CAO

General Cigar Company Unveils CAO Flathead V23, Celebrating Motorsport Heritage

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General Cigar Company has introduced the CAO Flathead V23, extending the motorsport-themed Flathead series. The V23 is inspired by the iconic Ford GT40, a racecar known for its triple consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 1960s. The V23’s packaging mirrors the GT40’s distinct color scheme and even incorporates tufted leather on the box lid.

Discussing the new launch, Senior Brand Manager Ed Lahmann stated, “The CAO V23 commemorates 100 years of Le Mans and pays tribute to the influential American racecar that left an indelible mark in motorsport history.”

Lahmann further detailed the cigar’s characteristics, highlighting its departure from its predecessors. “While the V23 retains the large-ring, box-pressed, full-bodied qualities of prior blends, it distinctly stands out in its balance between power and finesse. Drawing a parallel with the GT40 MK1, known for its combination of performance and elegance, the V23 offers both substance and a refined smoking experience. It’s a cigar crafted for aficionados, balancing strength with intricate flavor profiles. We eagerly await the feedback from CAO fans.”

CAO Flathead V23 Blend Specs:

  • Wrapper: Honduran
  • Binder: Nicaraguan
  • Filler: Combination of Honduran and Nicaraguan
  • Factory: STG Esteli, Nicaragua
  • Vitola: 6X60 Box-press
  • Packaging: Boxes of 20
  • Distributor: General Cigar Co.
  • Price: $13.99 per cigar

The CAO Flathead V23 is scheduled for shipping starting September 1st.

Return of the CAO Arcana Mortal Coil: Back on the Market by Popular Demand

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General Cigar Company has confirmed that the CAO Arcana Mortal Coil will be making a comeback to the market on August 1st. Originally launched in February 2021, this unique cigar has become well-known for incorporating “Andullo”, an age-old tobacco fermentation method indigenous to the Dominican Republic.

Responding to persistent fan demand, the company decided to bring the Mortal Coil back. “The fans of CAO spoke, and we listened,” stated Ed Lahmann, the senior brand manager of CAO cigars. He added, “We previously brought back Mortal Coil, yet the fans kept wanting more. So with this year’s release of the blend, we’re showing the fans of CAO that we’re willing to go the extra mile for them.”

The Andullo tobacco is notable for its unconventional fermentation process, differing from traditional techniques typically used for sungrown Habano-seed tobaccos. Instead, Andullo tobacco is wrapped tightly in handcrafted pods made from palm tree leaves, known as “yaguas”. These pods are then compressed with a coiled rope, which facilitates a lengthy fermentation process of around two years. This method results in a rough, leathery-looking leaf with a distinctive thickness and an earthy sweetness.

The CAO Arcana Mortal Coil cigar features a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, a Connecticut Shade binder, and a filler composed of Dominican Andullo, Honduran Jamastran, Nicaraguan Esteli, and Dominican Piloto Cubano. This 6 1/8” x 50 Toro vitola cigar comes with a suggested retail price of $11.99, and is packaged in a 20-count box.

Blind Review: CAO BX3 Gordo

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The CAO BX3 Gordo is manufactured by General Cigar Company in Nicaragua. CAO dates back to 1968 when Cano Ozgener began a pipe and humidor business in Nashville, TN, before venturing into cigar manufacturing in the 90’s.  A very popular brand during the last cigar boom, CAO received much acclaim for their multi-national blends and highly rated maduros. This popularity eventually lead to them being acquired by General Cigar Company, an umbrella that the brand  is still under today.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: CAO BX3 Gordo
  • Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina
  • Binder: Brazilian Arapiraca
  • Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina, Honduran, Mexican, Nicaraguan
  • Size: 6 x 60

Appearance & Construction

The cigar is a very toothy maduro toro with a really thick ring gauge and a double cap.  The wide ring gauge makes the wrapper leaf more bespoke fitting and delicate compared to other maduro toros I’ve smoked.  Its almost as if there is a 3 dimensional visual experience to the cigar.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

The body and foot of the cigar smell of honey, chocolate, and dried urine.  Don’t be offended or intimidated, its a compliment and par-for-the-course when dealing with well fermented tobaccos.

