Alright bums, the cigar review you've been waiting 6 long months for is finally here. The epic Avocado Limited Reserve (ALR)!
As way of background, my numbskull stepbrother @Horseshoe got me a 5 pack of these as a gag Christmas present. After 6 months of aging to achieve optimum Avocado greatness, I finally smoked one last night.
As the name would imply, the ALR is a candela wrapped cigar. The band is a little odd in that it has piano keys below the picture of the avocados. A link to the cigar for your pending purchase is here: Avocado Limited Reserve - Cigars International $24.50 or $27.50 for a bundle of 20 depending on size. I'm pretty sure I was smoking the Corona size, but it could have been Toro. I've smoked a handful of candelas in the past (RomaCraft, RP Edge, AB Filthy Hooligan, Baccarat come to mind), so this isn't my first time at the candela rodeo. I actually like a candela from time to time, they are a nice change of pace for me.
First, the description according to CI: Green means go! Candela madness! If you’re on the prowl for a serviceable, non-gag-inducing handmade, Avocado Ltd. might just be your cup o’ tea. Hand ’em out to freeloaders, burn one while mowing the lawn....hell, pull the wrappers off, douse with ranch dressing and enjoy a low-carb meal. At this price, you’ll feel like you’re playing with the House’s money. Mild, Dominican-made, Candela-wrapped long-filler sticks for pennies.
So, with this as a background, let's dig in.
This is my first cigar review and won't be very technical with tastes, etc. I smoke and know if I like stuff or don't like stuff. I can tell some flavors, but not tons. @lvfcrook1503 pretends that he tastes "chocolate covered yogurt raisins from the island of Cyprus mixed with a hint of mustard seed" when he reviews cigars. That isn't DogRockets style.
Also, I will rate the cigar on a scale of 1-10 pink things (instead of thumbs up, stars, etc.)
As I grabbed the cigar to cut and light, I paid careful attention to the wrapper. Candela wrappers are fragile, even on the highest quality candela. I do note that the cigar has one small tear in the wrapper, near the band. Otherwise, it feels firm in my hand (not spongey at all, which surprised me). My preferred cut is a punch, but I was worried with the fragile nature of the wrapper, but with DogRockets gusto, I gave it a punch anyway. In another surprise, the punch worked perfectly. The wrapper didn't split at the head. Great success! I took a pre-light draw to make sure the air flowed well, and it did. Not too loose (like your mom) but not too tight (like your wife/husband), just the way I like it.
I grabbed an ice water for my beverage of choice and went outside on my front step to experience the ALR. Temperature was in the high 70s, just perfect to take off your pants and smoke. I pulled out my dual flame lighter and began applying the flames to this work of art cigar. With the expectation that this was a "servicable, non-gag-inducing handmade" I was expecting to gag right away. Initial first few puffs were actually pleasant. A candela cigar is know for having a grassy taste. This cigar was much milder in that respect right away. The cigar itself was very mild. I'm not a big fan of Dominican tobacco due to how mild it is, and this cigar was no exception.
I was expecting the burn itself to need constant touch-ups and that the ash would fall off almost immediately after each puff. Again, to my surprise, the construction was actually spot on - it burned even throughout and I didn't have to touch up once. Also, the initial ash held for about 1.5 inches.
The cigar kept the initial flavor profile basically the entire way through. There were a couple of times where it seemed the cigar was going to turn butt nasty, but after a puff or two, it turned back to it's normal profile. There were even 4 or 5 times where I took a puff and thought, this tastes really good. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the time it was just mild with a slight grass taste from the wrapper.
I nubbed the cigar. Smoking time was about 60 minutes. It lasted a lot longer than I thought it would.
In conclusion, it's a cheap, mild Dominican cigar. As the description said, it was a serviceable, non-gag-inducing handmade. If you like Dominican tobacco and want a cheap alternative, this will fit the bill quite nicely. I could see this being a great yard gar. I can't see myself really sitting down for an hour and choosing this as my cigar of choice.
I want to reiterate the burn and construction were great. I've had many cigars that I threw out or won't smoke again due to poor construction (Viva Republica, some Alec Bradleys, some Viaje) and I've had quite a few cigars that were gag-inducing (A Fuente Curly Head Deluxe, 5 Vegas AAA come to mind). For the one I had, it was superior to all those in regards to construction.
Overall DogRockets rates this 3.0 out of 10 pink things. Not a cigar I'd buy myself, not one I'd choose to smoke on my own time, but not one I'd shy away from doing yard work.
As everyone knows, Brent provides my pictures. He was lazy and only gave me links to one of them, but here you go:
http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/...psbxoqs1gq.jpg
Lastly, this cigar has been approved by a presidential hopeful, so it has that going for it:
http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/...psusn4rs57.jpg
