Avo Uvezian (born 1926 in Beirut, Lebanon) is an Armenian-American jazz pianist and cigar manufacturer. Avo Uvezian was born to a family of musicians. His mother was a singer, while his father was a composer and conductor for a symphony orchestra. His parents experience with music allowed him to develop his talents as a young man and Uvezian joined a jazz trio called the Liban Boys. They received a contract to perform at a hotel in Baghdad where they stayed for one year. After this, they signed a contract to perform at a hotel in Iran. While there, Avo received an invitation from Shah Reza Pahlavi to perform at his palace. In an interview with Cigar Aficionado, Avo described this point in his career. In addition to performing, Avo Uvezian also wrote songs, one of which was "Broken Guitar" - the prototype for "Strangers in the Night," which Frank Sinatra recorded on his 1966 album of the same name.The album won three Grammy Awards, including Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the song.
In 1983, when Avos daughter Karyn was born, he went to Switzerland for her christening. Avo had a Cuban cigar after the meal and was not happy with the price. His friend mentioned that they should make their own. Uvezian travelled to the Dominican Republic, where he searched for two years for a satisfactory production facility. Avo finally met Hendrik Kelner, and after smoking samples, Avo offered Kelner twenty-five percent more than he had originally offered. His presumption was that paying Kelner more would ensure that Avo cigars would receive the best tobacco. Michael Roux advised Avo to use attractive packaging. In the first year, 120,000 Avo cigars were sold. By the third year, Avo sold over 750,000 cigars. In 1995, Davidoff paid Avo Uvezian an estimated $10 million for the rights to distribute his cigars.[Source: Wikipedia] This is a very good looking small Perfecto shaped cigar. It comes in six different vitolas. I like perfecto shape because it allows us to enjoy the smoke with different density. It also helps me to concentrate on flavor, aroma and other elements through out the smoke. The wrapper is very smooth with little veins, pure brown tone on it with a little sheen on its surface. The band is beautiful, elegant and purple color. The cigar looks solid, well constructed and feels good in hand. The wrapper has sweet, earthy and grape kind of scents. Avo cigar is part of Davidoff operation but Avo also own tobacco firm in Dominican Republic. The tobacco in this cigar comes from Avo's own farm. Some people say the wrapper has been fermented twice. Recently, I have learned that double, triple fermentation is a marketing term to confuse the customer. It simply means longer fermentation and the tobacco has moved around longer than as usual. Fermentation is a process and it starts after plucking the tobacco leaf from the plant. I will write a separated thread on this some other time. This is also one of Avo's personal favorite because the origin of the tobaccos. The cigar is full of flavors and aroma with moderate complexity. The draw and burn is perfect. This is medium bodied smoke. The flavor and aroma profile is a combination of sweet cedar, earth, fruity (grape), nutty, black pepper, Vietnamese aromatic cinnamon powder and mild cafe late with notes of mild anise, green cardamom and nutmeg. The cigar has a wonderful sweet-dry-wet changing dimensional leathery note at the back from start to finish. I love this cigar though it is not the best Avo cigar. Avo 22 is the best creation so far but this is my second best favorite cigar in Avo line. The smoke is very relaxing, creamy and smooth. Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Olor 1/3: The first puff starts with black pepper spiciness with mild harshness but with third and fourth puffs the harshness go away but remain slightly at the back. The top of my tongue can feel the mild black pepper spiciness, the middle of my tongue is filled with creamy texture with sweet cedar, earth, mild fruity (grape) flavors and green cardamom kind of aroma, sweet-dry leathery notes at the back. The back of my tongue can feel slight harshness of tobacco. I can feel mix of black-white pepper kind of spiciness through the nose during retrohale. It is a very good start but not exceptional. The best part of this cigar is- it starts with little ring gauge which releases intense flavor then opens up slowly as it burns with wider ring gauge. I enjoy this intense density of any perfecto shape cigar. 2/3: The harshness is completely gone and the cigar is very smooth, creamy, round and mellow at this stage. The flavor is very different now. I am feeling distinctive floral, fruity (processed cherry), nutty, Vietnamese aromatic cinnamon power, mild cafe latte flavors with anise and nutmeg kind of notes. There is also distinctive sweet-wet leathery note at the back. I cannot say super complex but very complex flavor profile and aroma at the this stage. The back of my tongue is clean without any harshness. The white peppery spiciness through the nose is gone- it is straight smooth black peppery spiciness. The finish is long and consistent. I am really enjoying the smoke. It is beautiful bright and shiny morning in Managua and my heart is full of joy. I am going for three days of short vacation and really needed a flavorful, relaxing morning smoke before the departure. Thanks Avo! Final/3: the cigar became little soft at this stage...maybe I am rushing my smoke a little faster. It is a very tasty and zesty cigar with distinctive sweet-wet leathery note at the back. The flavor profile is little weak and intensity scaled down a little. The dominating flavors are earthy, nutty, mild cafe latte with slight vanilla and delicate nutmeg kind of spiciness at the back. The top of my tongue can feel the black peppery spiciness, the middle of my tongue is moderately enjoying above flavors and aroma and the tobacco mild harshness returned at the back. This is little disappointing from the wonderful 2/3 stages. However, still very enjoyable smoke at the same time lost its great complexity. Overall, it has a moderate complexity.
