AVO Heritage Robusto

Worldwide, AVO sells over three million cigars annually – a big jump from its first year production of 100,000 cigars back in 1988. The brand was created from the passion of fine tobacco possessed by one Avo Uvezian, the son of a family of musicians from Beirut. Avo moved from Beirut to New York to study piano at Julliard and after opening a restaurant and piano bar in Puerto Rico in the early ‘80s, he discovered his love for cigars. After being introduced to master roller Hendrik Kelner, the two partnered, and six years later the first AVO was rolled. Uvezian and Kelner, together with the Davidoff factory, have created one of the most prestigious brands on the market today.

For the AVO Heritage, Uvezian worked closely with Kelner to select the finest tobaccos for this rich smoke. The blend starts with an array of Dominican and Peruvian tobacco, which is then bound with a Dominican leaf and finished off with a luscious Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. Complex and rich in the flavor department, the Heritage still comes through with balance and smoothness, leading to an impressive 90 points from Cigar Aficionado, which we think is actually a little stingy. There’s a creamy center here, backed up by plenty of toast and cocoa notes, along with a dash of sweet cedar and subtle spices on the finish. For a pairing, you can’t go wrong with a fine bourbon like Angel’s Envy.

Though tobacco is indigenous to Hispaniola, the tobacco industry in the Dominican Republic existed in the shadow of Cuba’s dominance through the 1960s. When the exodus of Cuban cigar makers began in the wake of the revolution, many decided the Dominican Republic would be ideal for the resumption of their livelihoods. Unrest in Nicaragua in the 1980s fueled the Dominican cigar industry further. The country now makes more than half of the premium cigars imported into the U.S.

The Cibao Valley and the nearby city of Santiago are the center of cigar production in the Dominican Republic. Three main varieties are grown here: the mild and native Olor Dominicano; the intense Piloto Cubano, brought from the Vuelta Abajo of Cuba; and San Vicente, a milder and more acidic Piloto hybrid. Dominican puros were once unheard of as it was widely thought impossible to grow quality wrapper leaf on the island, but new growing techniques are now allowing some exceptional puros to be produced.