Cigar Review: CAO America Bottlerocket

CAO America

Today’s review ties into a contest here at acigarsmoker.com. The details of the contest are at the end of the review. With today being Washington’s Birthday I figured something patriotic needed to be smoked today. Thus the CAO America decision.

Cigar: CAO America
Origin: Honduras
Size: Bottle-rocket 7 x 50 (Churchill)
Wrapper: Connecticut Maduro & Natural
Binder: Brazil
Filler: Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Italy, USA

Appearance & Construction (18/20): The label is a patriotic red, white blue and gold with a smaller band of gold and blue at the foot. The cigar screams patriotism, and the pinstripe wrapper is very well done. Both wrappers are very clean looking and this cigar is well packed. One can make an issue that every cigar’s pinstripes look a little different unlike the conformity of of Fuente’s Between The Lines, but for this reviewer the individuality of the sticks is welcomed.

Flavor & Notes (27/30): The initial notes of this smoke are that of nuts and wood, but as we continue to work on the first third of the smoke there is almost a sweetness to the cigar that reminds me a little bit of toffee. As we reach the second third of the smoke the sweetness begins to take a backseat and the nutty flavor steps up. The final third of the cigar the notes of wood and nuts finish off this smoke with just a touch of leather.

Burn/Ash/Draw (23/25): One of the big problems a pinstripe or barber pole cigar has is the burn issues. CAO seems to have found a solution for that as this cigar has no burn issues at all. The draw is perfection and if there is one complaint is the ash doesn’t hold too strong as I wound up with an lap full of ashes a few times.

Overall (22/25): I have to put the disclaimer that this site is sponsored by CAO cigars and that I am friends with the local rep. With that said and done, it does not effect how I review a smoke. If it sucked, I would tell you it sucked. But the CAO America is a really good premium smoke that ranks up there with the best.

Rating: 90
Price: $9.00

Contest Time!

This contest won’t be as simple as previous contests. For this one you will have to work. The winner of this contest will be voted on by the readers of this site. To enter you must take a picture of something patriotic and incorporate a fan sign for acigarsmoker.com. For example, a naked girl with an american flag wrapped around her, and acigarsmoker.com written on her person would almost be guaranteed to win… Another idea would be you smoking a cigar, holding an American flag and having a sign that says “X loves acigarsmoker.com”. Yes this contest is about self indulgence and it is not sponsored by CAO…

The winner will receive: a 3 pack of CAO Bottle-rocket Cigars… and 2 CAO LX2 Lanceros…. Good Luck!

Submit your pictures to barry  @ acigarsmoker.com and the submission date is 2/20 by 11:59pm.

Cigar Review: CAO LX2 Lancero

CAO LX2

Today’s post comes courtesy of a new sponsor, CAO Cigars. Originially released as a limited edition the LX2 Lancero came as part of a package that consisted of a limited edition humidor along with 28 lancero smokes. With the lancero growing in popularity CAO will now release the LX2 lancero in March as a regular vitola in the line.

Cigar: CAO LX2
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 7 x 39 (Lancero)
Wrapper: Nicaragua (Pueblo Nueva)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua & Dominican

Appearance & Construction (18/20): The cigar features a flawless grade A wrapper and this lancero has a slightly toothy look to it. The cigar features a nicely done pigtail cap, and is slightly spongy to the touch. The bands on the cigar are a little bit over sized for a cigar of this size, but overall this is a nice looking lancero.

Flavor & Notes (27/30): The prelight draw offers some notes of chocolate which for me was different then the other sizes I have smoked. So I lit this baby up and dug into the 1st third of the smoke which revealed notes of pepper and earth with faint notes of chocolate in the background. As the second third is smoked, the pepper remains on the tongue and through the nose with some earth and nuttiness joining the party.  As we conclude our smoke notes of pepper and chocolate close it out with a touch of nuts mixed in for good measure.

Burn/Ash/Draw (21/25): Like many lancero cigars the prelight draw is perfect, the trick is keeping a lancero perfect all the way through. The draw might be slightly tough for some around the halfway point but I find if you sip a lancero the draw is much easier and more enjoyable. The crisp white ash held on strong which is a nice change from most lancero smokes I have experienced and the burn line is so crisp and straight it is visually pleasing.

Overall (23/25): The LX2 lancero is a very different experience compared to the other sizes offered. It is however a very enjoyable one, and despite the sipping action needed to enjoy the tight draw it is enjoyable and for me it makes me long for my pipe.

Rating: 89
Price: $6.00

LX2 Cigar Event at Barrister Cigars!