Final thought: it is a very good smoke but I cannot say exceptional. I always maintain a good stock of Avo Domaine because I like this cigar a lot. The one I am smoking now is very new and practically got no extra aging. This can be a reason of the mild harshness at 1/3 and final third. However, some age can eliminate the mild harshness and make this cigar perfectly smooth and round. I would recommend aging this cigar a little (6-10 months before smoking it).
Note: I am posting this review from Tola- a beautiful beach resort area in Nicaragua. I will post some pictures in my Diary from Nicaragua thread. The place is so quiet, peaceful and I am looking forward to smoke more cigars and enjoy my short vacation. Have a great weekend!!!
Great review as always brother. I love your pictures! I can't say I was a big fan of the cigar however it is probably my favorite from the AVO line. AVO just doesn't do it for me. In fact the beard hooked me up with a sampler recently and after smoking it all up I came to the same conclusion. I wish I got grape from my AVO.
Thanks Glen. I understand why Avo doesn't do it for you. Avo use very little ligeros and mostly use Dominican tobacco which does't have so much robust flavors you get from Cuban, Nicaraguan or even some Honduran tobacco. I know many smokers who think Avo is little flat for their taste buds.
phobicsquirrel:
Great review as always brother. I love your pictures! I can't say I was a big fan of the cigar however it is probably my favorite from the AVO line. AVO just doesn't do it for me. In fact the beard hooked me up with a sampler recently and after smoking it all up I came to the same conclusion. I wish I got grape from my AVO.
Thanks Daniel, 2002 wow! It must completely mellowed out. You should smoke it sooner rather than later. Avo Domaine is on of those cigar will not improve with such a long aging because It has very little ligeros. Dominican Olor tobacco consist delicate and light flavor and aroma. The Dominican Piloto tobacco has more fuller strength and body and sometime good for aging. Even if you smoke it after ten years, You will find little flat more earthy and dry woodsy flavors and aroma. Just my two cents amateur wisdom.
danielzreyes:
Awesome review like always rip. I still have one of these hiding in my humi. From 2002
Well my friend, your 10 years aged Domaine will not have that harshness at 1/3 stage. I can guarantee you that the harshness and some flavors are already gone. This is one of the weaknesses of The Olor tobacco.
danielzreyes:
danielzreyes:
Awesome review like always rip. I still have one of these hiding in my humi. From 2002
BTW I definitely agree with the first 1/3 being harsh.
Thanks Daniel, 2002 wow! It must completely mellowed out. You should smoke it sooner rather than later. Avo Domaine is on of those cigar will not improve with such a long aging because It has very little ligeros. Dominican Olor tobacco consist delicate and light flavor and aroma. The Dominican Piloto tobacco has more fuller strength and body and sometime good for aging. Even if you smoke it after ten years, You will find little flat more earthy and dry woodsy flavors and aroma. Just my two cents amateur wisdom.
