Cigars Direct sent me a load of CAO cigars, and half of them cigars I hadn't tried yet. CAO Black is one of the lines I had yet to try, so this checks off one more from the 'try' list. The 6 x 50 CAO Black Bengal is a cedar-sleeved, majestic looking cigar, akin in color to an Altadis Montecristo. At about $6 per cigar, it's not terribly expensive.
CAO cigar's Ecuadorian shade-grown Connecticut wrapper was light brown, had fine veins and an aroma of light hay and leather. This jacketed a blend of Nicaraguan, Honduran and Mexican fillers. The draw had a nice, smooth resistance to it, and the cigar burned darned near perfect.
The first 3 inches of the cigar featured the same general flavor of toasty, woody leather, with a barely perceptible spice in the finish. just a notch shy of medium bodied. Spice/black pepper flexed a bit near the nub, but not enough to make me consider calling this cigar "spicy" at all. Still, it had a little more gusto than your run of the mill Connecticut shade-grown-wrapped cigar.
Like a well-worn, comfortable pair of shoes,this cigar isn't flashy, but it'll get the job done. CAO Black, and a cup of coffee or couple fingers of a good bourbon, and you're good to go.
Showing posts with label CAO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CAO. Show all posts
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
CAO MX2 Robusto
CAO's MX2 is a delicious, Western Hemisphere blend of Brazilian, Nicaraguan, Honduran, Dominican and Peruvian tobaccos. I reviewed the MX2 Dagger cigarillo in my winter short smoke shootout video series, and have smoked a couple of the regular-sized models as well. This sample came via Cigars Direct, so props to the sponsor!
There are certain moments when a cigar becomes a magical experience, and this MX2 got to participate. I was out camping with my son's cub scout pack, and after dinner, I found myself in a quiet stretch of the lakeshore, looking across the water at beautiful sunset. Cigar smoldering at hand, it was a peaceful hour, despite the roving bands of "indians" (aka cub scouts) scouring the lakeshore for rival barbarians (aka other cub scouts).
MX2's dark, Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper had a nice, oily gloss to it, the cigar felt firm, and the draw had a nice resistance to it.
Right away, The MX2 fronted a bold, leathery flavor with some cedary spice and black coffee. After the opening notes, I also detected a bitter, dark chocolate flavor, like those spendy 85% cacao chocolate bars. Heading for the nub, a harsh, ashy spice stared building up on the palate, so I let it go. The cigar was a solid medium-bodied smoke, waxing towards full at the nub.
The first 3 inches of the CAO MX2 robusto are the best, and offer a complex and tasty flavor profile for the maduro fan.
There are certain moments when a cigar becomes a magical experience, and this MX2 got to participate. I was out camping with my son's cub scout pack, and after dinner, I found myself in a quiet stretch of the lakeshore, looking across the water at beautiful sunset. Cigar smoldering at hand, it was a peaceful hour, despite the roving bands of "indians" (aka cub scouts) scouring the lakeshore for rival barbarians (aka other cub scouts).
MX2's dark, Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper had a nice, oily gloss to it, the cigar felt firm, and the draw had a nice resistance to it.
Right away, The MX2 fronted a bold, leathery flavor with some cedary spice and black coffee. After the opening notes, I also detected a bitter, dark chocolate flavor, like those spendy 85% cacao chocolate bars. Heading for the nub, a harsh, ashy spice stared building up on the palate, so I let it go. The cigar was a solid medium-bodied smoke, waxing towards full at the nub.
The first 3 inches of the CAO MX2 robusto are the best, and offer a complex and tasty flavor profile for the maduro fan.
Friday, June 5, 2009
CAO Black VR Totem
This dark and tasty toro came to me from Cigars Direct, so hats off to the sponsor!
I admit it; when I'm cruising the cigar store's humidor, I usually look at the prices on the CAO cigars, then keep walking. I'm not cheap, but I am cautious, and when I see a robusto priced at $8-9 I pass. I've smoked the CAO Brazilia Gol! and Amazon, and the Italia Ciao because they're a better price at $5-6. The Black VR can be had online for about $6/each, so it fits better in my budget.
The Black VR shares the Brazilia's deliciously dark maduro Brazilian wrapper, but harbors a blend of Nicaraguan and Mexican tobaccos in the core.
My cigar felt well packed, and drew with noticeable resistance. Before lighting, I caught a musty leather aroma coming from the wrapper, and a light spice on the lips during a cold draw.
Lighting it up, the first inch was a great blend of leather, earth, with some peppery spice in the finish. I would call it solid medium to medium-full, and tasty as well. Getting farther into the cigar, the spice dialed back (as most blends do)and settled into a nice earthy leather with occasional nut flavor.
In the end, I'm left with ashes, and empty coffee cup, and a stupid grin on my face. What more can you ask for?
I admit it; when I'm cruising the cigar store's humidor, I usually look at the prices on the CAO cigars, then keep walking. I'm not cheap, but I am cautious, and when I see a robusto priced at $8-9 I pass. I've smoked the CAO Brazilia Gol! and Amazon, and the Italia Ciao because they're a better price at $5-6. The Black VR can be had online for about $6/each, so it fits better in my budget.
