Wednesday, May 18 2011
Size: 5½" x 50
Strength: Medium
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed
Filler: Dominican (six varieties)
Binder: Dominican Havana-seed
This is one of my all-time favorite cigars, and one of the reasons I made the Avo XO Intermezzo my pick this week was I had one this morning after a much too long hiatus. Not surprisingly, it was rich, creamy and as flavorful as ever. One of the reasons I enjoy this particular Avo is, outside of Avo's annual Anniversary editions, the XO is the most complex and well-balanced of the main lines. (Between you and me, Avo, himself, once told me the XO Intermezzo is one of his daily smokes.)
The core consists of no less than six different Dominican-grown tobaccos, which remain anonymous. The binder is a Dominican Havana-seed leaf, and the wrapper is a slightly darker than usual Connecticut-seed leaf grown in Ecuador. The result is a full-flavored, medium-bodied cigar.
The pre-light is a bit grassy, but the first thing you notice after lighting up are the flavors of sweet
cedar, nutmeg, and roasted nuts. As the cigar smokes, the flavors build slightly offering a dash of espresso on the
finish. Like most Avos, the aroma is pretty seductive, too. The Intermezzo can also be paired with just about anything from sweet Port to single malt Scotch, or even a good micro-brew beer.
They're not the cheapest cigars in the world, but well worth the investment, as they will age beautifully over time. If you've taken a recent interest in so-called "luxury cigars," you may want to start with the Avo XO Intermezzo.
See pricing and offers for Avo XO cigars.
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