be the cigar to try for a Holiday breakfast of pre-bedtime smoke.
Purchase Recommendation: Try a Sample
Smokin Facts:
- Avo Uvezian was a jazz musician born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1926 and died a US citizen in Orlando, Florida in 2017
- Avo worked with Davidoff’s Hendrik “Henke” Keller, master blender, in 1987 to create a cigar that brought both the world of music and tobacco together for a flavorful artistic experience
- Davidoff purchased the distribution rights to Avo Cigars in 1995
Smokin Wrap
Cigars smoked for the review: Three
Average smoking time: 70 minutes
Score 85
Diana (Dee) Pitman – Product Reviewer
Diana Pitman, known in the cigar world as “Dee” or “The Queen Of Cigars”, was born and raised in southern New Jersey. Her lifelong dream of joining the military became a reality at 43 years young. She served in the US Army Nurse Corps as an ER Nurse and deployed in support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. It was during her military service in 2004 that she first smoked cigars. Upon her Honorable discharge at the rank of Captain in 2010, she continued smoking cigars and it slowly progressed from a coping tool to a hobby, and finally to a passion. She resides in South Jersey with her Service Dog Finn Ezekiel and looks forward to retirement from her position of Director of the Cumberland County Department of Veterans Affairs and traveling the country visiting cigar lounges and her many friends she has made through the cigar lifestyle.