The cigar has a nice loose cold draw with spicy cedar on the breath.

It takes a while to toast the thick ring gauge with a soft flame as you can imagine, but combusts well with a few good slow draws.

The first puff is a flavor bomb of chocolate, cedar, raising, and pepper.  Its is spicy, hot, and toasty on the finish.  There is a leathery aroma to the smoke as well as on the retrohale.  It has phenomenal smoke production, and a nice thick ash build-up.  It handles the heat well. Two inches into the smoking experience, however, and the flavors get muted.

Second third begins with the flavor profile still dainty for what appeared to be a flavor bomb.  It turned into a genuine smooth smoke though, and I’m very impressed with how well it takes the 36 degree Fahrenheit November morning temps. There is a little bit of wood on the finish of each puff.  There is cedar on the retrohale and a sweet confectionary aroma in the air.  In frustration trying to get back to my first high, I take full liberty to puff away on the stick trying to stoke up a return to flavor-ville. The cigar is burning hotter then it should, but I can make out leather, earth, and wood with a nice sweetness on the finish.

The last third opens up with black coffee and espresso.  There is a sweet leathery aroma in the air, but nothing on the finish of my puffs.  Before I call this cigar a dudd, this lingering sweetness I’ve been getting throughout, picks up the lead and I can taste sweet straw bales.  I have to admit, the last third really saved the cigar review for me.  Even as it approached the nub, and the flavors tried to be harsh, the cigar stayed smooth and enjoyable.  I also have to admit, that smoking this cigar with very little food in my stomach, could have made a turn for the worse, but the fact that this cigar displays an awkward self control made it a very enjoyable experience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the CAO BX3 Gordo wasn’t that bad of a smoke.  I am not a fan of big ring gauges, long vitolas, or cigars that take a 2 hour or more commitment- So, my final score is really just based off my own bias.  This should by no means dissuade those of you who like cartoon shaped cigars from trying the CAO BX3 Gordo.  I would actually hand this off to anyone looking for something new and interesting, just perhaps in the robusto size CAO also offers in this blend.  The CAO BX3 scored the highest for me in the construction, smoke production, flavor nuances, heat control, and  smoking experience categories.  Give it a shot, and let us know what you think. Enjoy!

Final Score: 86

Blind Cigar Review CAO Bones Blind Hughie

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The CAO Bones is a new line paying tribute to the game of Dominos. Blender Rick Rodriguez gained inspiration from the game and created a blend that can be enjoyed casually while hanging out with friends. The names of the vitolas are in line with phrases and games that are played using dominoes and such is the case with Blind Hughie (a Domino game type) in the toro size.  It seems that this line is not intended to be a sophisticated smoke. Instead, it is built as a cigar that can deliver easily recognizable flavors while the smoker is preoccupied with other events in life. Since I smoked blind I merely tried to analyze the flavors as they are.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed CAO Bones Blind Hughie Toro
  • Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
  • Binder: Connecticut Shade
  • Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan, Honduran  
  • Size 6″ × 54 (Toro) 

Appearance & Construction 

The dark, veiny wrapper of the CAO Bones Blind Hughie Toro is thick and oily, visually and in hand. The foot is spongy while the rest of the cigar is solid to the touch. The foot smells of dark fruits, earth and pepper. It’s a bold looking cigar and would stand out on a retail shelf.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

With a Lamborghini Guillotine I manage a straight cut. The draw is a little loose with cold draw flavors of chocolate, pepper and cashew. Using a cedar taper I toast the CAO Bones and begin puffing, and with that earthiness and white pepper comes on strong. After a few moments, I pick up impressions of toast, milk chocolate and coffee that quickly fade into a bitter finish. The retrohale is mostly nutty with cedar that is underwhelming. The profile overall falls in the medium full range in the first half. 

Towards the center of the cigar, oak and nuts surface which really don’t seem to develop any further. Another retrohale yields similar tones with light notes of wood, toast and a touch of pepper. I detect vanilla and more of a toasty impression while slowly puffing the cigar so as to get more intensity. The profile remains medium bodied and the ash is whitish gray. Near the end of the second third, the chocolate returns, more akin to cocoa powder than milk chocolate leaving a bitterness as it dissipates.

