AVO XO Intermezzo

[ghost]

Another "breakfast" smoke this past Saturday. I have had about 5 of these and have always wondering whether they are worth it. Read on to find out...


Setting: Outdoors with temps in the 80s and mid to high humidity.


Appearance: Very nice light tan wrapper. Excellent construction.


Storage: 67% RH for over a 1 year.

Cut: Xikar .

Size: Intermezzo (5 1/2 x 50)

1/3rd: I got hit with a charred wood flavor with a hint of pepper. Some more draws in and the charred wood flavor lessened but did not dissapear completely. With all of these that I have smoked it always seems like there are a number of flavors that are combining (fighting?) with each other making very difficult to figure out what exactly is coming through.

Draw and smoke was good. Ash was about an inch. Burn was also very good.


2/3rd: Hints of charred wood still coming through. Again, I have this sense that there are a number of flavors that are similar but yet different that are trying to come through. Simply can not put my finger on it and to be quite honest can't always decide if I like it or not. Some cinamon spice (the spice itself not to be confused with cinammon sugar or sweer cinammon) could be detected every so often.

Draw, smoke, ash and burn all the same and consistent with before.

3/3rd: For of the same flavor profile. Being the end of this smoke, some harshness which was almost coal like in taste came through. More of this coal quality made me basically put this smoke down.

Overall impressions:

Smoke: Good amount but nothing special

Ash: An inch to inch and a half.

Burn: Very good throughout. No touch-ups.

Final Thoughts: It is a medium type of smoke and the construction is beautiful making you WANT to like this cigar. There is almost and elegant quality to it.

As I stated earlier I have had 5 of these through the years and each time I have the same experience. I want to say it is a complex smoke (and in one sense it is) but to be honest I am always confused after having one as I can not make up my mind whether I really like it or not. I mean there is something about the flavor profile that call you (almost challenges you) to figure out what you are tasting. The predominant flavor to me is a burned wood one but there is something just beneath the surface that makes me concentrate on it to see if I figure out what is going on. As before, no luck and am still on the fence with this one.

Honest opinion, for myself, it is intresting and sometimes frustrating, but there are other smokes in the mild to medium quality which I would prefer that cost a hell of a lot less. Still if they are you thing and you enjoy the flavor profile and I see where someone would love this smoke.

I hope you guys found this review helpful.

Stay strong and happy smokes!

[darkninja67]

Thanks for the review. I have always been an Avo fan and liked this line a lot in the past. I recall tasting some citrus notes to it. I have to get my hands on some more of these soon.

[golfermd]

Thanks for the review....

[jedipastor]

I liked this review a lot because it was honest about not being able to pinpoint certian things and kind of unsure as to how much he really enjoyed the stick...I think that's the way I feel pretty often. I can easily give a "thumbs up or down" but beyond that, It's sometimes tough to call. Very good review.

This stick has been on my radar since someone recommended it to me, but I haven't smoked one yet...or any AVO for that matter. I'd like to at some point.