Tag Archives: CAO

by Craig Vanderslice | June 27, 2021 · 9:48 am

Black Lion Luxuries May Cigar of the Month Club Offerings

I know it’s the end of June, but I’ve just gotten around to smoking my way through the May Black Lion Luxuries Cigar Of the Month Club Package. This pack featured three cigars that I hadn’t had a chance to smoke before, and had wanted to, and the other two were cigars I smoked before and liked, so it was a winner all the way around. There was also a trend toward connoisseur type sizes, as there was a lancero and three Corona Gorda sized cigars in the mix. Once again, the value can’t be argued, this was basically “buy 3, get 2 free” or better as the MSRP on the cigars individually added up to $54.86, and the COTM is something like $38 delivered. I’ve been impressed with the packaging and the condition of the cigars, they have been ready to smoke out of the package every time, even when I’ve ignored them for a month! I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but the way the cigars were placed in the bag resembled a left hand.

Being slightly CDO (that’s OCD in alphabetical order, LIKE IT SHOULD BE!), I smoked the lancero first because it stood out. Luciano the Dreamer is from Ace Prime cigars, which is a newer company that I’ve had absolutely no interaction with at all. They’ve come on the scene in the past few years, and it’s been a few years since I’ve been to an IPCPR show, so I’ve only been hearing about them through other outlets. I don’t even think they were working closely with Crowned Heads when I talked to Miguel Schoedel last year at the TPE show. My point is that I don’t know a lot about this line and I haven’t had any opportunity to sample any cigars from them. I think the closest I’ve come is the Juarez which is made in the same factory, and maybe the Mil Dias? The Dreamer is a 7½” x 38 Lancero, which is just about right for a traditional Laguito No. 1. I appreciate the attention to detail. This is a spectacular example of a lancero in my opinion. When smoked gently, it had flavors of sweet earth and leather. It could not have had a more perfect burn and draw, it was an absolute pleasure to smoke. The makeup of the cigar are an Ecuador Habano Corojo wrapper, Nicaraguan Binder and Nicaraguan and Peruvian fillers, and I always appreciate a little Peruvian in a blend, there’s a little unique spice that it gives. This cigar is a winner.

The next cigar I smoked was the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua Demi. This was the first of the three Corona Gorda-ish sized cigars, and another one that was new to me and was on my list of cigars I was looking forward to trying. I’ve heard how amazing this cigar was from a lot of people. This is made by AJ Fernandez and is a Nicaraguan Puro and is 5½” x 46. I may need to try this in a larger vitola, because all I really got from this cigar was pepper, there wasn’t really much else to it. I was expecting a lot more flavor. That’s not to say it was a bad cigar, it’s just that my expectation was set pretty high, and for a $10 cigar I think there should be more than just one peppery note. Might just be me, never claimed to have a good palate, but for me this one was a let down. In my defense, those who follow me and keep score know that many Altadis products appeal to me, however the ones that do tend to be made by AJ Fernandez. I do keep trying though.

Two that I have smoked before, and enjoyed, are the Highclere Castle from Foundation Cigars and the CAO Zocalo Robusto. The Highclere Castle was the Victorian, with is the Habano wrapped line, and a very good smoke. I’m actually not sure if I’ve smoked the Connecticut wrapped Edwardian, yet, although I know I have one around someplace. I do like the Victorian a great deal, it’s a delicious cigar, and this was the “corona”, which is a 5½” x 46. The CAO is the 5″ x 52 Robusto, which is fairly new, it’s a line extension to the Zocalo line which was originally only a 6″ x 60. It’s a nice San Andrés wrapped cigar with some Spice and cocoa. If you enjoy that genré of cigar, as I do, you’ll find the Zocalo to your liking. Once again, both where in perfect condition and ready to smoke.

