Cigar Review: Avo Syncro

Vitola: Short Robusto
Size: 4″ x 52 ring gauge
Price $7.99
Purchased at Maxamar’s Cigars

Background

When I heard press about this cigar I was curious what is was going to be like.  I was a bit underwhelmed with the Davidoff Nicaragua so I didn’t know what to expect here.  Dave took at look at this blend, in a different size, here.  I was given a show sample when I was at the shop and and I remember enjoying it when I smoked it so I was looking forward to seeing these come in.  I tried a toro and as I was leaving the guy working at the shop told me to try the short robusto.  So I picked one up for review.

Prelight

The wrapper on this sample is a dark ruddy brown with some black mottling to it.  The cigar had a nice box press to it, not too sharp and not too loose.  The band made it very clear what cigar you were going to smoke, with Nicaragua along the bottom and Syncro on the side, which is a good thing.  The wrapper has some oils it along with a good amount of tooth that is slightly flattened by the box pressing.  When I gave it a squeeze there was a slight amount of give and no soft spots.  The wrapper gave off the aroma of leather with barnyard coming from the foot.  After clipping it and taking a cold draw I got a salty sweet flavor with a good draw.

Flavor

The cigar starts off with a blast of spice, especially on the retrohale.  This isn’t something I’m used to getting from an Avo cigar.  After a few puffs the flavors leather, cedar, cinnamon, with a salty finish.  The cigar starts off in the upper end of medium strength.  When I moved in the second third the spice toned down, but never went away.  The flavors were similar to the first with notes of leather, earth, cinnamon and coffee with a slightly sweet finish.  The strength built to the medium-full range in the second third.  As I got into the final third the sweetness started to take a more prominent role joining the cinnamon, leather, wood and salty flavors.  The strength built slightly and I started to get a slight nicotine hit from it.

Construction

The draw on the cigar was just right throughout and the burn line was only slightly wavy.

Value

I’m kinda torn on the price.  $8 for a little cigar sounds a bit much, but to me the cigar did perform up to that price point.

Conclusions

I definitely enjoyed this short robusto a lot more than the toro I had when they came into the shop.  I want to give the robusto a try as well.  I will be picking more of these up.  These would work well when you don’t have a lot of time and want a cigar with a lot of flavor that won’t leave you wanting another one, for those times when it is too hot or cold out.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10