In its final third, the CAO Bones Blind Hughie takes an earthy turn with allspice and more bitterness on the finish. The retrohale gives some pepper and cedar with a slightly sour note as I release the smoke. The ash is flaky and burn line wavers at this point, though not so much as to affect the smoke production. Interestingly, as the cigar nears its end I pick up some vanilla and toffee supplemented by a blast of earth which I think is a pleasant ending to the smoke. A less than multifaceted medium bodied experience.  

Conclusion

The CAO Bones Blind Hughie is certainly more of a care free smoke with flavors that are fairly straightforward. This would be great for playing a game or multitasking where your focus is not as tuned into your cigar. For me the smoke borderlines on boring as the flavors were not just lacking complexity but appeared rather muted. The wood, nuts and pepper seemed light and the short finish left nothing on the palate. Even when spice and earthiness appeared, the CAO Bones Blind Hughie didn’t leave a lasting impression and at its end the sourness dampened the experience further.

If they were looking for a smoke just to have in mouth they’ve found it as it was never offensive, just lacking. If I was playing a game or working on other things that garnered my attention, I would still prefer a milder smoke with more nuances .

Final Rating: 86

CAO Nicaragua Review

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CAO Nicaragua Grenada Review

Up for review today is the CAO Nicaragua, a cigar released at IPCPR 2018 that is an extension to CAO’s WORLD series that includes popular cigars like CAO Brazilia, America, and more. I don’t smoke a lot of CAO these days, but the CAO Italia was one of the first cigars to wow me, and one of my first ever reviews over eight years ago.

One interesting thing to note about the Nicaragua is that—strangely—the tobaccos don’t all hail from that country. Both the wrapper and binder are from Honduras, with the filler tobaccos from three regions of Nicaragua.

Let’s see how the CAO Nicaragua stacks up.

Product Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: CAO Nicaragua
  • Producer: CAO Cigars / General Cigar Co
  • Wrapper: Honduras
  • Binder: Honduras
  • Filler: Nicaragua (Condega, Esteli, Jalapa)
  • Size: 6″ x 50 (Granada)

CAO Nicaragua Grenada Review Closeup

Appearance and Construction

The CAO Nicaragua is presented in traditional CAO fashion. Lots of strong colors on the band like sky blue, gold and red. The band is nice but a bit much for me (I prefer bands with a bit less of a cartoony feel).

The outer wrapper leaf is a moderately dark wooden brown, with some noticeable veins and a shiny oily sheen. The cigar is packed tightly but has a decent amount of give when squeezed.

After using a straight cut, the draw reveals itself to be fairly restrictive, about a 7/10 in terms of restrictiveness. There’s a very faint spice on the cold draw along with raisins and some chocolate. Off the foot, I pick up notes of pepper and dried wood.

Flavor and Smoke Characteristics

The CAO Nicaragua opens nicely and with a good amount of complexity. The smoke sits just below medium in terms of strength and carries with it a bouquet of rich flavors. Strong espresso up front, followed by chocolate, leather, roasted peanuts, with a slight white pepper note on the retrohale. The texture of the smoke is very smooth and rich. Smoke production is excellent.

About 20 minutes in, the straight white ash is holding strong and the burn is straight. Not much changes until a few minutes in to the second third, where the body increases to medium. Flavor wise, chocolate and spice are still dominant, though there are now some additional buttery touches that add an enjoyable creamy character to the smoke.

The final third is interesting. The flavors condense and the strength ramps up, with the smoke producing extremely rich notes of espresso and cocoa powder with cream on the finish. It’s a great way to close the cigar, and I smoke it down to the final inch.

Conclusion

I’m a fan of the CAO Nicaragua. It puts forth an enjoyable bouquet of flavors and has enough progression and complexity to keep things interesting. If you’re a sucker for cigars that feature notes of cocoa, espresso, and leather, this is a good place to start. And if you’re a CAO fan, this isn’t a cigar to miss.

Final Score : 90

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