The Black VR shares the Brazilia's deliciously dark maduro Brazilian wrapper, but harbors a blend of Nicaraguan and Mexican tobaccos in the core.
My cigar felt well packed, and drew with noticeable resistance. Before lighting, I caught a musty leather aroma coming from the wrapper, and a light spice on the lips during a cold draw.
Lighting it up, the first inch was a great blend of leather, earth, with some peppery spice in the finish. I would call it solid medium to medium-full, and tasty as well. Getting farther into the cigar, the spice dialed back (as most blends do)and settled into a nice earthy leather with occasional nut flavor.
In the end, I'm left with ashes, and empty coffee cup, and a stupid grin on my face. What more can you ask for?
Monday, May 18, 2009
More from Cigars Direct
Okay, so, some of you might remember that I had agreed to write reviews for and link to Cigars Direct. I had agreed to it, then thought better of the whole venture, and e-mailed them to cancel the arrangement.
Four weeks after asking them to cancel, I got a box of 5 cigars. Well, two weeks after that, I come home today to find ANOTHER box of 5 cigars. If it didn't come with loaded expectations, I'd be dancing in the aisles.
So, I feel obligated to smoke these fine cigars, and write my unique brand of critic pap about them. Oh woe is me. [In case you didn't catch it, I'm being facetious.] I guess that we'll soon be seeing some reviews for CAO Brazilia, Italia, MX2, which are some long-time favorites of mine, plus CAO Black and Black VR, which are newcomers to my humidor.
Once again, thanks to Cigars Direct for the cigars! Maybe I should send them cancellations more often.
Four weeks after asking them to cancel, I got a box of 5 cigars. Well, two weeks after that, I come home today to find ANOTHER box of 5 cigars. If it didn't come with loaded expectations, I'd be dancing in the aisles.
So, I feel obligated to smoke these fine cigars, and write my unique brand of critic pap about them. Oh woe is me. [In case you didn't catch it, I'm being facetious.] I guess that we'll soon be seeing some reviews for CAO Brazilia, Italia, MX2, which are some long-time favorites of mine, plus CAO Black and Black VR, which are newcomers to my humidor.
Once again, thanks to Cigars Direct for the cigars! Maybe I should send them cancellations more often.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
CAO LX2 toro
First off, I'd like to give a shout out to Cigar Inspector and Jon Huber of CAO for the LX2 sampler. I won their contest for most comments in a month's period, and a fiver of LX2 was the prize.
On to the toro, things didn't go so well. It tasted great, but despite being kept at 65% and dryboxed for a day, the cigar started tight and eventually plugged up and split a little from swelling. The cigar kept self-extinguishing as well, so the experience ended up being more work than pleasure:
So, I'm looking forward to smoking some of the other sizes in the sampler, to see how rolling is on those. If the toro shows up in my local shops, I'll try a couple more, from a different batch, to see how well they smoke.
On to the toro, things didn't go so well. It tasted great, but despite being kept at 65% and dryboxed for a day, the cigar started tight and eventually plugged up and split a little from swelling. The cigar kept self-extinguishing as well, so the experience ended up being more work than pleasure:
So, I'm looking forward to smoking some of the other sizes in the sampler, to see how rolling is on those. If the toro shows up in my local shops, I'll try a couple more, from a different batch, to see how well they smoke.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Props to Cigar Inspector and CAO Cigars
Cigar Inspector, the review website, hosted a comment contest over the last few weeks, and invited us to join in. Jon Huber, of CAO Cigars, spotted the prizes of fivers of CAO cigars.
Really, all I had to do was give my opinion. On EVERYTHING. Anyone who's been around for a few months know's that getting my opinion on something is easy as hitting the enter key. And I didn't wallow in "Ha, Kalutika said _______" post-padding either.
Well, my abundance of opinion impressed the judges, and they awarded me with a fiver of CAO LX2 cigars! Once the weather warms, I'll be smoking , reviewing, and otherwise relishing these fine cigars.
Hats off to Cigar Inspector and John Huber of CAO!
Really, all I had to do was give my opinion. On EVERYTHING. Anyone who's been around for a few months know's that getting my opinion on something is easy as hitting the enter key. And I didn't wallow in "Ha, Kalutika said _______" post-padding either.
Well, my abundance of opinion impressed the judges, and they awarded me with a fiver of CAO LX2 cigars! Once the weather warms, I'll be smoking , reviewing, and otherwise relishing these fine cigars.
Hats off to Cigar Inspector and John Huber of CAO!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
CAO - Toraño Deal
CAO International Inc., as the result of a recent deal with Toraño Cigars Inc., will now be the exclusive U.S. distributor of Toraño and Dunhill brands. It make sense, since their manufacturing is mostly co-located in Nicaragua and Honduras under the aegis of the Fidel Olivias family.
The focus on manufacturing should help alleviate the backlog of certain cigars, like the C.A.O. America and Casa Toraño.
h/t Cigar Aficionado
Toraño is hoping to find a broader audience for its cigars with the deal, while C.A.O. hopes taking on Toraño’s distribution will allow Toraño to focus more on the manufacturing end of the cigar business.
The focus on manufacturing should help alleviate the backlog of certain cigars, like the C.A.O. America and Casa Toraño.
h/t Cigar Aficionado
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