Avowed Awakening White – Robusto Grande (5.5 x 52)
The Particulars
| wdt_created_by | cigarkey | brand | cigarname | vitola | strength | wrapper | binder | filler | infused | sweettip | origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mcclossm | Avowed Awakening White - Robusto Grande (5.5 x 52) | Avowed | Awakening White | Robusto Grande - 5.50" x 52 | Medium | Ecuadorian Connecticut, Natural (ASP, Dark, Vintage 2016) | Ecuador (Habano) | Dominican Republic (Criollo 98, Piloto Cubano, San Vicente) / Pennsylvania (Broadleaf) | No | No | Kelner Cigars S.A.S., Dominican Republic |
| COMPANY / BRAND: | Avowed |
| CIGAR: | Awakening White |
| VITOLA: | Robusto Grande - 5.50" x 52 |
| STRENGTH: | Medium |
| WRAPPER: | Ecuadorian Connecticut, Natural (ASP, Dark, Vintage 2016) |
| BINDER: | Ecuador (Habano) |
| FILLER: | Dominican Republic (Criollo 98, Piloto Cubano, San Vicente) / Pennsylvania (Broadleaf) |
| INFUSED: | No |
| SWEET TIP: | No |
| ORIGIN: | Kelner Cigars S.A.S., Dominican Republic |
Prolegomenon and Other Random Thoughts
I think it’s easy for most smaller boutique brands to think one, maybe two years out. Your normal cigar takes 9 to 18 months to go from the initial idea and blending formulation to a finished product. And to stay competitive, you’re already planning your next cigar before the current one even launches. Vertically integrated brands that own the entire process from farm to factory obviously need to plan further out—especially when starting with a new farm, planting a specific seed for a new blend, or picking harvests for additional aging. But with your boutiques, who plans three, almost four years in advance???
But that’s exactly what Andrew Considine and Dave West of Avowed Cigars did with Klaas Kelner. Even though Avowed didn’t officially launch until early 2025, the process had begun all the way back in 2023. If you recall, the Awakening launched with the brand and was rolled with a highly limited Ecuadorian hybrid wrapper. They had purchased all of the available bales, making it a one-and-done event of just 20,000 cigars. But while planning out all of their lines, they realized they had far more filler and binder available for the Awakening than they had wrapper. So, what to do?
That’s when the three mad scientists decided to use the wrappers from the New Dawn and Hallowed Hands—both of which were in production at the time—to create the Awakening White and Black. These cigars have been sitting, waiting, and aging since early 2024. Talk about playing the long game! When you consider how dedicated this team is to getting the blends right and then aging them to perfection, it’s hard not to be excited about these. The original Awakening is only getting better with age, and here in 2026, I enjoy it so much more than I first did when it launched in 2025.
Dave West said they called this project Rhapsody because it stitched together the past, present, and future of Avowed. And that’s totally on point. You’re taking the binder and filler of a launch cigar that will never happen again, and essentially doing a mashup remix with the wrappers of two of their regular production cigars.
But I also have pause… the wrapper is the most dominant part of what you taste in any blend. If that rare Ecuadorian hybrid was the secret sauce in the Awakening, what happens when you swap it out for the wrapper from the New Dawn or Hallowed Hands? Do the binder and filler from the Awakening complement those wrappers as well as their dedicated blends do? Also, if the Black and White versions are using wrappers from cigars that cost well under $20, and the reason the Awakening was $30 was the rare wrapper, will they be good enough to justify paying $90 for the trio?