Finally, I smoked the HVC Serie A Perlas, a true Corona Gorda at 5 5/8″ x 46. This cigar has a Corojo 99 wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers, and I believe it’s made at the Aganorsa factory. Can I just say that it makes me a little nuts when cigar companies don’t have websites to link to? Can I also say that I seem to be the only cigar blogger who links to the cigar makers websites? I do it because I figure it makes it easy for the reader to get more information about the brands if they feel so inclined and I’m there already half the time and it only takes a second to copy and paste. Anyway, I found this Serie A to have nice, bright flavors, with some sweet spices. It wasn’t a heavy cigar, and I liked it. It was different than the others in the selection and I appreciated that. The COTMs from Black Lion Luxuries have proven to provide not only a good value, but an excellent variety. I recommend them heartily.

Thursday evening I stopped by the Wooden Indian for their first in person event since March of 2020, which featured Pedro Gomez of Drew Estate. It was well attended all things considered, and they raised some cash for Cigars for Warriors, like they always do. It was a good time, and I smoked an Undercrown 10 Corona Doble which was pretty darned good, although I think I’m preferring the Toro so far (big surprise there). It was nice seeing people at an event again and talking to people face to face.

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 1935, Ace Prime, Black Lion Luxuries, CAO, cigar, cigars, COTMC, Foundation, Highclere, HVC, Luciano the Dreamer, Montecristo, Zocalo

by Craig Vanderslice | March 21, 2021 · 9:32 am

CAO Arcana Mortal Coil and Some Random Thoughts

Before I get to the cigar, let me get some stuff off my chest. Little things get under my skin that maybe shouldn’t. but they do. Simple misuse of cigar terminology, for instance. Call it a pet peeve. One that came up recently was while listening to a podcast that I don’t often listen to, and the host is a large reason why. I firmly believe that if you are hosting a cigar podcast, and consider yourself experienced in the cigar industry, you should have a good grasp on simple terminology. For instance, if someone says they take the wrapper off a cigar and put it in their wallet, I’m picturing peeling the outer leaf off and it making a big mess in someone’s billfold, leaving an ugly cigar with just the binder, basically ruining the cigar and changing the flavor dramatically. I try to correct this when I see the mistake made in forums by laymen, I pretty much correct those who refer to either cello or the band as the wrapper. Generally the question is something like: “should I remove the wrappers from my cigars when I put them in the humidor” and my response is :“ No! The wrapper is the most expensive leaf and takes skill to apply, and adds flavor to the cigar! You probably mean the cellophane” or something similarly smart ass. But I don’t expect this mistake from someone hosting a podcast, writing a cigar blog, or otherwise in cigar media. In talking to other people, this isn’t this individual’s only flaw by any stretch. I find his interviewing style egregius and he’s unentertaining. I’ve gone as far as to remove the link to the show from my site as it’s no longer worth having any association with. This is actually one of the kind of cigar media guys who could give the rest of us a bad name in the industry. That’s the end of my rant, before I go any further down a rabbit hole. I smoked cigars this week, let’s talk about that!

I smoked a few cigars this week that I can’t talk about that were really interesting, and a couple that I want to smoke more of before writing about, but the one standout was the new CAO Arcana Mortal Coil. With Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) coming to their senses and hiring back their PR director recently, samples have begun showing up in my mailbox again, and I haven’t had to journey out looking for this cigar, which I would have done anyway, because it sounded amazing. The Mortal Coil has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, with a Connecticut Shade binder and Dominican Andullo, Honduran Jamastran, Nicaraguan Esteli and Dominican Piloto Cubano fillers. It’s 6 1/8″ x 50 and they only made 5000 boxes (I think they left out how many per box!). I found this to be a powerhouse cigar, and I loved it. It was rich and spicy, with some nice sweet flavors, and I really enjoyed it. I wan’t enamoured with the band though, it’s about 7½” long when unfurled. I get it, it coiled around the cigar, but it’s a lot of band to deal with, and must irritate the folks in the STG factory in Esteli who have to apply it to the cigars, as it’s totally different that banding any other cigar. That being said, it’s not a cord of tobacco, so there’s that. Overall, it’s a really good cigar for my palate, and I’ll be picking up some if I see them in the shops, just to have on hand for a treat. I appreciate the interplay of the Broadleaf and shade wrapper/binder combo, the CAO Bones has the same combo and I really like that.

