Avo has been making cigar for decades in cooperation with Davidoff and the cigars are made at the O.K. Factory on the Dominican Republic. I’ve never been a big fan of the Ave cigars and always thought they were a little overpriced due to his ties with Davidoff. The XO line is one of the lines that got revamped by Davidoff in the early 2010’s and is supposed to be one of the milder ones with an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper and a binder and filler from the Dominican with a minimum of six years of age to it. Two days ago I posted another Avo review, to celebrate his birthday, today I publish a review to remember him on the day of his death, a year ago.

Coming back to the price, I just checked and for €10 this is quite expensive for a mild robusto. The Intermezzo measures 5 1/2×50. I do like the name of the size as it refers to the musical history of Avo, who passed away earlier this year age 91. I don’t know where I got this cigar, there are no price stickers on the cellophane so I can’t tell if it was bought in the USA, Germany or The Netherlands and no idea if it was a gift of that I bought it. I guess it was a gift because I can’t imagine buying a Connecticut Shade Avo.

The wrapper is dull, it has a few sparkles from minerals but looks a bit like chicken skin. The construction feels good and the head of the cigar is flawless with a pretty cap, great work especially when you know that the O.K. factory doesn’t house the best rollers of Davidoff, the best rollers move on to the Davidoff factory. The ring is pretty, a pale yellow orange with a gold line and a white edge, a silver & black ago logo and black letters Avo and XO on the side. Simple yet elegant. The aroma is quite strong, it reminds me of a barnyard with a lot of hay.

I punched the cigar, the cold draw, which taste a bit like hay and raisin, is a bit on the tight side, still decent but a bit tighter than I like. The first puffs after lighting the cigar are a little lemon and coffee. After a third I taste a little harsh wood with spices and lime. The harshness is making the cigar unpleasant. The flavors don’t change anymore, this is a very one dimensional cigar.

The smoke is on the thin side of medium and medium in volume. The ash is light, dense and firm though. The draw is good and the burn is straight enough not to be corrected but not straight enough to be called great. This cigar is medium bodied and flavored. The smoke time is an hour and ten minutes.

Would I buy this cigar again? I wouldn’t even accept a gifted one.

Score: 79

https://cigarguideorg.wordpress.com/...xo-intermezzo/
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Wow! I have not had an XO since they revamped them, but it was originally supposed to be a bump up in strength from the original line. I did, when they first appeared on the market, enjoy them. They were milder, but tasty with unusual make-up on the palate with hints of butter, cream, and nuts.

Too bad they are not the same.

Thanks for the review.
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its all personal preferences, maybe you still like 'em Rev
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Yeah, don't write them off until you try them, Todd. A medium bodied cigar with pleasant flavors that I find quite enjoyable. Like Ferdi said, personal preferences! :-)
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It is also a question of cost. I usually try to find deals on cigars, and unless XOs go on special, I probably will not get any. They were a nice change of pace (I was gifted with a box from a parishioner back in 1998 in Connecticut), but they were not necessarily something I would have gone out of my way to find.
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