Today we review Avowed Cigars’ Awakening. Andrew Considine and Dave West founded Avowed Cigars. Both Considine and West have a long-standing association with Small Batch Cigars, an online retailer based in California. Inspired by their retail experience, they decided to venture into manufacturing. In February 2025, the duo officially launched Avowed Cigars. To produce their cigars, Avowed worked with Klaas Kelner. Klaas is the son of legendary blender Henke Kelner. In 2023, Klaas opened his own factory, Kelner Cigars S.A.S.
Awakening was launched when Avowed Cigars first went to market in February 2025. At that time, the company released two regular production lines, The Vow and New Dawn. The third line was the limited edition Awakening. Awakening is a true limited edition highlighted by a limited Ecuadorian Hybrid wrapper known as Capa Marron. This was a wrapper that was last grown a decade ago. According to Avowed Cigars, the wrapper was the gating factor that made the blend so limited. Avowed has stated, “Once the last Awakening is enjoyed, this wrapper leaf will only exist in memory.” The scarcity of the wrapper also makes this a super premium offering for Avowed as Awakening comes in at an SRP of $29.99 per cigar.
Without further ado, let’s turn our attention to Awakening.
SPECIFICATIONS
Blend and Origin
This blend is referred to as “ligero heavy.” It features a Capa Marron wrapper, an Ecuadorian Habano binder, and a mixture of fillers that include Piloto Cubano, San Vicente, Criollo ’98, and Pennsylvania tobaccos.
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Hybrid (Capa Marron)
- Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
- Filler: Piloto Cubano, San Vicente, Criollo ’98, Pennsylvania
- Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
- Factory: Kelner Cigars S.A.S.
Vitolas Available
The Awakening comes in one size – a 5 1/2 x 52 Gran Robusto. A total of 2,000 ten-count boxes were produced for this release.
Appearance (*)
The Capa Marron wrapper on the Awakening is quite visually appealing. While “Marron” means brown, it’s fair to say that this wrapper also has a lovely reddish tint. There isn’t much oiliness on the surface of the wrapper. Upon closer inspection, a slight amount of mottling can be observed. The wrapper also displays some visible veins, but any seams are minimal.
PERFORMANCE
Pre-Light Draw (*)
Before lighting up the Awakening, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered notes of sweet grapefruit citrus and earth. The citrus delivered a strong zesty component, which typically is not in my wheelhouse. As a result, this pre-light draw did not satisfy me. Since the pre-light draw is not factored into the numerical score or value rating, there was no loss of points here. At this point, it was time to toast up the Awakening and see what the smoking stage would have in store.
Tasting Notes
The Awakening continued where the pre-light draw left off, as I got more notes of grapefruit, citrus, and earth. There were also notes of natural tobacco and black tea. Early on, the citrus and natural tobacco notes moved into the forefront. There was a good balance of sweet and bitter components in the natural tobacco. Meanwhile, the black tea and earth notes settled in the background. Later, a white pepper note also emerged in the background. The black pepper was also present on the retrohale.
The second phase of the Awakening saw the grapefruit citrus and natural tobacco remain primary. Both the citrus and natural tobacco had varying degrees of intensity. Meanwhile, the black tea, earth, and white pepper remained secondary. There was a slight increase in the intensity during this stage. The citrus notes developed a slight tannic quality in the second half, but it never got overpowering.
There wasn’t much change in the final third. The natural tobacco and citrus remained primary. The pepper, earth, and black tea notes were secondary. This is the way the cigar experience came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.
Burn
Kelner Cigars SAS has once again delivered a cigar with excellent construction, as evidenced by its burn performance. The cigar maintained a relatively straight burn path and required minimal touchups. Occasionally, there were slight imperfections in the burn line, but these did not cause any significant issues. The ash was primarily light gray in color and tended to be on the looser side. The burn temperature was ideal, and I found this cigar to be a slow burner, taking an average of 1 hour and 55 minutes to smoke the two samples I tried. This slow burn did not result in any adverse effects.
Draw
The Awakening had a great draw. If you have followed my assessments, you will know I like a touch of resistance on the draw – and that’s exactly what the Awakening delivered. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.
Strength and Body
The Awakening started out as a medium-strength and medium-bodied smoke. Both the strength and body have a nominal increase in intensity, and in the end this cigar remained in the medium range for both attributes. At the same time, I really liked the way the strength and body balanced each other here. Neither attribute overshadowed the other.
BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)
Although banding and packaging do not contribute to a cigar’s overall score, I tend to hold a $30.00 cigar to a higher standard. In the case of the Awakening, I find the packaging impressive. The black and gold boxes, along with the interior designs, look sharp and appealing. I love the red and gold on both the cigar tray and the cigar band. It’s not over the top, but it still delivers a nice, luxurious feel.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Final Thoughts
One thing that came to mind after I completed my assessment cycle for Awakening is that it was a cigar that I liked, but I didn’t love. As my colleague Dave Burck on Prime Time Jukebox says, “sometimes it’s not the cigar, but it’s the person.” I realize this cigar has really wowed a lot of people, but I wasn’t one of them. The flavors are good, good enough to score an 88. However, when you take into account the near-$30.00 price point, that affects the value decision. Given that price point, and the fact it didn’t wow me, this cigar is a Don’t Splurge in my book. If it were a lower price, I would definitely give it more consideration for a buy.
Summary
- Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Citrus, Black Tea, Earth, Pepper
- Burn: Excellent
- Draw: Excellent
- Complexity: Medium Minus
- Strength: Medium
- Body: Medium
- Finish: Good
Rating
Value: Don’t Splurge
Score: 88
REFERENCES
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted
(*) Indicates this is not factored into the score or value rating