Speaking of bands, my wife is working on another cigar band table project and needs yellow bands! What cigars have yellow bands? Leave comments with suggestions, or if you have some, let me know and we can come to an arrangement (wink, wink).

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Arcana, CAO, cigar, cigars, Mortal Coil

by Craig Vanderslice | October 27, 2020 · 7:00 am

News: CAO Presents a New Vision Cigar

CAO proudly presents Vision, a limited edition cigar inspired by the fans of CAO and the tutelage of the brand’s Blender/Ambassador Rick Rodriguez by the legendary Benji Menendez.

“Whether traveling across the world visiting cigar shops and even in doing virtual events as I have been for the last several months, the CAO fans always tell me that CAO Cameroon is one of the absolute best Cameroons on the market. It got me thinking about the time I spent learning the art of leaf priming and selection with Benji Menendez. Back then he loved Cameroon wrapper (he still does, by the way), and he spent a lot of time teaching me which tobaccos are the best for bringing out the Cameroon’s natural sweetness. I’ve never developed my own blend with a Cameroon wrapper, and I thought it was time to do it, to share my take on a Cameroon-wrapped cigar with Benji and the fans of CAO. It’s my way of saying thank you for this amazing career I have in the cigar business,” said Rick Rodriguez.

Rick and the CAO blending team in Nicaragua experimented with dozens of combinations before ultimately meeting Rick’s ideal of what CAO Vision should be. Calling upon the knowledge imparted in him by Benji Menendez and based on the preferences of his own seasoned palate, Rick settled on a blend that features tobaccos from three countries and four growing regions.

After meticulous selection for aesthetics and flavor, only the finest Cameroon wrapper leaves were chosen for CAO Vision. The delicate, toothy wrapper was placed over an Ecuadoran Sumatra binder and Nicaraguan Habanos fillers from Estelí and Jalapa. The result is an unforgettable cigar that delivers elaborate notes of nuts and spice and culminates in a subtly-sweet finish.

Just as Benji Menendez’s knowledge was a gift to Rick, Vision is a gift to the fans of CAO who continue to support the brand year in and year out. CAO Vision is packaged as such, in a custom-made, 20-count humidor, constructed out of Spanish cedar with piano hinges. The humidor features cascading lights that illuminate the sheen of the Cameroon wrapper and underscore the cigar’s meticulous construction.

Handcrafted at STG Estelí in Nicaragua, CAO Vision will be released in just one size, a 7” x 50 Churchill called Vision which will sell for a suggested retail price of $18.99 per cigar. For the U.S. market, 2,500 boxes will be made available beginning on November 9.

In support of the brand’s popularity in export markets, CAO will release 2,000 boxes of Vision to select retailers in Europe and Asia.

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Tagged as CAO, cigar, cigars, Vision

by Craig Vanderslice | October 21, 2020 · 9:16 pm

CAO Expedición TAA Exclusive and A Recent Guest Appearance

One of the cigars I picked up when I visited CigarCigars in Berwyn, PA last weekend was a CAO Expedición, the latest TAA exclusive. This is a 6 1/8 x 52 Toro, which is one of the reasons I was drawn to it. One of the other reasons was that it was a CAO with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, which I have had good experiences with. Many of my favorite CAOs have Broadleaf wrappers. Like the Bones, this also has a Connecticut shade binder, which is very interesting. The wrapper and binder are around fillers from Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. Now that I think about it, the Bones also has fillers from Honduras, Nicaragua and the DR. I’m sure they use different fillers, as they are very specific about the varieties used in the Bones, and they make the Expedición in Honduras and the Bones is made in Nicaragua. There’s also the fact that the Expedición seemed much smoother to me than the Bones. I really enjoy both, but I’ll stop comparing the two now and concentrate on the Expedición. It was very good. It had the nice, rich espresso with some sweetness and a little underlying nuttiness from the binder. It wasn’t the typical bold Broadleaf cigar, the shade binder adds a uniqueness that’s really interesting. I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable cigar.

