The Particulars

The Review

This review for the Avowed The Vow (11.25) - Robusto Grande (5.5 x 55) is based on the journal entry dated 2025-09-24

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Good (3)

With the Avowed line, Klaas Kelner only has two highly skilled torcedores rolling these cigars. So there’s a lot of consistent quality in construction among them. Like the other Vows, this is a warm medium brown with a nice oily sheen, light mottling, and the faintest hint of tooth. There are some visible veins, but they’re thin and light. All the seams are tight and blend in with a super clean cap. If there’s any one knock on The Vow line, it’s that once the cello is off (assuming it had a retailer UPC label), there’s no way to identify which cigar is which without measuring. And that matters because of the vitola-specific filler blends.

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Average (2) / Great (4)

The draw is really open on this one without much resistance at all. It’s burning fine, but it’s right on the cusp of lacking any resistance and being too open. And this is why I almost exclusively use the punch or v-cut, because I can ensure a consistent cut and variances in draw are attributable to the construction.

On the burn front, it’s starting off perfectly. It has an even and razor-sharp burn line. The ash is a medium gray with dark and evenly spaced striations. It’s building a nice, tight stack that’s dotted with oil crystals. The ash lasts almost to the midway point, creating a great stack. Just a beautiful burn here!

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Great (4)

Earthy, woody, and with strong baking spice out of the gate. Just a hint of pepper and honey-like sweetness on the finish. Smooth like the other Vows and with a medium creamy finish wrapping it up. As the first third wraps up, I’m getting baking cocoa now as well.

One difference from this cigar vs the others is it’s taking more time to come together. Whereas the regular Toro is complex from light up, this is taking more time to hold. It’s taken all the way to the second third for the complexity and nuance to really develop, but it’s there now. Earth, charred cedar, baking cocoa, light coffee, strong cinnamon, and baking spice with pepper accentuating the finish. There’s a slight breadiness, and with the sweetness developing a molasses note, it’s that delightful dark bread flavor, but with more earth and chocolate than the others. By the midpoint, the pepper has definitely increased in intensity and there’s a grassy quality to it as well that’s almost floral at times.

With the final third, the pepper and sweet have stepped back a bit while charred wood, earth, and baking spice step back in front. There’s still a lot of baking cocoa, some breadiness, and mild coffee notes, with hints of anise. This cigar really hit its stride in the second third, as the finish is more subdued. But it still brings good complexity and nice transitions.

Overall Experience (0-5):  Great (4)

The Cubra definitely adds a spicy, dark richness. I think at some point in the future I’ll do an ultimate side-by-side of all the vitolas to see how stark the difference is in real time. Or I’ll just give myself a tobacco fit smoking three at once. 😅

But this is spicier and more chocolatey than the Corona, while lacking the brightness of the Toro. It also amplifies the earthy notes that the Corona is built on. I think if you’re looking for something with the most space from the New Dawn, this is it until the Hallowed Hands arrives.

The only downside is you do taste the “freshness” compared to the others as it doesn’t get the same aging. It presents itself as a hay-like grassiness that the others don’t have, and it takes longer to develop flavors and build complexity. The others are immediate on light up. So it’ll be interesting to see how this evolves with more age. At this point, the Coronas and Toros you can buy are all two years old. This is still a solid addition to the Avowed lineup and worth trying if you’re a fan. If you haven’t tried the Avowed line yet, the New Dawn and The Vow Toro are still my recommendations of the non-LE lineup.

Review Base Rating (0-5):

4.25

Would I Buy It Again?

Most likely (good stick, but look for a deal)

Review Final Score (0-10):

8.00

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!

The Flavor Wheel

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.