Avo Belicoso (Maduro)

A beautiful cigar. Extremely well made. The burn was flawless and the ash near perfect but that was about it. This was a very mild cigar but never developed much flavour. It also started turning harsh a little past the halfway point. I'm not sure if I would try these again at the full price tag -- there are way better cigars out there for the money.

I tried one of these about a year ago, at my brother's house. He had 4 cigars to choose from that night, and this was the most impressive looking, in color and contruction. I loves me some maduro, so I grabbed this beauty.

It's a beatiful stick, with a deep mocha color, plenty of texture, and the typical, classy AVO label. I had never had an AVO before, and I was blown away by the rich woodiness, without being overpowering or unbalanced. It had a dry but mellow finish, with an even burn.

I found a site with a great deal on a box (they are pretty spendy, normally), and was equally impressed by the packaging. Impressive black box, in a compact, upright format. AVO does a great job with presentation. But beware... I have smoked 15 so far, and they have varied in consistency. Some smoke a bit thin, and can get bitter towards the end. I found that I have to baby these ones, and smoke them very slowly. That said, this is still a winner.

For as many igars as I've tested, I have never had an AVO. I have heard a lot of good things and decided to try one. The opportunity presented itself recently when my favorite local cigar shop when 1/2 price on several brands of cigars recently to promote a new walk-in humidor at their store. I picked up a bunch of cigars that I otherwise would not shell out the cash for. This AVO marudo was one of them. I was glad that I did, at 1/2 price anyway.

I love mads in general, and this one was good...if not great. It reminded me of a slightly less sweet Fonseca Cedar #3. The construction was great, the burn was even better. The flavor was a bit nutty and one-dimentional. Not bad at all, but not one to make me want to pay the 10$ regular asking price on this one. Grab it if you get a good deal.

The previous night at the casino I tried an Ashton and was totally overwhelmed by the experience. The guy in the shop suggested an Avo B before I picked the Ashton, so the next night I bought this thing. The flavor was very cedary and the construction was lacking as there was a soft/weak spot just after the head of the cigar. The draw was good, but with the strong cedar, who cares about a mouth full of smoke. I won't be trying these again (at least not this version).

This is the first maduro that I really took a liking too. The taste is smooth, as are all AVOs, and the construction is flawless. The maduro wrapper accentuates the tobacco without ever overpowering it. Whenever I need a solid satisfying smoke, this is the one.