Improvisation 21 Years

Backstory: The 21st consecutive annual limited edition from AVO, marking the start of the third decade of the Improvisation series. The 7.5 x 50 Double Corona vitola is a deliberate callback to the first AVO Limited Edition released 20 years prior, which used the same format. AVO Uvezian — the late Armenian-American jazz pianist, composer, and cigarmaker who founded the brand — was renowned for improvising at the keys, and the Improvisation series carries that ethos forward as each annual release explores a different blend interpretation.

Release: Limited edition. Debuted at retail in early 2021. 4,550 boxes of 20 produced globally (91,000 total cigars), with 2,500 boxes allocated to the U.S. market and 2,050 boxes sent to international markets. MSRP: $16.00 per cigar / $320 per box.

Tobacco: Ecuadorian wrapper subjected to a special aging and fermentation process intended to amplify the leaf's natural cream and sweetness. Ecuadorian binder paired with four distinct Dominican filler tobaccos — a more complex blend than typical of the AVO line.

Color: Wrapper presents as light roasted coffee bean to milk chocolate brown with a sheen of oil, noticeable tooth, and significant surface mottling. Veins are protruded and pale against the darker leaf. Some boxes have shown a darker complexion than the official imagery suggests. Classified as Colorado.

Fun Fact: The secondary band features a charcoal background with a large copper-foil 20 intersecting a large 21, flanked by TWENTY in black on the left and 20 in black on the right — a graphic celebration of the series' two decades. Part of the AVO Improvisation annual tradition that includes LE17, LE19, LE20, LE22 White, LE22 Black, and the 30 Years anniversary release as sibling Lines under the same Serie.

Fun Fact: The cigar opens mild and builds toward mild-medium strength with medium body by the final third — a deliberately restrained profile leaning on cream, cocoa, coffee bean, and a distinctive tartness that reviewers flagged as one of the more unusual flavor signatures in recent Davidoff Group output.