LX2 Puro Box

Last night I attended one of the best cigar events ever but earlier in the day I was unsure whether or not I would make it. With snow falling on a cold winter day and slowly turning to rain it was quickly becoming one big slushy frozen mess. As I pulled out of my driveway I slid some 20 feet on the ice and I was thinking, maybe I should not drive. If this was not a once in a lifetime event, perhaps I would not have.

The event was the deconstruction of the LX2, which is one of the greatest cigars ever produced by CAO. About 3 years ago a writer from Cigar Aficionado by the name of James Suckling was writing only about Cuban cigars. Realizing there was more to cigars then Cubans CAO President Tim Ozgener approached him to discuss how there are some great cigars being made in other places besides Cuba. He let him know how at the time they were using 41 different styles of tobacco,and Tim invited James to do a tasting.

Fast forward to the 2008 Big Smoke in Las Vegas and CAO hosted an event that broke down how the LX2 was created. The event so wildly popular that a standing ovation followed and lasted for quite some time. This was the event of a cigar connoisseurs dream, and I was lucky enough that my local B&M, Barrister Cigars was able to secure such an event, the first of it’s kind outside the convention.

Everyone in attendance was given a puro sampler box that contained 3 sample cigars each being 3.5 by 46, which according to Mr. Orzgener is ideal for tasting. We were then told about the 3 different regions that each ligero portion of the cigar came from. Dominican Piloto, Esti, and Pueblo Nueva. As we went through each puro stick we were informed about the blending process and how it leads to the tasting and creation of a new cigar. Each stick had certain characteristics and while Mr. Ozgener would not disclose the exact percentage of tobacco used to create the LX2 I had an idea in my mind by the time I was done. The final cigar in each box was a completed LX2 cigar which when smoked after the samples made it so simple to identify where each leaf was from, and how it adjusted the complexity of a cigar.

Joining the president of CAO Tim Ozgener were local CAO Rep Steve Faccenda, and Regional Sales Manager Frank Kapp, all of whom were the most gracious of people, easily accessible to any questions and gave you the in depth answer you wanted when it was possible.

The highlight of my evening came with I asked Tim Ozgener to sign the box the Puro Cigars came in. He graciously agreed, and pulled out his Sharpie. Below is the result;

Fan Sign!

While I am not sure if CAO plans to have more of these events I totally suggest you attend them if they do. It was the most informative event I ever attended, and despite considering myself knowledgeable on cigars I learned a lot from the from the seminar and loved every minute of it.

For those curious here is the break down of each puro;

Dominican Piloto: A very dry smoke, with some wood notes. I also picked up some dry coffee grounds, but I was in the minority when I shared that.

Esti: Some pepper through the nose, and notes similar to cayenne pepper started off this sample which was joined by a dark bitter bakers chocolate.

Pueblo Nueva: The wrapper of the smoke, and also used in the filler. This puro had spice to it, with a touch of saltiness.

My CAO LX2 review which I wrote in the summer of 2008 can be read here.

Cigar News…

First off I want to welcome everyone who saw my website mentioned in the newest issue of Smoke Magazine. The first issue that I am a panelist in has hit the newsstands. For those of you who are unsure of the issue, it is the one with Tucker Carlson on the cover and my ugly mug is on page 77. The picture is when I shaved the facial hair, which is now back. The next issue will feature a picture of my handlebars.

CAO News: I was informed tonight by Jon Huber of CAO Cigars that the LX2 lancero will be available as a regular release and should start to appear in cigar shops sometime in March. No word yet on the MSRP. For those of you who have yet to have them it one of the best lancero smokes around today.

Oliva News: It has come to my attention that the Oliva V Maduro will be released yearly as a limited edition smoke. No word on when the 2009 release will be, but if they follow the 2008 pattern it will be sometime in the fall. In other Oliva news the Nub Maduro and Nub Miami should be out sometime in the spring with the Miami being a limited release.

SCHIP: The word/abbreviation that cigar smokers has come to hate. I have been informed that the federal tobacco tax will go to 40 cents a stick. While this is a big victory for cigar smokers, it does further put a crack in the dam. Don’t forget how small the first increases in cigarette taxes were before they ballooned to what they are now. Let your congress person know you are appreciative of the hike not being out of control, but it has to stop here!

Contest Time: In the next couple of days I will have a contest where you can win a 5 pack of Defiance and a Xikar cutter compliments of Xikar, Inc. If you have not yet smoked the Defiance from Xikar I suggest you give it a try. It is a great smoke!

