Brand: PIO VI
Line: Overture Series 1996
Vitola: Overture #2/#52(torpedo) 6×52
Origin: Miami, FL
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Brazil
Body: Medium
Strength: Medium
Description: I didn’t get into cigars until after the cigar boom, and had not heard of the PIO VI until just recently. In 2001 Alberto J Medina was in the process of moving his production from Miami to Honduras, when the company became involved in a trademark dispute. Alberto closed the Honduras factory and fought to retain the trademark for his cigars. The PIO VI is once again in production in Miami. The initial release is the Overture 1996 series, a production limited to just 700 boxes. This is in recognition of his clients and God for giving him the opportunity to overcome this difficult time in his life.
The cigars are beautifully presented, wrapped in onion paper that, once peeled away, reveals a nice looking Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. The prelight draw was good, maybe a touch on the easy side with a hint of woodiness in the flavor. The cigar had a nice firm feel to it with a good heft for the size.
This cigar starts off with some woody character and a flavor heavily reminiscent of Scotch, also putting off a nice amount of smoke. After an inch or so the cigar really came into its full flavors reminding me of a red wine. I picked up notes of oak, black pepper and some tartness, overall some very earthy flavors. The cigar had a unique dryness to the smoke, that really is what I think kept those red wine flavors in my mind.
I did get some burn issues on one of the two cigars I had, but it didn’t ruin the smoking experience.
Verdict: This is one limited release cigar I’m going to miss once it is gone. I’ll be looking forward to seeing future blends from PIO VI. I nubbed both sticks, and really enjoyed that black pepper flavor that didn’t overpower and dominate the cigar. If you can find them I urge you to pick some up.
Similar Cigars: A hard cigar to compare, but the closest one to it, I feel, is the AVO Domaine 40.
Popularity: 11% [?]
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Good review for this cigar! I also have two of this blend resting in my humidor. I’m interested to see what flavors I pick up on.
I need to find a source for these. The local shop who carries PIO only has the Ressurection.
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