danielzreyes:
Awesome review like always rip. I still have one of these hiding in my humi. From 2002
I also have a few from 2006 (robusto size). I remember smoking one earlier this summer. Yes, the smoke was very flat, and of course it too was harsh. A bitter woodsy harshness. Over all it didn't do anything for me. Even if the harshness wasn't there, the cigar was too mellow. "flat" Hey, I just realized that this is the 2nd "Beautiful woman" cigar the you have reviewed which I have had. The other being a Monte #2. (a real one, not the fake that I posted a few days ago lol)
"It's plume, bro. Nothing to worry about. Got any Opus?" The suppose to be DZR
The original Graycliff Cigar created by Master Torcedore Avelino Lara. This blend offers a medium strength full-bodied cigar, with a spicy finish. This is a true cigar for everyone from novice to aficionado. Blended from Nicaraguan, Honduran, Brazilian, Ecuadorian and Sumatra Wrapper tobacco, these cigars are available in thirteen different sizes. Born in Havana on March 20, 1921, Lara worked in the cigar business all his life; he trained and mastered the art of a torcedore at a young age. Once Fidel Castros personal roller, Lara was famous for his creations at the El Laguito Factory outside of Havana, where he created blends for Cohiba and Davidoff, among others. In 1996 Lara having retired from El Laguito, moved to Nassau to roll cigars at Graycliff Restaurant. His cigars were such a success, that Graycliff officially began the Graycliff Cigar Company to sell and market the cigars.With Avelino we had the idea of creating a cigar to sell in the restaurant to fuel my passion of finding the perfect cigar to complement our 5-star dining experience, said Enrico Garzaroli, Chairman and founder of the Graycliff Cigar Company. With him we created the award winning Graycliff Original blend, beating some of Avelinos former Cuban cigar creations in blind tastings. He had a passion for his art that no one can replicate. Although Lara retired from the Graycliff Cigar Company a few years ago, and returned to his native Havana, he was still very much in touch with the Graycliff Cigar Company product line. He sampled the new cigar blends and suggested modifications. Avelino [who passed away in October 2009] will be sorely missed. Even though he was no longer present in the rolling room each day, the torcedores continue to refer to his passion, knowledge and his constant testing of their skills, said Paolo Garzaroli, President and Co-Founder of the Graycliff Cigar Company. I will personally miss his dedication to our company, his drive for perfection, and his many wisdoms which he shared with me. Laras passion is continued at the Graycliff Cigar Company through his son, Abel, and the other torcedores. [Source: Graycliff website]
Graycliff is a cigar people like or dislike. Both group of the smokers have plenty of valid reasons. In some extend I agree with both but tilted towards the like side. I do not smoke them regularly. The reason is when they moved some of their production in Nicaragua to expand their market, IMPO they compromised with quality. As always, few cigar makers can stick with the core line. However, I am still a fan of some of the original Graycliff line cigars like the Chateau Grand Cru, Crystal, Emerald, Espresso and Original. Though they still use the name of Avelino Lara but the original core line rolls in Bahama were blended by Lara. Rest of the cigars are blended by some other blenders. This is the point where I become a member of the dislike group. To be honest, I do not like any new line from the Graycliff except the Crystal Edicion Limitada 2010. The torpedo shaped cigar looks solid with a dark brown wrapper, oily with visible veins. It has sweet, molasses and woody, dry bean scent at the foot. It has slight uneven burn at 1/3 and perfect good draw. It is medium-full bodied with rich flavors, good complexity with medium finish. The flavor profile is a combination of wood, leather, chocolate, dark espresso, molasses, nutty, cloves, strong black peppery spiciness flavors and sweet note at the back. Most probably AJ Fernandez blended the cigar but I am not entirely sure. Fewer than 50,000 cigars were ever made as this line is a one-time. Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun-grown Habano Oscuro
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Aged Brazilian and Nicaraguan Esteli and Jalapa tobaccos 1/3: The first puff blasts with robust black peppery spiciness with wood, leather, chocolate, espresso flavors and mild sweet fruitiness (prune kind) at the back. The coffee flavor is strong and makes me feel like a coffee infused cigar but it is not. The top of my tongue can feel the black peppery spiciness, the middle of my tongue can feel thick and dense smoke but not creamy or smooth with above flavors and aroma. The back of my tongue has an unpleasant harshness with slight tobacco bitterness to it. A very clear sign of Nicaraguan Esteli(spicy) and Japlapa(sweet) ligeros. However, I believe either the wrapper or some filler were not aged long enough. This is a very rich, flavorful cigar with good complexity but the harshness tells me that this cigar needs more aging. I can retrohale but it is slightly unpleasant. Overall, very good start with little burn issue. 2/3: The burn is perfect at this stage and the harshness also scaled down through the nose during retrohale but the back of my tongue can still feel it. The top of my tongue is enjoying the sweet-spiciness. I am detecting more dark chocolate flavors with distinctive thick molasses rich sweetness to it. The full flavor profile of 1/3 is still present. There is also a strong clove kind of sweet-spiciness at the back. This is a rich and complex cigar but the medium finish took away the full charm of the smoking. Another improvement at the end of this stage is, the harshness is very mild and I am back to retrohale. Now I am also detecting some more delicate aroma notes at the back such as a think floral sweetness and creamy mocha frappuccino kind of distinctive elements. The black peppery spiciness is more subtle and equally distributed front, middle and the back of my tongue. The back of my tongue can feel the smooth tobacco sweetness. Overall, very nice smokes with perfect burn and draw. I am sitting on the balcony, overlooking to the ocean with nice tropical breeze. I really needed a medium-full bodied cigar with smooth-sweet spicy kick because it is fun with salty breeze. The world is a beautiful place. Final/3: At the final stage, the cigar is completely smooth and round. I am detecting more roasted coffee flavor with mocha frappuccino aroma at the back. The sweet leathery note is subtler with full 1/3 and 2/3 flavors profile. The strength is full but not bold or overpowering. I am really enjoying the rich complexity but the finish is still medium. My entire mouth is full of sweet-spicy coffee taste. The top of my tongue is really enjoying the subtle and soft black peppery spicy zing, the middle of my tongue is filled with smooth, round texture with above rich flavors and aroma. The back of my tongue can feel the mild tobacco bitterness. Overall, the smoke is very enjoyable.
