This review was posted on 3/25/2007
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I went and done it.. that slippery slope.
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Well of course I had to smoke one tonight. Construction is what you'd expect from any AVO product. I really had no idea what to expect from this smoke other than the shop owner enjoyed these more than the LE-5 and reminded him of the AVO 22. That is another monster that I'd like to come across some day.
On to the review. I clipped the cap cleanly with the Palio. Pre-light aroma was on a nutty chocolate smell. Reminded me of a almond chocolate bar.
The wrapper is a silky light brown (I haven't found information on the specifics of this Vitola. Not listed on AVO's site). The construction is firm and uniform.
Pre-light draw was on the easier side. No effort required to draw on this vitola.
I toasted the foot and lit the cigar. The first draw is one white pepper. The first third remained of strong pepper with a nice leather taste from time to time.
The 2nd half picked up toasted nuts and light cream with the peppery tones reminding me of cayenne.
The last third remained peppery, nutty, slightly creamy, with a taste of a spice that I can't pinpoint. It's not licorice by something as strong that I couldn't quite place.
It's time to age these a little and see how they blend.
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Revisited this cigar on 7/29/2007
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The one I smoked tonight was from box #275.
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Size/Strength: 5 5/8 x 48 / Med - Full
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Filler: Dominican Piloto, San Vicente
Binder: Dominican Olor
I have had these stored in the original box in a coolerdor and humidor between 65% and 69% RH fluctuating between 65-72 Fahrenheit since 3/25/07. These have had a bit of time to rest. I'd heard from others that these are starting to come into their own. Since Jerry's review, I thought I would smoke another soon. I smoked this tonight, paired with water while playing some Texas Hold'em.
Construction and appearance:
Perfect/seamless roll with a medium/firm feel. The bunching looked a little loose in the middle of the example I smoked. There were 2 veins that ran down the length of the cigar. I thought this might detract from the burn. The cap clipped cleanly with my Palio.
Pre-Light Aroma - Barnyard, sweet and musty. The draw is very easy on this cigar.
Initial light and burn:
Toasted the foot and pulled while pulling in my first draw. The first draw was filled with light, sweet fruit with a touch of spice, almost like peppered bananas. I picked up a little nut on subsequent draws with a peppered finish.
First third:
First half inch I noticed a slightly bitter dry finish. The cigar is light/medium in body. The ash is a firm light gray. An inch into the cigar I picked up more nutty flavors mixed with spiced persimmons. At the tail end of the first 1/3rd the flavor picked up more sweet flavor with a dry bitter finish, almost like the husk of a nutshell. Knocked the ash off at an inch and half.
Half way point - The sweet and pepper flavors picked up still finishing bitter and dry mixed with the sweet spice. This example has picked up more body putting it in the medium range.
Second third:
Not much change. The cigar is burning flawlessly still holding onto a firm light gray ash.
Final Third:
This was the most enjoyable part of the cigar for me. The dry bitter finish has subsided. The cigar finished with a lot of sweet pepper, with the spice lingering on the tongue. I put this down with about 3/4 of an inch left.
Over all impressions and conclusion:
This example produced a different experience from previous LE7's i'd smoked. I believe this is the third one I've smoked. I found the bitter/dry finish annoying. I was a little disappointed. I'll come back to this cigar again in a month or longer. This burn tonight was not what I expected. Not horrible, different indeed, but still enjoyable.
This example burned evenly all the way down to the end. I enjoyed it for about an hour and 25 minutes.
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Revisited again on 10/14/2007
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The one I smoked tonight was another from box #275.
Size/Strength: 5 5/8 x 48 / Med - Full
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Filler: Dominican Piloto, San Vicente
Binder: Dominican Olor
I have had these stored in the original box in a coolerdor and humidor between 65% and 69% RH fluctuating between 65-72 Fahrenheit since 3/25/07. These have had a bit of time to rest. I smoked this one with a Coca Cola tonight.
Construction and appearance:
Perfect/seamless roll with a medium/firm feel. The cap clipped cleanly with my Palio.
Pre-Light Aroma - Barnyard, sweet and musty. The draw is very easy on this cigar.
Initial light and burn:
Toasted the foot and pulled while pulling in my first draw. The first draw was filled with light, sweet fruit with a touch of spice with copious amounts of smoke. I picked up a little nut on subsequent draws with a peppered finish. The pepper on these sticks have subsided considerably since they were fresh. The spice was not nearly as sharp on the tongue as previous examples.
First third:
The bitter dry finish I experienced in the last cigar is only mildly present now. The cigar is light/medium in body. The ash is a firm light gray. Knocked the ash off at two inches.
Half way point - The cigar remained the same into the second half. I noticed a more clean tobacco taste in this example. The cigar is burning flawlessly.
Final Third:
This cigar finished the same as it was in the half way point. This cigar takes the edge off your senses putting you in a relaxed state. It's hard to explain, but something I felt stronger with an Outlaw 22 and mildly with this cigar. It's a pleasant experience.
Over all impressions and conclusion:
This example produced a different experience from previous LE7's i'd smoked. I enjoyed this one much more than the previous. I believe I burned through this quickly even though I held on to each pull letting the smoke linger. I snorked this one much more than I usually do with a cigar.
This example burned evenly all the way down to the end. I enjoyed it for about an hour and 10 minutes.
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