Monday evening I was a guest on the I’d Tap That Cigar Show‘s Impromptu Night Live show along with Dave Mayer and the staff of the Wooden Indian Cigar Shop, one of my favorite local cigar stores. I’ve included the video here, but I’m let to believe that I won’t be allowed to embed videos at some point. This is a drag, because I have over 100 videos of my own on YouTube and I only ever really used that as a place to store videos and embed them on my site. I don’t want to have to send my readers off of my site to watch the occasional video content I may decide to present. Anyway, watch it here while you can, and check you Kevin’s channel, he always has some great guests.

Don’t forget to go back to Sunday’s post and enter the contest to win some great cigars, a fantastic ashtray and a nifty hygrometer! That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as CAO, cigar, cigars, I'd Tap That, TAA, wooden indian

by Craig Vanderslice | September 23, 2020 · 9:15 pm

Fratello Arlequin and CAO Bones Blind Hughie Cigars

I’d like to remind contest winners Xolatol and Gregg Hearl to send me an email with your contact info so we can get your CigarProp Smoke In Battle of the Bands Samplers out to you! I’d hate to have to track you down and drag the info out of you! Time is running down on this promotion and CigarProp is still in the lead! The Dojo sampler is sneaking up and Dojo has a huge following, so anything could happen. Kevin’s sampler is made for the cooler weather that’s coming, so stock up!

I had read somewhere that Fratello‘s Arelequin was due to ship soon to retailers and I decided I should smoke the one that came in the Space Fresh Pack that I recently bought. I had been looking forward this one, it has a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Peru, and sounds like a darned tasty blend. This was a toro, measuring 6″ x 5o, an ideal size in my opinion. I believe the production version will be 6″ x 52 box pressed. This, like all but the Oro, is made by Joya de Nicaragua. I absolutely loved the last half of this cigar, and that requires some explanation. I’ll also say that I’ve purchase two more Space Fresh Packs (because why not? Fox Cigars has them!). The first half of this cigar was plagued by a void in the filler somewhere, which resulted in a tunnel, and hence a bad draw. This, in my experience, is an anomaly for cigars from that factory. It’s probably the first cigar of hundreds I’ve had a construction problem like that with. You might ask why I mention it at all, fair question, it’s not meant to disparage the brand or the cigar, it’s an odd situation, it was not exactly a regular production cigar, and once it burned past the void and started burning right, it was delicious! So much so that I was compelled to seek out more so that I could smoke it again as soon as possible. Maybe the responsible thing would have been to wait until I got the replacements and ignore the problem, but sometimes stuff happens and if I had given up on the cigar I would have missed out and not gone back for more! It had a nice rich cocoa flavor with that spice that’s unique to Peruvian tobacco. I can’t wait to smoke this again.

I probably should have kept to a theme and smoked a Fratello Bianco or Classico, but I had wanted to try the new CAO Bones in another size, so while I was out over the weekend, I picked up the Blind Hughie 6″ x 54 Toro size. Blind Hughie is a dominos game, the whole line being themed after the game. If you missed it last time, this cigar has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Connecticut shade binder and Honduran, Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. This cigar might be my favorite CAO cigar since the Flathead series, and it’s priced better, which is a win. I like the interplay between the Broadleaf and shade, although it’s less prominent in this vitola than the robusto to me. I still enjoyed this cigar quite a bit, it really hit the spot tonight, burn and draw were just right and it was a finger-burner. I need to give the Churchill and Gordo a try.