Final thought: This is a very good smoke but still need some aging to improve the 1/3 harshness. The amount of ligeros need more rest. Graycliff price range always unjustifiable but they indeed make good cigars. I am lucky to have a good amount of this in my stock. Tim was very kind to supply me with a discount price. This is a onetime production because of the limited tobacco. I wish Graycliff could have added this cigar as a regular line. Anyway, a beautiful morning, relaxing vacation with a good smoke. Life can't be better than this.
Very nice Rip, I enjoy the background info a lot as well as the descriptive wording. Plus, the pictures are fantastic, thanks for letting us into your world.
Thanks Jim...appreciate your kind words. It is always fun to share good times with friends.
Bigshizza:
Very nice Rip, I enjoy the background info a lot as well as the descriptive wording. Plus, the pictures are fantastic, thanks for letting us into your world.
The Padron 1964 Anniversary Series line was introduced in 1994 to commemorate the companys 30th anniversary. This line consists of ten sizes that are all available in sun-grown natural and maduro wrappers. All tobacco used in this limited production series is aged for four years, creating a smooth and complex flavor. In honor of the age-old Cuban tradition of box-pressing cigars, the 1964 Anniversary line was introduced as a box-pressed series. For the protection of our customers we have introduced measures to safeguard against counterfeiting with a specially designed double band featuring an individually numbered guarantee label. The Padron 1964 Anniversary Series is consistently ranked by industry experts as one of the top brands in the world.[Source: Padron] It is a very well constructed and box pressed cigar. The wrapper is dark brown, no large veins is visible. Putting the cigar to nose, I got sweet cedar, hay, sweet tobacco and earth scent on the foot. It has perfect draw and burn with rich flavor, complexity and medium to long finish. The flavor profile is a combination of cedar, earth, nutty (almond), cream, molasses, caramel, coffee, cocoa, sweet dark chocolate, cloves, black pepper with mild citrus, sweet- spicy-earthy leather notes. It is a straight medium to full bodied smoke with perfect burn and draw. Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Four years aged tobacco from Nicaragua 1/3: it starts with sweet dark chocolate and peppery kick. Within few puffs it has more cedar, nutty (almond kind), cream, damp earth, sweet dark chocolate, black pepper flavors with sweet-spicy earthy note at the back. The top of my tongue can feel the black paper spice; the middle of my tongue can feel the thick, dense, lush, creamy texture with above flavors and aroma. The back of my tongue has a mild peppery finish. There is no harshness at all. The delicate black peppery finish through the nose is very pleasant. This cigar got almost three years of age and I am enjoying the reward. The dense, lush, creamy texture is completely smooth and filled with layers and layers of flavors and aroma with complexity and medium finish. At the end of this stage, I am also detecting some earth, molasses kind of sweetness to it. The retrohale is very enjoyable with distinctive nutty and black pepper spice at the back. What a great start! 2/3: the black pepper spiciness scaled down and taken over with a mild and delicate touch. The smoke is smoother, creamier, round and mouthful with distinctive molasses with sweet caramel at the back, cocoa, creamy dark chocolate, cloves kind of sweet spiciness. However, at the same time, the 1/3 full flavor and aroma profile is there. This is a super complex smoke at this stage with long finish. The cigar is picking up more strength but with more smooth complexity- wow! The coffee flavor is coming out with very super mild hazelnut aroma at the back. The top of my tongue can feel the smooth, subtle black peppery spiciness; the middle of my tongue is coated with above flavors and aroma with a nutty, smooth, creamy, round shield around it. The back of my tongue has slight tobacco sweetness. I am retrohaling all the way and enjoying the subtle black peppery spiciness through the nose. There is a reason why people love this cigar so much because few non-Cuban cigars have this kind of complexity and long finish. The best part of cigar is the nuttiness with sweet aged tobacco complexity. My mouth is full of round smoke with layers and layers of flavors and aroma. The entire flavor and aroma profile of 1/3 and 2/3 come and go back and forth. There is very little aftertaste rather than distinctive sweet and subtle spiciness. A good cigar always perform the best at 2/3 stage and this is performing with symphonic flavors and aroma. I cannot say enough because I became very emotional when I smoke an aged Padron cigar. Final/3: The strength is full but not bold or overpowering. At this stage the cigar is smooth and round enough to enjoy the flavor and aroma and the underlying sweetness. I am getting more coffee, dark chocolate flavor at this moment. However, there is very interesting citrus touch and sweet-spicy-earthy leather note at the back. The nuttiness is taken over by more subtle leathery note. The complexity scaled down a little. The flavor profile is locked with more clove kind of sweet-spiciness. Other than that I am missing some of the 1/3 and 2/3 flavors and aroma. This is where the full bodied cigar loses its smoking charm. Padron Millennium, 1926, 80th, 45th performs better at this stage compares to 1964. However, it doesn't undermine its uniqueness at all but lost the charm of retrohale. The power and strength through the nose is little too strong. Perhaps, a little more aging can fix this unpleasant feeling. I am also detecting little more bitterness at the back of my tongue. Overall, it is a very good final/3.
