Avo Uvezian is the mastermind behind the AVO brand is also a very talented Jazz pianist. He was born into a family of musicians but he paved a different road for his family’s future when he began making cigars. It’s no secret that he has blended some very tasty sticks and for the last few years he has been blending a limited edition cigar to be released on his birthday.

Not long ago I reviewed the AVO 80th Anniversary which was released in 2006 to commemorate Avo’s 80th birthday. Tony also reviewed the AVO Limited Edition 2010 not long ago. Today’s cigar is called the Compañero and was released in 2009 to mark Avo’s 83rd birthday. On the cigar, you will find the classic and classy AVO logo with the name “Avo Uvezian” on one side and “LE09” written on the the other. Below this band is another dark burgundy band with the “Compañero” name written on it.

The blend in the AVO Limited Editions change a bit each year and the Compañero is no different. This year the cigar comes wrapped with an Ecuadorian leaf and bound with Dominican leaf. The interesting part of the blend is the filler which is made up of a couple types of Ligero and some Peruvian Seco tobacco.

I’m interested to see how this blend will play out. On paper it seems a bit strong but with at least 2 years of age on it I’m hoping it smoothed out. Let’s get onto the review and find out.

Cigar: AVO Compañero Limited Edition 2009
Drink: The Singleton of Glendullan 12 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Vitola: Toro (6 x 54)
Wrapper: Cuban Seed Ecuadorian
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Criollo Ligero, Piloto Ligero, San Vicente Ligero, Peruvian Seco
Price: About $15
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The AVO Companero is an oil and dark looking cigar that sports a slightly toothy wrapper with a goldish-brown glow
• There are some veins running down the side of the cigar but most are fairly small and don’t really pose any issues
• The top of the cigar is cleanly finished with an expertly applied single cap while the foot shows signs of a well packed long-filler cigar
• For the most part, the cigar is very firm to the touch with only a very minor give when squeezed
• I made the cut super shallow and just basically trimmed off the cap without cutting into the filler, left me with an easy and perfect draw
• I “may” have accidentally “dropped” the cigar right before lighting it up… I’ll take that into account for any burn issues

Burn:
• Toasting was easy and even, it left me with a nicely glowing foot
• Despite some cracks on the wrapper near the foot due to my dropping it, the cigar is burning beautifully through the first couple of inches
• The cigar burned through the cracked wrapper like it wasn’t even there and I’m still going strong with a razor sharp burn!
• Ran into a few more wrapper issues caused by my drop, they still didn’t affect the burn much but I really regret dropping it!
• My super fail of a drop had more consequences than I had hoped for, the wrapper pretty much came off at the end but it’s totally my fault, do NOT take this as the regular burn for this cigar. Other Companero’s I’ve had burned without any issues.

Smoke & Ash:
• The AVO Companero is producing a heft amount of smoke from each draw, it’s thick and billowy to boot
• At a resting position, the cigar is producing a comfortable amount of smoke, nothing overpowering and it has a nice burning cedar aroma
• The ash is starting off a bit flaky but that’s probably my fault…
• The color of the ash is a very nice and consistent light grey
• Even with a bit of flaking, the ash lasted just past an inch before I gently tapped it off
• Now that I’m passed the cracked wrapper the ash is staying clean and tight
• The next ash fell off after about an inch jsut before I was going to take a picture… bad luck for me tonight! lol

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper of the cigars is hardly aromatic at all, it’s only a little bit woodsy and that’s it
• The foot on the other hand shows clear indications of spices, earthiness and a fresh cedar aroma
• The pre-light draw is very earthy and woodsy, with more of the fresh cedar from the foot
• Initial draws are filled with more earthy notes and little bit of the fresh peat flavor I’ve come to appreciate from most AVO cigars
• Some of the spice I picked up earlier is making a subtle appearance within the first inch, it’s just on the tip of my tongue making for an interesting touch to the profile
• The body of the AVO Companero is a smooth medium so far, well balanced and with a nice little bite on the retrohale
• The finish is also very tasting, coating my nasal passages with a fresh cedar touch
• I have to emphasize the “fresh” part of the cedar flavor, it’s not like a seasoned humidor smells but more like the aroma of a fresh, brand new humidor or freshly cut cedar plank, very pleasant!
• The woodsy and earthy notes are mixing so nicely and taking turns being prominent
• Along with those, the peat and freshness of the cedar add a very interesting and enjoyable flavor that I can’t get enough of
• Just past the halfway mark, the spices are coming in a little stronger and mixing perfectly with the fresh cedar and peat flavors, this cigar keeps getting better!
• The body has stayed more or less in the medium range and it’s still maintaining a very smooth retrohale
• Despite the wrapper pretty much falling off the cigar, I still managed to enjoy the last bit of spice, cedar and peat right to the end

