Zen & the Art of the Cigar

Wow!  What a blast!  I was lucky to be one of a lucky 100 to get tickets to the AVO Companero dinner at Sullivan’s in Raleigh, NC hosted by Empire Cigars and the birthday boy himself, Mr. Avo Uvezian!

Avo Uvezian

I arrived at 6pm sharp at Sullivan’s and was escorted to the back room where I was greeted by my buddies Hal, Dave and Oscar of Empire Cigars (poor Derek was stuck minding the store).  They shook my hand and gave me a bag with an Avo XO Intermezzo, and AVO 787 Toro and an AVO Signature Double Corona.

I lit the XO first as it was the mildest of the three and I wanted to start off slow.  The XO was a great starter cigar, it was creamy and woody and it got my palate ready for the night ahead!  The Final Four began, so everyone had something to do while waiting for the birthday boy to arrive.

As soon as Avo showed up, unmistakable in his signature straw hat, I realized I forgot my camera.  I looked at my pal Matt of Matt’s Cigar Journal, and he too forgot his camera!  So needless to say that bummed us out, but there were plenty of pictures taken that night.  Luckily many others did:

The Birthday Boy

Shortly after Avo’s arrival we were served our appetizers of crab dip with toast points and fried calamari.  I can’t eat shellfish, but the calamari was perfectly cooked.

After the calamari, I lit the AVO 787 Toro and was greeted with slightly richer flavors than the XO, loaded with coffee and cocoa.  This never has been my favorite as it was modeled after the Avo 22 LE but has not come close to tasting as good as it’s predecessor.

We were then served a wedge of iceberg lettuce (a steakhouse tradition) with blue cheese or balsamic dressing.  We were then told by Hal that the Companero will be served soon after Avo spoke  about the cigar.

My buddy Richard getting an autograph

The 83 year-old jazz impresario strolled up to the microphone with two minutes left in the MSU/UConn game.  But all eyes (except for Dave’s brother, a Michigan State fan) were on Avo as he spoke about his favorite of all of his birthday cigars to date.

I which I brought my recorder so that i could transcribe his speech word for word, but I’ll do my best to sum up his talk.  He spoke of his master blender (not Kelner) and how he really liked his special personal cigar that he blended.  Avo was also a big fan of his blender’s personal cigar.  He asked him if he could make a similar cigar for his 83rd birthday.

"What cake?"

This is my favorite part as the blender said, “For you, I will make the exact same cigar”.  So there it was a blend of fillers from 5 different regions in the DR, including some filler aged 23 years!  There is also a bit of Peruvian tobacco in the filler, all surrounded by a Dominican binder!  The wrapper is also a departure, it is Ecuadorian, but of Habano-seed origin, not Connecticut.

He said the name “Companero” which is Spanish for companion or partner really symbolizes what he wanted to share to his companions and friends as he pointed around the room.  He said that he usually askes for 2-3 boxes of his birthday cigars to put away and enjoy over time.  He said for the Companero, he wanted fifteen!

After he speech and subsequent round of applause from the grateful cigar fans in attendance, we were served our main course which was either a choice of fillet mignon, grilled salmon with lemon buerre blanc, crab stuffed shrimp or lemon garlic chicken.  I think 90% of the guys, including me, ordered the fillet.

The Companero was also passed out at this time and I could not resist firing it up!

Zen & his "Companion"

I asked for mine to be prepared medium rare and it was and was absolutely delicious.  With the steak we had horseradish mashed potatoes, mushroom caps and creamed spinach which were all wonderful and rich.

I drank a nice oaky Cab and devoured the steak and relished the cigar.  The Companero is rich and oily, with a very dark wrapper.  The flavors change constantly giving off a rustic quality that really endeared it to Matt, who’s a huge Tatuaje fan.  I knew halfway through this cigar that this was the best cigar that has been ever made under the AVO name.  Mr. Uvezian agreed.

I got to speak with him briefly as he signed my box of Companeros.  He said it was his favorite as I told him how much I liked this compared to my favorite AVO LE before, the LE 05.  He said the AVO LE 05 was stronger, but this the Companero has more flavor and complexity.  I am a huge fan of the LE 05s as they have aged, and I can’t wait to see how the Companero ages over time!

Both Matt and I agreed that the Companero will become our sons birthday cigars, the ones we will smoke to celebrate our sons birthdays.  I can’t wait until November!

I will most likely get a few more so that I can write a full review as with all of the flavors dancing around with the steak and potatoes and wine, there was no way I could do it justice to review it from the dinner.

Just when we thought our palates were already overloaded, we were served an extraordinarily decadent key lime pie.

The night was over to quickly.  I bid goodbye to my friends and headed out the door with my hands full of cigars (and an AVO ashtray free with a box purchase) and my stomach full of food.

Thanks to everyone at Empire Cigars, Davidoff and Sullivan’s for putting together a wonderful experience!  Special thanks to Mr. Uvezian for sharing his birthday celebration with us and I wish him many more!

AVO Companero