If the science experiment works, then none of that matters. But if it doesn’t, how harsh should we be with the Avowed team? I mean, they’re all wonderful people and I adore them dearly, but I paid for these cigars, goddammit. I demand satisfaction! 😂
Anyway, that’s a lot of fucking exposition and we have cigars to smoke! But one last thing, check out the packaging for these Awakening Rhapsody samplers which included one each of the OG Awakening, White and Black.
| Journaling Date | Cigar | Appearance | Draw | Burn | Flavors | Overall Experience | Burnable? | Base Rating | Final Score | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-24 | Avowed Awakening White - Robusto Grande (5.5 x 52) | Good | Average | Great | Excellent | Excellent | Signs point to yes (recommended) | 4.75 | 9.17 | |
| 2026-06-24 | Avowed Awakening White - Robusto Grande (5.5 x 52) | Good | Good | Good | Excellent | Excellent | Signs point to yes (recommended) | 4.75 | 9.17 |
The Review
This review for the Avowed Awakening White - Robusto Grande (5.5 x 52) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-06-24
Appearance & Construction (0-3): Good (3)
Well, it basically looks like a slightly shorter New Dawn Toro with an Awakening band. 😂 But the ten years of age on this Ecuadorian Connecticut results in a great oily sheen and heavy mottling. It’s soft, smooth, has very thin veins, and tight, clean seams. It’s only slightly lighter than the regular Awakening, so swapping the secondary Awakening band for a white footband is incredibly helpful in keeping the two straight. A quick note on the packaging since these only come in the three-pack samplers: it’s lovely, it’s well-done, and it’s simple but highly effective.
Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4): Average (2) / Great (4)
The foot takes a little extra effort to light, which results in a slight scorching of the footband. The draw is a hair tight to start, but immediately loosens up to a better resistance with the heat of the burn. It’s still a little tight for my tastes, but nowhere near requiring the draw tool. The burn line, though… FAWKIN’ BEEYOOTEEFUL. Dead straight, crisp, and the ash is stacking. The ash itself is a very light gray with very even crackling that darkens and browns as it cools. It’s just a simply beautiful burn with an ash that is holding on strong. The ash actually held past the midpoint, and as it approached the band, that was the first time the burn line even started to get uneven.
Now, the only problem is I’m noticing the burn is dying down and the blend profile is changing slightly. So, I make the heartbreaking decision to dump the ash and relight rather than trying to limp along and prolong the stack. The ash was showing no signs of falling, but optimal flavor always wins.
Flavor Profile (0-5): Excellent (5)
That sweet, buttery creaminess of the New Dawn translates beautifully here, and it’s extra buttery. That buttery flavor is the very first thing to hit. Oof, that note is always so good. I’m also getting some of that honey sweetness, but the breadiness—that delectable graham cracker—is missing, and I’m getting more cedar and earth in its place. There’s a light mix of baking spice, really no pepper, and just the faintest bit of coffee. Through the first third, this is hitting like a slightly woodier, darker, and earthier version of the New Dawn Toro.
As I get to the end of the first third, that honey sweetness stays, but I’m also getting more of a thick, raisin-like syrupiness with bits of citrus. I’m getting more saltiness off the wrapper, too, alongside a light, floral-like vanilla flavor that’s super enjoyable. But the creaminess… sweet baby Jesus, this is so creamy. And it really blows my mind how it’s buttery-sweet while I’m also getting fruit and honey sweetness at the exact same time. This cigar just lives to please the tip of your tongue. It’s still very woody with a nice earthy base, while I’m picking up more leather in the mix. It has some of that natural darkness of the Awakening, and it’s working incredibly well here. Coffee and nutmeg have entered the chat as well; the complexity is totally on point. It’s all just swirling together beautifully at this point, like a darker, heartier New Dawn.
The final third kicks off by introducing some musty, light barnyard notes, a little more coffee, and bits of dark chocolate. The salty and sweet notes are fading, but I also notice the burn is dying off again. So, as noted above, I decided to dump the huge ash stack and relight rather than limp along. And that relight immediately brings the flavor right back to how it was in the second third, with some extra cinnamon and light pepper. While I love to stack that ash, ensuring optimal burn and flavor takes precedence. But with the sweet and salty coming back, there’s more nutmeg, and it’s still retaining that stronger coffee, earth, and slight barnyard funk it was picking up before the relight. And I haven’t even mentioned: this is a super smooth cigar. Not one bit of harshness or bitterness the entire time, just delectable creaminess.