Final Thoughts:
Right from the start, the AVO Companero was bringing me a bright and flavorful profile that instantly caught my attention. Each of the tastes were very full flavored and easily discernible making for a very enjoyable smoke. Even with my fat-fingered fall to the floor and some wrapper cracks, this cigar burned perfectly. I’m also very surprised to say the wrapper falling off didn’t change the cigars flavor too much and I was still able to enjoy it. That’s a sign of a well balanced cigar in my eyes, the flavor was not “all in the wrapper” as some people might think. This showed me that the cigar had a very good balance of wrapper, binder and filler. I’d actually even say this experience made me appreciate the blending that went into this cigar even more than I normally would have!

Pairings:
I’ve only ever come across the peat flavors in the AVO cigars so I knew heading into this review that I had to pair it with a nice Scotch. So I looked into what I had and decided to finish off this bottle of The Singleton 12 year Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Well, I was right! The smokey and peat flavors of the Scotch paired perfectly with the fresh cedar and matching peat flavors on the cigar. I would definitely recommend having a nice scotch with this cigar, so give it a try next time you pick up this cigar or pretty much anything in the AVO lineup.

The post AVO Companero LE09 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

If you are a follower of ours on Twitter or Facebook, you will have seen recently that Tony is off slacking again. That’s right, again! lol. Ok maybe not. He’s actually on a trip to the Dominican Republic and visiting lots of people, cigar factories, and even some tobacco fields. I’m sure he’ll have lots to tell everyone when he gets back. In the meantime, keep up with what he’s doing by following him on Twitter or following the Casas Fumando Facebook Page.

So I’m still stuck at home and while Tony is probably burning up in the Dominican, and I’m pretty much freezing over here. Terrible forecast for the week full of rain and near freezing temps, winter is almost here! The summer flew by… So for no particular reason I made a mess in my humidor searching for my next review and what I came up with was my very last Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial from 2010.

Now Oliva should be a name most people know by now, they’ve been around for a long time and have a great reputation of turning over quality cigars year after year. They haven’t been much in the past for really branching out with drastic ideas but rather have been that “staple” cigar brand that you could always fall back on. Their 4 main lines are the Serie G, Serie O, Serie V and the Connecticut Reserve. Of their 4 lines mentioned, the Serie V is the fullest on the body scale.

If you have been keeping up with the cigar news, you would actually see that Oliva is starting to bring a lot more variety to their lines. They’ve had the Master Blend series for awhile now and are also hitting a few winners with the Studio Tobac project. Tony actually just recently posted a review of the cigar made by a joint venture of Studio Tobac and Padilla, appropriately named the Padilla – Studio Tobac Figurado. As you can see from his thoughts, Oliva is on the right track with their new project.

Oliva’s core lines don’t usually change much but a few years ago they decided to bring out a special edition of their Serie V. It was to be wrapped with a Maduro leaf, limited in production quantities and restricted to a single vitola. It’s full name is the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial and usually a year is appended to that. In the case of today’s review it is the 2010 to mark the year it was released. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to distinguish some of the various years.

With regards to the 2009 and 2010, you will find 2 main differences, firstly, the 2010 is a slightly larger ring gauge than the 2009 even though it maintains the same vitola. Also, the 2010 is wrapped in a nice dark San Andreas wrapper versus the previous years Broadleaf wrappers. Looking a little forward to 2011, the vitola is changing to a 6×50 Toro and should actually be hitting shelves very soon. It also has the same San Andreas wrapper. The production for the 2011 is also the same as the 2010 I’m reviewing today which is 5000 boxes of 10 cigars.

With a price point of $10.70/cigar they aren’t that steep but aren’t cheap either. It seems to strike a nice balance of a slightly high end or limited production stick. I’m also told that the 2011 version is dropping the MSRP to $9 which is a welcome change. Each of the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial cigars are packed with a Ligero longfiller from the Jalapa Valley in Nicaragua which is well known for producing tasty and quality leaves.

The band on this cigar is fairly unassuming and doesn’t venture far from the standard Oliva lines. It adds “Maduro” on one side and “Especial” on the other but I’m disappointed that it doesn’t include a year. Not a huge deal but it would be a nice touch. I’m sitting down to enjoy this cigar on a fairly chilly evening here. The cigar also has a fair bit of age on it so that will affect the flavors. I have smoked a few of these before so I’ll make a quick comparison to then and now in the summary. Enjoy!