Final thought: There is no doubt this is a great smoke. This cigar will perform even better with aging. Padron has always great potential for aging. I cannot say that this is a phenomenal cigar but one of the top non-Cuban without ant reservation. Its complexity and performance are superb but I like other special releases more than 1964 for the final/3 performance. There are always 10-15 sticks of this cigar in my humidor because I really want to smoke it once in a while. I just came back from a three days of short vacation and I end my relaxing trip with this great smoke. I wish you all a wonderful and productive working week ahead.
I agree that the '26 and 80th are better, but the 1964 is a world-class cigar in its own right. I recently bought a box of '64 Torpedo's to go along with my box of '64 Monarca's. They're sensational!
Another well done review. The '26 and 80th along with the FR are the only one's I smoke, though the 26 is one I probably won't buy again just because I will get more FR and 80ths.. lol.
Just saw the greycliff review, very nice. I love the ashtray/shell. Unlike a lot of reviewers and reviews I seem to get a real sense of what you like and don't like as well as I learn more and more about you as a person and how much you enjoy cigars. Well done.
I agree that the '26 and 80th are better, but the 1964 is a world-class cigar in its own right. I recently bought a box of '64 Torpedo's to go along with my box of '64 Monarca's. They're sensational!
Hi Glen, thanks for your nice comment. I do love cigar and enjoy it. I believe cigar made my life more colorful and enjoyable.
phobicsquirrel:
Just saw the greycliff review, very nice. I love the ashtray/shell. Unlike a lot of reviewers and reviews I seem to get a real sense of what you like and don't like as well as I learn more and more about you as a person and how much you enjoy cigars. Well done.
Comments
Avo Uvezian (born 1926 in Beirut, Lebanon) is an Armenian-American jazz pianist and cigar manufacturer. Avo Uvezian was born to a family of musicians. His mother was a singer, while his father was a composer and conductor for a symphony orchestra. His parents experience with music allowed him to develop his talents as a young man and Uvezian joined a jazz trio called the Liban Boys. They received a contract to perform at a hotel in Baghdad where they stayed for one year. After this, they signed a contract to perform at a hotel in Iran. While there, Avo received an invitation from Shah Reza Pahlavi to perform at his palace. In an interview with Cigar Aficionado, Avo described this point in his career. In addition to performing, Avo Uvezian also wrote songs, one of which was "Broken Guitar" - the prototype for "Strangers in the Night," which Frank Sinatra recorded on his 1966 album of the same name.The album won three Grammy Awards, including Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the song.
In 1983, when Avos daughter Karyn was born, he went to Switzerland for her christening. Avo had a Cuban cigar after the meal and was not happy with the price. His friend mentioned that they should make their own. Uvezian travelled to the Dominican Republic, where he searched for two years for a satisfactory production facility. Avo finally met Hendrik Kelner, and after smoking samples, Avo offered Kelner twenty-five percent more than he had originally offered. His presumption was that paying Kelner more would ensure that Avo cigars would receive the best tobacco. Michael Roux advised Avo to use attractive packaging. In the first year, 120,000 Avo cigars were sold. By the third year, Avo sold over 750,000 cigars. In 1995, Davidoff paid Avo Uvezian an estimated $10 million for the rights to distribute his cigars.[Source: Wikipedia]
This is a very good looking small Perfecto shaped cigar. It comes in six different vitolas. I like perfecto shape because it allows us to enjoy the smoke with different density. It also helps me to concentrate on flavor, aroma and other elements through out the smoke. The wrapper is very smooth with little veins, pure brown tone on it with a little sheen on its surface. The band is beautiful, elegant and purple color. The cigar looks solid, well constructed and feels good in hand. The wrapper has sweet, earthy and grape kind of scents. Avo cigar is part of Davidoff operation but Avo also own tobacco firm in Dominican Republic. The tobacco in this cigar comes from Avo's own farm. Some people say the wrapper has been fermented twice. Recently, I have learned that double, triple fermentation is a marketing term to confuse the customer. It simply means longer fermentation and the tobacco has moved around longer than as usual. Fermentation is a process and it starts after plucking the tobacco leaf from the plant. I will write a separated thread on this some other time. This is also one of Avo's personal favorite because the origin of the tobaccos. The cigar is full of flavors and aroma with moderate complexity. The draw and burn is perfect. This is medium bodied smoke. The flavor and aroma profile is a combination of sweet cedar, earth, fruity (grape), nutty, black pepper, Vietnamese aromatic cinnamon powder and mild cafe late with notes of mild anise, green cardamom and nutmeg. The cigar has a wonderful sweet-dry-wet changing dimensional leathery note at the back from start to finish. I love this cigar though it is not the best Avo cigar. Avo 22 is the best creation so far but this is my second best favorite cigar in Avo line. The smoke is very relaxing, creamy and smooth.
Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Olor
1/3: The first puff starts with black pepper spiciness with mild harshness but with third and fourth puffs the harshness go away but remain slightly at the back. The top of my tongue can feel the mild black pepper spiciness, the middle of my tongue is filled with creamy texture with sweet cedar, earth, mild fruity (grape) flavors and green cardamom kind of aroma, sweet-dry leathery notes at the back. The back of my tongue can feel slight harshness of tobacco. I can feel mix of black-white pepper kind of spiciness through the nose during retrohale. It is a very good start but not exceptional. The best part of this cigar is- it starts with little ring gauge which releases intense flavor then opens up slowly as it burns with wider ring gauge. I enjoy this intense density of any perfecto shape cigar.
2/3: The harshness is completely gone and the cigar is very smooth, creamy, round and mellow at this stage. The flavor is very different now. I am feeling distinctive floral, fruity (processed cherry), nutty, Vietnamese aromatic cinnamon power, mild cafe latte flavors with anise and nutmeg kind of notes. There is also distinctive sweet-wet leathery note at the back. I cannot say super complex but very complex flavor profile and aroma at the this stage. The back of my tongue is clean without any harshness. The white peppery spiciness through the nose is gone- it is straight smooth black peppery spiciness. The finish is long and consistent. I am really enjoying the smoke. It is beautiful bright and shiny morning in Managua and my heart is full of joy. I am going for three days of short vacation and really needed a flavorful, relaxing morning smoke before the departure. Thanks Avo!
Final/3: the cigar became little soft at this stage...maybe I am rushing my smoke a little faster. It is a very tasty and zesty cigar with distinctive sweet-wet leathery note at the back. The flavor profile is little weak and intensity scaled down a little. The dominating flavors are earthy, nutty, mild cafe latte with slight vanilla and delicate nutmeg kind of spiciness at the back. The top of my tongue can feel the black peppery spiciness, the middle of my tongue is moderately enjoying above flavors and aroma and the tobacco mild harshness returned at the back. This is little disappointing from the wonderful 2/3 stages. However, still very enjoyable smoke at the same time lost its great complexity. Overall, it has a moderate complexity.
Final thought: it is a very good smoke but I cannot say exceptional. I always maintain a good stock of Avo Domaine because I like this cigar a lot. The one I am smoking now is very new and practically got no extra aging. This can be a reason of the mild harshness at 1/3 and final third. However, some age can eliminate the mild harshness and make this cigar perfectly smooth and round. I would recommend aging this cigar a little (6-10 months before smoking it).
Note: I am posting this review from Tola- a beautiful beach resort area in Nicaragua. I will post some pictures in my Diary from Nicaragua thread. The place is so quiet, peaceful and I am looking forward to smoke more cigars and enjoy my short vacation. Have a great weekend!!!
Hey, I just realized that this is the 2nd "Beautiful woman" cigar the you have reviewed which I have had. The other being a Monte #2. (a real one, not the fake that I posted a few days ago lol)
The original Graycliff Cigar created by Master Torcedore Avelino Lara. This blend offers a medium strength full-bodied cigar, with a spicy finish. This is a true cigar for everyone from novice to aficionado. Blended from Nicaraguan, Honduran, Brazilian, Ecuadorian and Sumatra Wrapper tobacco, these cigars are available in thirteen different sizes. Born in Havana on March 20, 1921, Lara worked in the cigar business all his life; he trained and mastered the art of a torcedore at a young age. Once Fidel Castros personal roller, Lara was famous for his creations at the El Laguito Factory outside of Havana, where he created blends for Cohiba and Davidoff, among others. In 1996 Lara having retired from El Laguito, moved to Nassau to roll cigars at Graycliff Restaurant. His cigars were such a success, that Graycliff officially began the Graycliff Cigar Company to sell and market the cigars.With Avelino we had the idea of creating a cigar to sell in the restaurant to fuel my passion of finding the perfect cigar to complement our 5-star dining experience, said Enrico Garzaroli, Chairman and founder of the Graycliff Cigar Company. With him we created the award winning Graycliff Original blend, beating some of Avelinos former Cuban cigar creations in blind tastings. He had a passion for his art that no one can replicate. Although Lara retired from the Graycliff Cigar Company a few years ago, and returned to his native Havana, he was still very much in touch with the Graycliff Cigar Company product line. He sampled the new cigar blends and suggested modifications. Avelino [who passed away in October 2009] will be sorely missed. Even though he was no longer present in the rolling room each day, the torcedores continue to refer to his passion, knowledge and his constant testing of their skills, said Paolo Garzaroli, President and Co-Founder of the Graycliff Cigar Company. I will personally miss his dedication to our company, his drive for perfection, and his many wisdoms which he shared with me. Laras passion is continued at the Graycliff Cigar Company through his son, Abel, and the other torcedores. [Source: Graycliff website]
Graycliff is a cigar people like or dislike. Both group of the smokers have plenty of valid reasons. In some extend I agree with both but tilted towards the like side. I do not smoke them regularly. The reason is when they moved some of their production in Nicaragua to expand their market, IMPO they compromised with quality. As always, few cigar makers can stick with the core line. However, I am still a fan of some of the original Graycliff line cigars like the Chateau Grand Cru, Crystal, Emerald, Espresso and Original. Though they still use the name of Avelino Lara but the original core line rolls in Bahama were blended by Lara. Rest of the cigars are blended by some other blenders. This is the point where I become a member of the dislike group. To be honest, I do not like any new line from the Graycliff except the Crystal Edicion Limitada 2010.