Overall Experience (0-5): Excellent (5)
The science experiment worked amazingly well here and completely exceeded my expectations. I was really getting a lot of those recognizable components of both the New Dawn and the OG Awakening. If you have only had the New Dawn and liked it, this is best approached as a woodier, darker, and earthier version of what you already love, with no real downsides. Knowing the Avowed team, I can’t see them having released these if they didn’t think it was going to be a straight banger.
My biggest lingering question is whether it’s worth the full price of admission. I’m not on anybody’s sponsorship payroll, so I always have to look at this from a consumer’s perspective. If you already love the New Dawn and Awakening and have that relentless urge to chase limited releases, this is a no-brainer. Even more so when you consider there are deals bundling the Rhapsody with box purchases right now. But if you’re entirely new to Avowed, I’d be inclined to recommend getting the New Dawn Toro or Corona Gorda at half the price and trying the Awakening first, which is why I didn’t give this the absolute highest score for value. The Rhapsody sampler might be gone by that point, but you’re not going to miss out smoking those more readily available cigars if you haven’t tried them before.
Review Base Rating (0-5):
4.75
Is it Burnable?
Signs point to yes (recommended)
Review Final Score (0-10):
9.17
Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries
While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there’s a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example! This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo. Below you’ll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!
| Times Journaled | Base Rating | Burnable? | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4.75 | Signs point to yes (recommended) | 9.17 |
| Journaling Date | Cigar | Appearance | Draw | Burn | Flavors | Overall Experience | Burnable? | Base Rating | Final Score | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-24 | Avowed Awakening White - Robusto Grande (5.5 x 52) | Good | Average | Great | Excellent | Excellent | Signs point to yes (recommended) | 4.75 | 9.17 | |
| 2026-06-24 | Avowed Awakening White - Robusto Grande (5.5 x 52) | Good | Good | Good | Excellent | Excellent | Signs point to yes (recommended) | 4.75 | 9.17 |
Journaling Photos
The Flavor Wheel
| Category | Strength |
|---|---|
| Baking Spice | 2.00 |
| Pepper | 0.50 |
| Coffee / Espresso | 1.00 |
| Anise / Licorice | 0.00 |
| Sweet | 3.00 |
| Chocolate | 1.00 |
| Bready / Toasty | 1.00 |
| Woody / Charred | 3.00 |
| Grass / Hay | 0.50 |
| Earth | 2.00 |
| Leather | 1.00 |
| Floral / Aromatic | 1.00 |
| Fruity | 2.50 |
| Nutty | 0.00 |
| Salty / Mineral | 1.00 |
| Creamy | 3.00 |
| Musty / Barnyard | 1.00 |
| Bitter | 0.00 |
| Smooth | 3.00 |
| Harsh | 0.00 |
With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience. These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out. When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.
The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.
- 0: No flavor detected
- 1: Mild flavor
- 2: Medium flavor
- 3: Strong flavor
Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.
With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience. These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out. When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.
The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.
- 0: No flavor detected
- 1: Mild flavor
- 2: Medium flavor
- 3: Strong flavor
Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.
| Category | Strength |
|---|---|
| Baking Spice | 2.00 |
| Pepper | 0.50 |
| Coffee / Espresso | 1.00 |
| Anise / Licorice | 0.00 |
| Sweet | 3.00 |
| Chocolate | 1.00 |
| Bready / Toasty | 1.00 |
| Woody / Charred | 3.00 |
| Grass / Hay | 0.50 |
| Earth | 2.00 |
| Leather | 1.00 |
| Floral / Aromatic | 1.00 |
| Fruity | 2.50 |
| Nutty | 0.00 |
| Salty / Mineral | 1.00 |
| Creamy | 3.00 |
| Musty / Barnyard | 1.00 |
| Bitter | 0.00 |
| Smooth | 3.00 |
| Harsh | 0.00 |
Questions on how the ratings work?
Check out the detailed explanation here.
Want to Comment?
Leave a comment on our Facebook page.
