Avo Uvezian wasn’t always a master of cigars. In fact, there was a time when he wasn’t an anything of cigars, other than a smoker. But cigars have a strange way of pulling people in from other professions, and old Avo eventually felt the call, pulled from a successful career as a musician.
He, E.P. Carrillo, and maybe Dion Giolito could start a cigar band, if they were so inclined.
Mr. Uvezian was born in Lebanon to, as you won’t be surprised to hear, musicians! He joined a jazz trio called the Lebanon Boys, who performed in Iraq and Iran. In 1947, the Shah sent him to New York. He resettled in the U.S. and was drafted into the Korean War, but the Army pulled him out of combat to play in an Army band. He was honorably discharged in 1952.
One day after that, he found himself smoking a Cuban cigar and wondering why the prices were so messed up. He decided to look into making his own, and traveled to the Dominican Republic, where he met Hendrik “Henke” Kelner. Unlike Avo, Mr. Kelner was from a tobacco family. The two started up a collaboration, and decades later, we’ve got a fine brand called Avo cigars that sold to Davidoff for about ten million dollars in 1995.
Avo cigars focus on high quality Dominican blends rolled up in Ecuadorian wrapper leaf (usually). The offerings are focused, but when you focus in, you can truly learn everything you need to know about that particular type of cigar. The Avo cigar team has proven for many years that they know their stuff and they can put out a reliably good cigar.
Each of the brand’s fathers had something to say about their approach to tobacco. For Kelner (the master blender who’s shy about the label “master”), a good cigar is like a good friend: “consistent, balanced, positive and enjoyable.” He also says that there’s not so much a genius of blending tobacco – the real genius, he says, is in your inventory. If you’ve got enough varied high quality leaf, all things are possible.
Old Avo, God rest his soul, he reminds us that, “When you open your life to the magic of exotic cultures, the possibilities can be extraordinary.”
Our life and humidors are open, Mr. Avezian, and we’re looking forward to stocking them with a few of your fine cigars.
Please browse our selection of Avo cigars at your leisure.
