AVO Expresivo Robusto

When I heard that Davidoff was opening up a new chapter for its AVO brand, it immediately brought back memories of the company giving the brand a refresh, something that seemed like it happened not all that long ago.

Turns out, it was the end of 2014 when the AVO rebrand was announced and the beginning of 2015 when the new-look cigars began shipping. Time flies, as the saying goes.

More than a decade later, Davidoff announced that its AVO brand would be entering a new chapter, starting with the release of a new line called Expresivo. One of the first signs that this line represents a new chapter for AVO is that it is being written in Honduras.

The AVO Expresivo is made at Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A., Davidoff’s Honduran factory, best known as the home of Camacho. It’s not only the first time an AVO has been made at that factory, but the first time an AVO cigar hasn’t been made in the Dominican Republic, notably at the O.K. Cigars factory.

The blend uses an Ecuadorian wrapper, a Honduran binder and fillers from Honduras as well as Jalapa, Nicaragua. While not entirely new, the use of Honduran tobacco in an AVO blend is fairly rare. For example, the AVO Syncro South America RITMO uses a Honduran leaf, but the examples are few and far between.

Expresivo is offered in three vitolas:

• AVO Expresivo Robusto (5 x 52) — $16 (Box of 20, $320)
• AVO Expresivo Toro (6 x 54) — $17.80 (Box of 20, $356)
• AVO Expresivo Churchill (7 x 48) — $17.30 (Box of 20, $346)

The cigars began shipping to stores on June 25, 2026.

• Cigar Reviewed: AVO Expresivo Robusto
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador
• Binder: Honduras
• Filler: Honduras & Nicaragua (Jalapa)
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $16 (Box of 20, $320)
• Release Date: June 25, 2026
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

While the AVO Expresivo Robusto has some very familiar dimensions and wears the standard AVO logo in the middle of its primary band, I like how the red and gold surrounding that logo give it a more vibrant and lively look. It definitely pops, though I don’t see much of the bright red in the wrappers, so there’s no crossover there. All three have some oiliness, the first one being particularly oily and slick. Even with the oil, there is still some texture for my fingers, more a gentle bumpiness than any kind of grit. The first cigar is firm and looks very good with no issues and a small handful of veins. The aroma of the foot of the first cigar is soft in my nostrils and reminds me primarily of bagel crumbs and sawdust. The second cigar is much more developed, thanks to some sweetness that reminds me of sugar crystals on raisin bread. The third is a bit less detailed but is still about the same level of intensity as the second. The first cigar’s cold draw is firm and sweet, reminding me of a cinnamon roll or other frosted pastry. The second cigar’s draw is firmer and not quite as sweet, but not too far off from the flavor of the first. The third cigar has a great draw, while the flavor is fairly mild, but again merges raisin, bread and a bit of pepper.

The opening puffs are woody with some pepper, and I’m wondering if some habano-seed tobacco is in the blend. It’s pretty lively for the first puffs, as the flavor gets full pretty quickly after being lit. This is especially true for the third cigar, which elicits some coughs and irritates my eyes with its smoke right from the first puff, easily making it the punchiest of the bunch. Early retrohales are peppery and have a bit thinner smoke than what I get from puffs; they are also just a touch sharper and crisper, and in the case of the third cigar, they are fuller. A little earth comes in next, initially reminding me of pretty typical Dominican terroir before it gets heavier and then finishes very dry on my tongue, seemingly soaking up every drop of moisture and leaving me with a very dry mouth and flavors of wood and saltine crackers. Flavor is either medium-full or full, body is medium-plus, and strength is medium-minus. Construction is very good thus far, and all three cigars burn well, produce plenty of smoke, and maintain an even burn line and smooth draw.

The second third picks up some creaminess; it’s pretty mellow and not doing much to the profile, but it’s easy to notice the change from the first third. That change becomes more obvious as the intensity of the flavors of the first third gets turned down to a more enjoyable and balanced level, not too far into this section, and I like the softer, sweeter earth that becomes the base of the flavor, while the other flavors take their place in a layered structure. The same change happens to the retrohale, but the result is a little different: the supporting notes remind me of a cake donut, while the pepper hits my nostrils with a quick, sharp, but not particularly strong sensation, one that dissipates fairly quickly. As this section of the AVO Expresivo Robusto comes to a close, there’s still some pepper and a lively woodiness in the flavor, while a bit of mouth-drying continues, though creaminess contributes a good bit to the third cigar’s flavor. That flavor intensity has ranged from medium and back to medium-full, while the body is medium-plus, and the strength is medium-minus. The first two cigars have some combustion struggles that are quickly righted by a quick touch-up, while the third cigar burns better and doesn’t need any assistance.

The final third of the AVO Expresivo Robusto starts with a little shift to the profile, bringing in some more dry wood and swapping out some of the earth in the process. The pepper has settled a bit as well, and there are some puffs where I don’t even notice it as part of the profile. The flavor feels like it is steadily sanding off its rougher, more pointed flavor profiles, a change that is more than just a simple mellowing of the intensity. There’s a bit more cohesion, and while I still get the core profile components, it becomes a bit harder to discern where each one starts and stops. All that said, a bit of a sharper profile emerges in the final third, a trend that starts slowly after a couple of puffs and which continues as the cigar burns through this section. It’s not harshness or anything like that, but it does feel like each puff hits my taste buds with a bit more focus as opposed to a mouth-coating wave of flavors. This whole trend continues until the end of the cigar, with the cigar staying enjoyable, even if I find myself wanting more of what the first two thirds had to offer. Flavor finishes around medium, body is medium and strength is medium-minus. The burn slows in this section, with the first two cigars needing relights and teaching me to smoke the third cigar a bit more quickly, which helps me avoid the relights, though I don’t like the required pace. The draw, burn line and smoke production are all very good.

Final Notes

• The third cigar was head-and-shoulders above the other two in terms of both flavor and combustion, and on its own, would have made this a Cigar of the Year candidate.
• Unfortunately, the other two cigars lost points in their second halves due to combustion. While the flavor was good to very good in both, neither delivered the start-to-finish experience of the third.
• This is one of the quirks of our scoring system and review process that can be frustrating for us as reviewers and for you as readers. If I had the experience I had with the third cigar and then looked at the score, I’d probably think something was amiss, and if I were of a certain inclination, say so in the comments.
• The secondary band indicates that this is a robusto, a touch not commonly seen on cigars. It also means that Davidof had to print unique secondary bands for each of the sizes, which most likely added another wrinkle and some cost.
• I have not yet smoked the other sizes in the line to see how they compare to the robusto.
• If the name Expresivo sounds familiar for an AVO release, as it did for me, you might be thinking of the AVO Expressions, a limited edition that came out in 2024 and was a collaboration with Derrick T. Jones, the DJ and performer better known as D-Nice He was part of the hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions, then became a web designer and photographer, and then once again came to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic for his online Club Quarantine.
• The AVO Expresivo was part of Davidoff’s new product lineup at the 2026 PCA Convention & Trade Show in mid-April.
• The packaging for the AVO Expresivo is said to be used as a template for updates to existing lines.
• None of the three cigars hit me with much nicotine strength; only the third had enough that I made a note about it, but it’s pretty minor and fleeting.
• Davidoff advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• The company lists these as a 5 x 52 robusto. The numbers above are the measurements we found for the three cigars used for this review.
• Final smoking time was a remarkably slow two hours and 25 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co. and Small Batch Cigar carry the AVO Expresivo Robusto.

AVO
AVO Expresivo
AVO Expresivo Robusto
Davidoff
Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A.
Honduras
Robusto