On a final note, I will be back on Friday with a review of the Mi Dominicana cigar which I received today compliments of Altadis USA.

Cigar Review: CAO Italia Largo

CAO Italia

Cigar: CAO Italia
Origin: Honduras
Size: Largo (Toro)
Wrapper: Honduras
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Italy/Nicaragua/Peru

Appearance & Construction (19/20): Last night I was at a CAO Event at my friends shop in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Over at Don Francisco’s was the first time I had ever seen to the CAO Italia in a tube. The tube is eye catching and inside this cedar lined tubed lies a well constructed cigar. The roll is flawless and the wrapper has a minimal amount of veins. The cap is well placed and the cigar has a nice weight to it. Just the look of the cigar makes me want to watch soccer…

Flavor & Notes (27/30): On the pre-light the cigar offered some strong notes of cedar from the tube it was in and I was ready to smoke this stogie in earnest!  The initial third of the smoke offers some strong cedar notes which is different then most italia cigars due to the packaging. Also joining the cedar are faint notices of chocolate that I was only able to pick up when swishing the smoke around before exhaling.  The second third of the cigar the notes of chocolate become more cocoa like with some strong wood notes remaining. As we approach the last third of this stick the notes of cocoa are easily defined. The cigar has a very woody finish.

Burn/Ash/Draw (22/25): On the pre-light the draw seemed to be a little stiff and it remained that way for half the cigar before it opened up. The burn line which is usually the biggest problem for a CAO cigar had some minimal issues but never needed to be touched up. The light gray ash held well despite having some ridges and flake to it.

Overall (22/25): The Largo is a nice version of the Italia especially if you like wood notes in your cigar. However if you are a fan of the Italia I should warn you smoking the Largo is a completely different experience.

Rating: 90
Price: 8.00 (including NJ Tobacco tax)

Tis The Season Of Giving…

Cigar Reviews will return tomorrow, as I have solved my issue of smoking in the cold weather. For now I want to share with you all an event that a good fried of mine put together and he has brought me on board to help with the project…

The cigar community has been chastised long enough and it is time to make a good name for ourselves. So Pete decided to put together a little herf, and at this herf we will be holding a raffle in which the proceeds will go to buying a gifts for under privileged children.

Some great cigar manufactures have stepped up to the plate and have offered cigars to be raffled off for this great cause and some of the early arrivals will be given a bag of smokes as well.

So if you live near by, stop by and say hello. Ask for me (Barry) and if I am not there ask for Pete and tell him acigarsmoker.com sent you…

Date: Noverber 28th
Time: 1:00pm – whenever the owners kick us out
Location: 2215 Route 112, Medford, NY 11763
Parking: Small lot in front of the store, more parking on side and in back of the store
Directions: Take LIE to exit 64 South. Proceed about 3/4 mile and on your left hand side you’ll see a small park. Immediately after the park is a small shopping center. Goodfella’s in in there.

A special thank you to Steve from CAO, John from Altadis, Jim From Arganese, Xikar, and Goodfella’s Cigars.

Cigar Review: CAO Gold Toro Review

CAO Gold

First off my camera is on the fritz, so I had to use a stock photo from the Internet…

This past Saturday I took a drive out to Bayside, NY (Queens) to pop in and say hello to a friend of mine who just happens to be the CAO Rep in my area. Should I be so lucky as to land my dream job I hope I can be half the rep this guy is. If you read my blog on a regular basis you know I can’t speak enough about Steve the CAO guy.

So I headed to the Habana Hut which is a relatively new brick & mortar located at 214-09 41st Ave in Bayside, NY. The store is gorgeous, with a lot of flat screen televisions showing all the games for your enjoyment as you smoke your favorite stogie. Their humidor utilizes its space well with a large selection of smokes including Opus X.

I was hoping that they would have the new LX 2 from CAO but alas it was not out yet, so I picked up some standards from CAO and that is how we got today’s review…

Cigar: CAO Gold
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 6.5 x 50 (Corona Gorda)
Wrapper: Ecuador Grown Connecticut Shade
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Mild

Pre-Smoke: When I worked in a B&M back in the day and someone wanted to smoke something mild this was the go to cigar. Not only is it reasonably priced, it is a full flavor mild smoke. The cigar has a beautiful golden brown wrapper with some veins but nothing that stands out in an obscene way. It was well rolled with a decent weight to it and no soft sports to be found. I used a cat’s eye (v-style) cut on this cigar. The prelight draw and aroma were similar barnyard like notes of hay and earth which is usually the sign of a mild cigar.