Cigar: Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2010
Drink: Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2005
Vitola: Torpedo (6 x 54)
Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: MSRP $10.70
Burn Time: A little over 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Oliva Serie V Maduro is surrounded by a dark chocolate brown wrapper that has a rough look to it and an oily finish
• The exposed edges of the wrapper jump off the cigar a bit, especially near the cap which is extremely firm to the touch, this worries me
• The rest of the cigar has a nice little spring and give to it when squeezed
• The foot of the cigar appears to be very well packed with almost no room left in there at all
• I started with a small cut which clipped off fairly easily but I was met with a pretty tight draw
• I cut just a bit more and got a good draw, we’ll start here with a little more than a half inch clipped off the cap

Burn:
• Toasting was nice and slow but it kept even and glowed nicely
• Unfortunately, the cigar started off with a pretty drastic canoe despite what seemed to be an even toasting, needed to be touched up fairly early on
• Another little touchup after about 2 inches as the cigar tried canoeing on me again
• The cigar requires a small touch up pretty much every inch or so, luckily it’s not ruining the flavors
• The last 2.5 inches of the cigar REALLY slowed down the burn, making the cigar last that extra special bit longer

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a good amount of smoke coming from each draw
• Even while resting the cigar is producing a decent amount of smoke
• The ash is coming out to be a wonderful white color when it’s burning properly, my touchups are turning the ash black in some spots
• Even though the ash was looking clean, neat and strong, it still fell off into the ashtray after just about an inch

Tasting Notes:
• I was surprised to notice that the wrapper had barely any aroma to it, maybe just a touch of hay and that’s all
• The foot is also not too strong of an aroma, just a slightly more concentrated hay-type of aroma with just a little touch of a peppery spice
• The pre-light draw is also pretty bland here with only hints of hay again, I really hope the full experience will be more than this
• The initial draws were much more enjoyable with some roasted dark chocolate almond type of flavor and a hint of spices, maybe some coffee tucked in there too
• The chocolate almond flavors dwindled down a bit and I’m left with mostly coffee, spices and now some cedar. It’s still good but the start was much more enjoyable, let’s hope it returns!
• The body started off in the low end of medium and the cigar has a soft bite on the retrohale with an interesting cedary/peppery finish
• The coffee notes are really developing nicely and I’m also getting some nice warm earthy notes in the mix
• All the flavors are balancing well and the cedar finish is a nice touch
• As the 2010 Oliva Serie V Maduro progressed into the last third the body is slowly building and I’m on the edge of full now
• The spices have remained fairly soft so far and the retrohale reflects that with a soft bite and retains the smooth cedar finish
• The last bit of the cigar was still enjoyable until my fingers were burning, a nice buildup of coffee, light spices and cedar rounded out the final flavors

Final Thoughts:
Overall this was a pretty good smoke that I enjoyed. I feel that it never really did recreate that initial awesome roasted almond flavor. The beginning of the cigar was great and the remainder was good. Nothing about it was really bad, my only complaint would be the burn issues. Thankfully they didn’t negatively affect the flavors but it did take away from the whole experience a bit. I think the cigar could have earned itself a few more points with a bit more age as it already has. The ones I smoked earlier this year were not as good as this one. So my suggestion, grab a few and let them sit a few more months and they should be excellent. If those roasted almond flavors can linger a bit longer this would have been a fantastic cigar. The little bit of body buildup at the end was a nice touch for me as well. The price is a little high at just over $10 but I’m excited to see what the upcoming 2011 release brings since it will have the same wrapper and be $1.70 cheaper!

Pairings:
Tonight’s pairing is a new Port wine that I picked up at the liquor store the other day. It’s from Dow’s Winery which comes from the Symington Family Estates in Portugal. The 2005 Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port has a fairly light and fruity feel on the palate with some deep notes like a touch of chocolate and woodsiness. It’s probably not the best Port I’ve had but it’s not bad in it’s own right either. It paired excellently with the flavors of the 2010 Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial. Other than Port I think this cigar would pair wonderfully with a heft stout, a strong or chocolate flavored coffee or even a nice scotch.

The post Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2010 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

I smoked a few of these cigars, but this one in particular was actually sent to me by our good friend Mike at Mikestogies.com. Mike was the man who actually sent over the sticks I did on my first blind review set which you can view here. He’s a great guy, with great reviews.

The Good Stuff: Each year Camacho releases a limited release cigar called the Liberty Series.The tradition started back in 2002 and is one of my favorite annual releases. They retail anywhere between $18 and $22 a stick and come in boxes of 10 individually coffin-boxed cigars. If you’d like to read our review of the 2009, you can see Daniel’s take on it here. Again, the scenery may look a bit different. I am doing yet another review at my favorite local shop, Tobacco Rd.

