I received samples of the newest offering in the CAO Flathead line, the V21 Carb 6″ x 60, several weeks ago, and was anxious to try them out. Too anxious, it seems, because they needed some rest. I struggled with the first two, they just didn’t perform well, and I certainly didn’t want to rush to judgement. These aren’t cheap dates! The Carb has a $14 MSRP, similar to the V19, it’s predecessor. The V21 has a San Andrés wrapper over a Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican Ligero fillers.… Continue reading
CAOTag Archives
Cubanacan Maduro, Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection, and CAO Cigars
I was wandering through one of the humidors and c
ame across a few cigars leftover from the 2020 TPE show that I had forgotten about. I had run into Lawrence from Cubanacan and he had given me a few cigars, and, for whatever reason they had gotten buried. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what’s up with Cubanacan. Over the years they seem to come and go. Lawrence is a great dude, but I see him here and there (not that I get around a lot), for instance I remember meeting him at one of the Delaware Cigar Festivals in 2012 maybe, then I might not have seen him again until last year. It’s highly likely we just miss one another. That being said, I just don’t hear a lot about Cubanacan cigars, and the last thing I think I heard wasn’t particularly great. I don’t judge based on things I think I might have heard though. I smoked a Cubanacan Maduro in a Lonsdale size. This must be special, because it only comes in a ten count box, per the website. This has a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador binder and Nicaraguan fillers. After 18 months in the humidor it smoked very well. It tasted pretty much like I expect a cigar made from those tobaccos would taste like, some earth, spice and espresso. I like the lonsdale size, and it was quite satisfying. I suppose I need to dig around and see what else is in there that I might have forgotten about!
One I hadn’t forgotten about, but had recently bought in a sampler from Fox Cigars. I can’t remember why I got this sampler and what all was in it. I added it on to the purchase of the Plasencia sampler, and Maybe this was in it that I wanted, or it priced too good to pass up, or something. For some reason when I received it I set this cigar aside as I had already smoked the rest of the cigars. They all must have been oned I liked. I don’t know, I make strange purchasing decisions some times. It’s CAD, Cigar Acquisition Disorder, and it’s real. The support group meets here every Sunday and Wednesday. Hello, my name is CigarCraig. The cigar in question is the Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Robusto. For whatever reason they ch
oose to cover up this nice looking caramel colored Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper with gold foil, a nice, yet unnecessa
ry presentation. This seems to use all Aganorsa grown tobacco with the sevres sauce being some Media Tiempo, the rare top, top priming above ligero. This was a nice cigar, medium bodied, with some richness, with a feeling that the wrapper was grown under shade. It was creamy with some leathery kinda notes. Good cigar, which nicely filled my afternoon. I wish I could remember what else was in that sampler!
I wrapped up last night with a CAO Amazon Basin Orellana. This was the fourth cigar in the Amazon Basin trilogy, wait, that’s not right. I thought it was a trilogy, then they goofed it up by adding a fourth! I wasn’t overly fond of the original Amazon basin, although some people lost their minds over it. Didn’t hit me right. The Em Corda, and Anaconda hit me right, I loved them. I don’t like the name of the Anaconda, because I hate snakes, but I get it with the whole Amazon theme. I originally thought the Orellana was closer in flavor to the original Amazon Basin, and I still think it probably is, but I like it more with some age. I still like the other two more, but this has matured, whatever sour notes that I didn’t care fr aren’t there any more. It was a rather enjoyable cigar, al
though, in retrospect, I should have chosen a shorter cigar, and I’ll elaborate. I got off to a late start, and, hence, a late end. The Orellana is a toro sized cigar, and since I finished late, I had a hell of a time falling asleep. This means I’m going to have to take a nap today, when I could be smoking a cigar! Then I might be up late again and the whole cycle continues!
I bought a bike yesterday to ride to work, maybe I’ll ride to the cigar shop today. If it stops raining, that is…I made sure to buy one with an ashtray holder. That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
News: CAO Announces Flathead V21 Release

The CAO Flathead line has been about my favorite CAO line since the acquisition. This one sounds especially tasty, with the San Andrés wrapper over the Broadleaf binder. I can think of a few cigars that I like with Broadleaf wrappers over Mexican binders, so I can’t imagine the inverse wouldn’t tickle my fancy. I look forward to trying these, even though they are priced on the high side.
CAO is about to put the pedal to the metal with a souped-up follow-up to the wildly-popular V-19 blend. Called CAO Flathead V21, this new release was created by Rick Rodriguez and the CAO blending team in Nicaragua to kick the Flathead franchise into high gear.… Continue reading
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.… Continue reading
CAO Arcana Mortal Coil and Some Random Thoughts
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.… Continue reading




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