AVO releases Limited Edition Improvisation globally
AVO releases Limited Edition Improvisation globally. It’s the latest installment of the yearly limited edition for the Dominican cigar brand. It’s the 18th year in a row that the brand releases a limited edition.
The improvisation name is inspired by Avo’s background as a jazz musician. Davidoff Cigars, who owns Avo, has been drawing inspiration from that theme for the last few years. It’s actually the 7th consecutive year that music has been an inspiration for the limited edition Avo.
The cigars were released in the United States a few months ago. But now AVO releases Limited Edition Improvisation globally. With a twist though. The American Avo Inspiration LE19 are box-pressed. The international release won’t be box-pressed, the cigars are round.
The cigar is released in a 6×50 Toro size. The blend has Dominican and Peruvian fillers. The binder comes from the Dominican Republic as well. The wrapper comes from Ecuador. Only 4000 boxes have been made.
About Avo
Avo Uvezian was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1926. He learned how to play the piano at a young age. And he joined a jazz trio called ‘The Lebanon Boys’. With that trio, he performed all over the Middle East. They played as a hotel band in Baghdad for a year before moving to Iran. That’s where Avo befriended the Shah and became his pianist. In 1947, Avo moved to New York.
In New York, Avo studied classical piano and songwriting, while performing as a jazz musician. He was drafted for the Korean War, but because of his musical skills, he never went into battle. During his time in Korea, he performed at an officers club. In 1952, he was discharged and started working as a musician as well as working as a jeweler for his father in law. He met his wife a year earlier while performing in a resort in New York.
It wasn’t until 1983 before Avo entered the cigar industry. While in Switzerland, Avo smoked a Cuban cigar and wasn’t happy with it. When a friend told Avo he should make his own cigars, Avo traveled to the Dominican Republic. It took two years before Avo finally met Henke Kelner. And with Kelner, he found the blender and manufacturer who could deliver the quality Avo was looking for.
Cigar production and sales grew. From 120.000 in the first year to 750.000 after three years. And ten years after the release of the first Avo cigars, Davidoff paid 10 million dollars for the exclusive distribution rights. One year later, the sales tipped the 2 million cigars scale. Up until the last day, Avo kept promoting his cigars and performing as a musician. He passed away on March 24, 2017, two days after his 91st birthday.
