Pre-light Experience

Seth: The AVO Expresivo Robusto has some nice traits in appearances. There are some tooth and oils present on the wrapper, and the wrapper has a leather like color. It has a thickness to touch, it’s not a fragile wrapper, sporting a solid Colorado to Colorado Maduro wrapper. Aromas of barnyard, leather and tobacco.
John: The AVO Expresivo Robusto has a Colorado Rosado color wrapper, and the cigar appears to be a Robusto vitola. The appearance is quite neat and tidy, with good construction and a very smooth wrapper. I weighed the cigar at 14.6 grams and measured the humidity at 63.8% with the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included light aromas of barnyard and hay, while the foot offered light aromas of hay and wood.
Jiunn: The AVO Expresivo Robusto has a very oily Colorado wrapper. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas give heavy barnyard, nuts and cedar.

AVO Expresivo Robusto

First Third

Seth: The first third begins with dry earth and leather flavors. Mineral and pepper spices are present as well, and there are some strong tobacco notes present. Medium-full to full in strength and body.
John: The first third kicks things off with sweet tobacco joining wood at the center of the profile, with delayed light plus strength baking spices coming through on the post draw and lingering on the palate. As the first third settles in, the profile becomes a restrained combination of sweet tobacco, bread, wood and light plus strength baking spices, with the spices and wood combining on the post draw. By the halfway point, the baking spices have moved to the lead and are joined by the previous flavors of bread, sweet tobacco and wood.
Jiunn: The first third gives a great mixture of burnt caramel, baking spices, anise and cedar. Retrohaling has fierce dried red pepper spice and trailing mixed nuts. The finish gives an oily mouth feel with cedar wood tannins. Strength and body is medium.

AVO Expresivo Robusto

Second Third

Seth: The second third delivers more minerals with red and black pepper notes. Dry wood, leather and tobacco is present with a long earth finish. Medium-full to full in strength and body.
John: The cigar moves into the second third with creamy tannic wood and baking spices combining with sweet tobacco at the center of the profile, while woody spices make up the finish and carry into the post draw. As the cigar continues toward the halfway point, the baking spices take on a more defined cinnamon character.
Jiunn: The second third shows more baking spices and anise as compared to caramel. My attention goes towards how oily and salivating the mouthfeel is, which is always preferred over a dry mouthfeel. Strength and body is still medium.

AVO Expresivo Robusto

Final Third

Seth: The final third continues to show an increase in black and red pepper notes with lots of minerals and earth. Dry wood, leather and tobacco are present as well with a very long finish. Full of strength and body.
John: The cigar moves into the last third leading with creamy cinnamon, combining with wood and tobacco sweetness, while wood and spices move into the post draw with some delayed tannins. The tannins on the post draw begin to intensify to medium strength as the last third settles in. Mild bitterness joins the finish as the last third continues toward the halfway point. That bitterness begins to unbalance the post draw as the last third continues.
Jiunn: In the final third, harsh bitter cedar forms, which makes the other flavors less noticeable. Luckily, the mouthfeel continues to be oily and salivating. Strength is ramped up to medium-full, while body remains medium.

AVO Expresivo Robusto

Burn

Seth: The burn is fantastic from start to finish.
John: As with every review, I lit the cigar with my Xikar Tactical single torch lighter. The burn was relatively straight to start but became uneven by the halfway point of the first third. The burn remained uneven into the second third, forming a canoe that required a touch-up. The burn continued to be wavy and required a second touch-up. The cigar spontaneously went out in the last third, requiring a re-light.
Jiunn: Burn performance was excellent as the burn was even, tight ashes, cool burning temperatures and ample smoke production.

AVO Expresivo Robusto

Draw

Seth: The draw is great from beginning to end.
John: As with every review, I used my Colibri SV to make a V-cut. I measured the draw with the Cigar Medics draw machine at 32 inches of water. Subjectively, I found the draw to be 1½ to 2 notches towards the resistant spectrum, which puts it into the somewhat resistant category.
Jiunn: The draw was also excellent as it struck the perfect balance of ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: I am not a fan of the AVO Expresivo Robusto. I find the cigar to be too heavy on the mineral and earth aspects, and it has an intense pepper spice as well. The cigar is full in strength and body, and that is okay, but there is a lack of complexity and flavors to accompany the strength and body. Great burn and draw.
John: Blind Cigar #1610 delivers a restrained and relatively balanced experience through much of the first two thirds, with sweet tobacco, bread, wood and baking spices providing the foundation of the profile. The cigar doesn’t open with a great deal of intensity, but there is enough movement between the flavors to keep it interesting. The delayed baking spices are particularly effective early on, adding another layer to the post draw rather than immediately dominating the profile. The first third gradually develops as the baking spices move forward and eventually take the lead, while the sweet tobacco, bread and wood remain present underneath. That transition gives the opening some evolution without dramatically changing the character of the cigar. The second third continues this approach, although the wood becomes more prominent and takes on a creamy, tannic quality. The baking spices also become more defined, eventually settling into a recognizable cinnamon character that gives the profile some additional focus. The final third is where the cigar begins to lose some of that balance. Creamy cinnamon remains at the front initially, but tannins become increasingly noticeable on the post draw, eventually reaching medium strength. Mild bitterness then joins the finish and begins to interfere with the balance of the profile. While the cigar doesn’t completely fall apart, the bitterness and tannins make the final third less enjoyable than the two thirds that preceded it. Construction is the biggest weakness of the cigar. The burn starts reasonably well but becomes uneven relatively early, develops a canoe that requires intervention, becomes wavy and requires another touch up, and ultimately goes out on its own in the final third. The draw is much more successful, although it sits somewhat toward the resistant side of the spectrum. Overall, the AVO Expresivo Robusto is a cigar that offers a solid flavor experience despite some significant construction shortcomings. The restrained combination of sweet tobacco, bread, wood and baking spices provides a pleasant foundation, and the evolution toward cinnamon in the second third adds some welcome character. The final third introduces enough tannic bitterness to disturb the balance, but not enough to erase what came before it. With a better-performing burn, this could have been a more compelling cigar, but the construction issues prevent it from reaching beyond a Good overall impression. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 9 minutes.
Jiunn: The AVO Expresivo Robusto is a tasty cigar that has the major factors of a good cigar covered (sweetness, spice, earthiness). The overall good flavors were paired well with an oily/buttery mouthfeel that kept me engaged throughout the entire cigar. Would love to revisit. My guesses: multi country blend. Nica and DR?

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.78

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.27

Cost/Point

$2.55

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.82

Cost/Point

$2.35

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: AVO Expresivo Robusto