The torpedo shaped cigar looks solid with a dark brown wrapper, oily with visible veins. It has sweet, molasses and woody, dry bean scent at the foot. It has slight uneven burn at 1/3 and perfect good draw. It is medium-full bodied with rich flavors, good complexity with medium finish. The flavor profile is a combination of wood, leather, chocolate, dark espresso, molasses, nutty, cloves, strong black peppery spiciness flavors and sweet note at the back. Most probably AJ Fernandez blended the cigar but I am not entirely sure. Fewer than 50,000 cigars were ever made as this line is a one-time.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun-grown Habano Oscuro
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Aged Brazilian and Nicaraguan Esteli and Jalapa tobaccos
1/3: The first puff blasts with robust black peppery spiciness with wood, leather, chocolate, espresso flavors and mild sweet fruitiness (prune kind) at the back. The coffee flavor is strong and makes me feel like a coffee infused cigar but it is not. The top of my tongue can feel the black peppery spiciness, the middle of my tongue can feel thick and dense smoke but not creamy or smooth with above flavors and aroma. The back of my tongue has an unpleasant harshness with slight tobacco bitterness to it. A very clear sign of Nicaraguan Esteli(spicy) and Japlapa(sweet) ligeros. However, I believe either the wrapper or some filler were not aged long enough. This is a very rich, flavorful cigar with good complexity but the harshness tells me that this cigar needs more aging. I can retrohale but it is slightly unpleasant. Overall, very good start with little burn issue.
2/3: The burn is perfect at this stage and the harshness also scaled down through the nose during retrohale but the back of my tongue can still feel it. The top of my tongue is enjoying the sweet-spiciness. I am detecting more dark chocolate flavors with distinctive thick molasses rich sweetness to it. The full flavor profile of 1/3 is still present. There is also a strong clove kind of sweet-spiciness at the back. This is a rich and complex cigar but the medium finish took away the full charm of the smoking. Another improvement at the end of this stage is, the harshness is very mild and I am back to retrohale. Now I am also detecting some more delicate aroma notes at the back such as a think floral sweetness and creamy mocha frappuccino kind of distinctive elements. The black peppery spiciness is more subtle and equally distributed front, middle and the back of my tongue. The back of my tongue can feel the smooth tobacco sweetness. Overall, very nice smokes with perfect burn and draw. I am sitting on the balcony, overlooking to the ocean with nice tropical breeze. I really needed a medium-full bodied cigar with smooth-sweet spicy kick because it is fun with salty breeze. The world is a beautiful place.
Final/3: At the final stage, the cigar is completely smooth and round. I am detecting more roasted coffee flavor with mocha frappuccino aroma at the back. The sweet leathery note is subtler with full 1/3 and 2/3 flavors profile. The strength is full but not bold or overpowering. I am really enjoying the rich complexity but the finish is still medium. My entire mouth is full of sweet-spicy coffee taste. The top of my tongue is really enjoying the subtle and soft black peppery spicy zing, the middle of my tongue is filled with smooth, round texture with above rich flavors and aroma. The back of my tongue can feel the mild tobacco bitterness. Overall, the smoke is very enjoyable.
Final thought: This is a very good smoke but still need some aging to improve the 1/3 harshness. The amount of ligeros need more rest. Graycliff price range always unjustifiable but they indeed make good cigars. I am lucky to have a good amount of this in my stock. Tim was very kind to supply me with a discount price. This is a onetime production because of the limited tobacco. I wish Graycliff could have added this cigar as a regular line. Anyway, a beautiful morning, relaxing vacation with a good smoke. Life can't be better than this.