Size: 6 x 54 (11/18)  – Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatran  – Binder: Honduran Corojo  – Filler: Honduran Corojo and Dominican Ligero

Prelight: The Camacho Liberty 2010 holds true to all the past Liberty series in terms of presentation. The Liberty starts out encased in a dark blue, shiny, painted coffin box. Each box has a sticker with each cigar’s unique number. This one happens to be 775 /40,000. Once the seal on the box is broken I was showcased with a nice cedar scent and a tissue wrapped cigar placed carefully inside the box. Once then tissue is removed you are presented with the standard, flashy, black and silver Camacho band that you would expect. One interesting thing about this band is out of all the 2010 Liberties that I smoked, this was the only one with  a black band. All the rest of them had a dark blue similar to the color of the paint on the box. The band is very similar in design from the previous years. The Liberty 2010 also comes fitted with a nice little foot band that simply states “Liberty Series” in silver on dark blue ink. The wrapper on the Liberty is a very light, very consistent, milky brown. The smaller foot leads up to a much wider body before tapering off to a smaller, rounded cap that matches the size of the Liberty’s foot. For the most part the cigar is very firm to the touch with the exception of the foot. There is a crack at the top of the cigar from the head to about the middle of the band. Mainly just a wrapper crack. It looks as thought it didn’t harm the binder. Normally I wouldn’t review a cigar that already has a crack in it, but this is my third Liberty 2010 from three totally different boxes that have similar cracks. Not to mention I had a few similar issues with the 2009’s I smoked last year. This just must be a delicate wrapper. The wrapper has this immense scent of straight up cedar. It seriously smells like the inside of a brand new humidor. which happens to be of my favorite scents in the world. Some how the foot has an ever stronger cedar scent with just a little whiff of spice. The Liberty cut very clean with my double bladed cutter. Lucky enough, the crack didn’t increase much in size.  The cold draw kicks out this wonderful milky, cedar flavor and leaves behind just a tiny bit of spice.

First Smoke: The Liberty 2010 starts off slightly different than I expected. Instead of being smacked in the face with soft cedar, the cigar starts off bold, with some earthy, leather notes. Not long after the cigar turns into this just massive cedar bomb, holy crap. This is the reason why I love these Liberties. Outside of the cedar there is a slight spice sneaking into the mix. All around this cigar is starting off very smooth and flavorful. The draw is easy, and plentiful, but the main story is the stationary smoke. The Liberty 2010 gives off a ton of cedar scented stationary smoke that even overpowers the other three cigars that are going in the room at the time. The burnline is slightly wavy, but I always have that problem with this size. They almost always fix themselves. The ash is a very light grey with some slight flakes, but overall tightly compacted. The ash held on for a little over an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: One major difference with this year’s 2010 Liberty is a big one for me. The cigar burns so much slower than the previous year. The 2009 was soooo good, but at the price point I was always hesitant to spend the money to buy a cigar that would burn so quickly. The cedar is still rocking very hard into this second third. The spice is still there as well with notes of leather and some really creamy chocolate. The retrohale in this cigar is absolutely amazing. After a few retrohales I swear my nasal passage made me feel as if I have been locked in a humidor for the last 3 days. The body is slowly starting to creep in as well. It’s not full, but it is noticeable. The burnline has completely fixed itself and is holding solid as I expected. The ash is ugly, but the experience is wonderful.

Finish: The cedar has begun to fade a bit into the final third of this Camacho Liberty 2010. The cedar is still the main flavor with the backing flavors of spice, and this really strong leather flavor. The body has really ramped up too, which is totally unexpected.  I’m even getting a slight nicotine kick from this one. There was a slight harsh build up into the last inch but nothing too concerning, it was almost expected.  All in all the cigar finished very smooth, a bit heavier than I expected, and burned much slower taking about an hour and forty five minutes to finish.

Overview: The Camacho Liberty has always been a cigar that I look out for every year. The similar blends are just wonderful. The cost is a little high, but it’s a great cigar, for those special times. The slower burn was great, but it had its own drawback. Towards the end of the experience the cedar starting to get overwhelming and it made me want the tobacco flavors to come in and really take over. The crack really didn’t make much of a difference, and seldom does in this cigar. All in all, it’s a good cigar, at a decent price. But the Liberty is not something that I would put in my regular rotation due to the price, and availability. I do however love to keep a few of these on hand to satisfy those cedar cravings.

The post Camacho Liberty 2010 Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.