 Luxury Cigars: Avo Uvezian, the founder of Avo Cigars, is a modern-day renaissance man of extraordinary skills and passions. Mr. Uvezian is a pianist, a composer, and a businessman all rolled into one very unique, inspiring individual. During his teen years, Avo led a successful jazz trio that was billed as the Lebanon Boys, playing in the Middle East in the 1940s. After a stint playing in Tehran at the palace of the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Avo came to New York and studied piano and musical composition at the Julliard School of Music. He forged a successful career as a jazz pianist for years, playing various size venues.
Avo Cigars grew from Uvezian's passion for fine cigars. In the early 1980s, he moved to Puerto Rico and opened a restaurant/piano bar. Patrons of the
establishment received free cigars from Avo's own private brand. The demand for the cigars reached a point where the complimentary became a standalone business. Today over three million of Avo's cigars are sold yearly worldwide. Avo offers six variants to its XO Trios, XO Quartetto, and Domaine lines; the Classic line presents 22 flavorful options; the Signature line has five selections; and the Puritos line puts forth two choices. Accessories sold include single- and double-sided cigar cutters and various sizes of humidors.
The Avo 80th Anniversary cigars were made to celebrate Avo's 80th birthday. The Belicosco format cigars are six inches long with a 52-ring gauge and come in wooden boxes of 24. Avo's website has an extensive listing of where to find his fabled cigars.
Avo's musical CD, Legacy, offers a variety of excellent sounds. The dozen songs cover a wide berth of musical perspectives. Cigar Store Boogie is an
upbeat, vibrant boogie-woogie piece, while Legacy (I Can't Forget) is quite classical, and Thinking of You is an emotionally charged song that features the vocals of Avo's daughter, Karyn. I don't smoke, but learning a bit about the life and times of Mr. Uvezian has me wanting to fire one up as a tributary gesture to this inspiring man.
For LxM James Rothaar |
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