The Padron 1964 Anniversary Series line was introduced in 1994 to commemorate the companys 30th anniversary. This line consists of ten sizes that are all available in sun-grown natural and maduro wrappers. All tobacco used in this limited production series is aged for four years, creating a smooth and complex flavor. In honor of the age-old Cuban tradition of box-pressing cigars, the 1964 Anniversary line was introduced as a box-pressed series. For the protection of our customers we have introduced measures to safeguard against counterfeiting with a specially designed double band featuring an individually numbered guarantee label. The Padron 1964 Anniversary Series is consistently ranked by industry experts as one of the top brands in the world.[Source: Padron]
It is a very well constructed and box pressed cigar. The wrapper is dark brown, no large veins is visible. Putting the cigar to nose, I got sweet cedar, hay, sweet tobacco and earth scent on the foot. It has perfect draw and burn with rich flavor, complexity and medium to long finish. The flavor profile is a combination of cedar, earth, nutty (almond), cream, molasses, caramel, coffee, cocoa, sweet dark chocolate, cloves, black pepper with mild citrus, sweet- spicy-earthy leather notes. It is a straight medium to full bodied smoke with perfect burn and draw.
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Four years aged tobacco from Nicaragua
1/3: it starts with sweet dark chocolate and peppery kick. Within few puffs it has more cedar, nutty (almond kind), cream, damp earth, sweet dark chocolate, black pepper flavors with sweet-spicy earthy note at the back. The top of my tongue can feel the black paper spice; the middle of my tongue can feel the thick, dense, lush, creamy texture with above flavors and aroma. The back of my tongue has a mild peppery finish. There is no harshness at all. The delicate black peppery finish through the nose is very pleasant. This cigar got almost three years of age and I am enjoying the reward. The dense, lush, creamy texture is completely smooth and filled with layers and layers of flavors and aroma with complexity and medium finish. At the end of this stage, I am also detecting some earth, molasses kind of sweetness to it. The retrohale is very enjoyable with distinctive nutty and black pepper spice at the back. What a great start!
2/3: the black pepper spiciness scaled down and taken over with a mild and delicate touch. The smoke is smoother, creamier, round and mouthful with distinctive molasses with sweet caramel at the back, cocoa, creamy dark chocolate, cloves kind of sweet spiciness. However, at the same time, the 1/3 full flavor and aroma profile is there. This is a super complex smoke at this stage with long finish. The cigar is picking up more strength but with more smooth complexity- wow! The coffee flavor is coming out with very super mild hazelnut aroma at the back. The top of my tongue can feel the smooth, subtle black peppery spiciness; the middle of my tongue is coated with above flavors and aroma with a nutty, smooth, creamy, round shield around it. The back of my tongue has slight tobacco sweetness. I am retrohaling all the way and enjoying the subtle black peppery spiciness through the nose. There is a reason why people love this cigar so much because few non-Cuban cigars have this kind of complexity and long finish. The best part of cigar is the nuttiness with sweet aged tobacco complexity. My mouth is full of round smoke with layers and layers of flavors and aroma. The entire flavor and aroma profile of 1/3 and 2/3 come and go back and forth. There is very little aftertaste rather than distinctive sweet and subtle spiciness. A good cigar always perform the best at 2/3 stage and this is performing with symphonic flavors and aroma. I cannot say enough because I became very emotional when I smoke an aged Padron cigar.
Final/3: The strength is full but not bold or overpowering. At this stage the cigar is smooth and round enough to enjoy the flavor and aroma and the underlying sweetness. I am getting more coffee, dark chocolate flavor at this moment. However, there is very interesting citrus touch and sweet-spicy-earthy leather note at the back. The nuttiness is taken over by more subtle leathery note. The complexity scaled down a little. The flavor profile is locked with more clove kind of sweet-spiciness. Other than that I am missing some of the 1/3 and 2/3 flavors and aroma. This is where the full bodied cigar loses its smoking charm. Padron Millennium, 1926, 80th, 45th performs better at this stage compares to 1964. However, it doesn't undermine its uniqueness at all but lost the charm of retrohale. The power and strength through the nose is little too strong. Perhaps, a little more aging can fix this unpleasant feeling. I am also detecting little more bitterness at the back of my tongue. Overall, it is a very good final/3.
Final thought: There is no doubt this is a great smoke. This cigar will perform even better with aging. Padron has always great potential for aging. I cannot say that this is a phenomenal cigar but one of the top non-Cuban without ant reservation. Its complexity and performance are superb but I like other special releases more than 1964 for the final/3 performance. There are always 10-15 sticks of this cigar in my humidor because I really want to smoke it once in a while. I just came back from a three days of short vacation and I end my relaxing trip with this great smoke. I wish you all a wonderful and productive working week ahead.