Morning Coffee and AVO Cigar

An early morning cigar is a rare treat. An early morning cigar, and a view like this is an even more special time. During a recent long weekend "escape" to a mountain farmhouse, I rose before the rest of the house, made a cup of coffee, and sat down to enjoy the view and watch (and listen to) the cows arrive in the fields.

Among the cigars packed for the trip was this AVO Unexpected Celebration. The Unexpected lineup consisted of four "new" releases that AVO shipped last year. As was later revealed, the cigars were actually a rebanding of existing blends. Celebration is a 6" x 54 Toro with an Ecuadoran wrapper and binder and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic. After rolling, the cigars were aged for six years before being released. As it was later deduced, the blend is actually a relabeled AVO XO. 

The Celebration is a medium-bodied smoke that surprised me with a bit more flavor than its appearance indicated. The flavors off the bat were creamy and earthy with some light bitter chocolate and cedar. As the smoke progressed toward the middle, the flavors mellowed a bit, and I was thinking I was in for a boring smoke the second half. However, as the last third approached both the spice and sweetness ramped up a bit and kept things interesting. The hour plus smoke was enough for a couple cups of rich, black coffee. 

Soon the cows had moved on to other pastures and the household was stirring. It was time for breakfast and whatever the day's activities had in store. I do long for more mornings like that though.