Smoke: From the first light the CAO Gold is a smooth creamy smoke. The first third of the cigar offers some subtle notes of wood and nuts. The second third of the cigar the wood notes moved to the front with a hint of sweetness similar to caramel. The final third the wood remained but the dominant note was that of nuts which left me with a very enjoyable nutty finish. The cigar had a great even burn throughout that never needed to be touched up.

Overall: Sometimes it is nice to revisit some of the cigars that started it all of me as a cigar smoker. The CAO Gold is a mild cigar with a really good flavor profile that even a seasoned veteran can enjoy. I found it to be a very relaxing smoke on a cold drab morning.

Rating: 88
Price: $5.50

Reminder: Enter to win a chance to win a 5 pack of Arturo Fuente cigars, just click here to leave a comment before November 15th, 2008 at 9am.

Review: CAO LX2

It’s been too long between reviews and for that I apologize. The last few days I have had to start work early, do car repairs and one day I just didn’t want to wake up. Unless I smoke in the AM or early evening in seclusion I won’t do a review so I had to neglect the blog for a few days.

I had a family BBQ today and took a cigar gifted to me by someone at the cigar show in Las Vegas. I made my way through the woods and sat by the lake with today’s stick. The CAO LX 2 is probably one of the most anticipated cigars of the year. The LX2 stand for Ligero x 2. Ligero comes from the top half of the tobacco plant and receives the most sunlight of the plant. The direct sunlight enhances the strength of the tobacco and results in a higher level of nicotine. So if you are prone to that light headed queasy feeling have something sweet before you smoke one of these.

The Skinny:

Cigar: CAO LX2
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 5 x 48 Robusto
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

Pre-Light: A few people have reviewed these cigars and they all pretty much suggested the cigar needed some aging time, so I let it age a week. I wanted to go longer, but really wanted to try this stick. At first appearance it doesn’t look all that. The cap is slightly sloppy, the wrapper has more veins visible then any cigar I can think of and there is so much bumpiness to the cigar that a blind man might think he is reading moby dick. The scent at the foot was nutty with some slight pepper, while the wrapper had something I couldn’t really define and was very oily. The pre-light draw revealed some earth. One note about the band, when I first saw the ad campaign I was very impressed with the design. With the cigar in hand the band is even more impressive and it’s a nice piece of art.

Smoke: Cigar Jack was the first person to review this cigar and one thing he stated was the cigar had notes of jalapeño peppers which made me wonder what he smoked prior to the LX2 but right away on the first third of the smoke I picked up some really hot pepper. However, I wouldn’t call it jalapeño I would say it was closer to cayenne pepper. The other notes of the cigar were a sweet creamy chocolate, and some nuttiness. The cayenne pepper came and went and was most noticeable in the first and last third of the stick. Despite the questionable appearance of the cigar it smoked really well, needing no touch ups, and while the burn line was slightly jagged it was extremely acceptable.

Overall: I used a punch cut on this cigar to limit the smoke intake because of how strong everyone said these cigars are. I believe due to the fact I used to hole punch the cigar appeared to be more medium bodied to me. As I said in my preface this cigar is highly anticipated and should live up to the hype for most people. It is to date the best CAO I have ever smoked, and I consider myself a big fan of their smokes. If the appearance was better it would of scored 2-3 points higher.

My Local Price: TBD (Not yet available)
Rating: 91 (Out of 100)

Review: Carlos Torano Signature

Last week I was lucky enough to run into the rep from CAO at a local event. Him and I got to talking about my website before he had to attend to his duties but before the night was over we crossed paths once again. When he returned he complemented me on how well the website looked and with that he bestowed upon me 3 different lines to review. Since I hadn’t smoked a Torano in a long time I figured I would start here…. So Steve from CAO I thank you and now on to the review…

The Skinny:

Cigar: Carlos Torano Signature
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: Toro 6 x 50
Wrapper: Sun Grown Brazilian Maduro
Binder: Broadleadf
Filler: Dominican Cubano Ligero, Nicaraguan Habano Ligero

Pre-Light: So on a dreary Fourth of July morning, with a fog on the ocean I sat down with an old friend. I used to smoke these cigars on a regular basis back in my cigar store days, and I realized quickly it has been too long since my last visit. The wrapper was dark, veiny, and oily. It looked more like licorice, then a cigar. The wrapper smelled of cocoa and the foot I picked up notes of cinnamon and spices. The pre-light draw held true to the notes picked up on the foot of the cigar.

Smoke: The cigar started out as a medium bodied, but before long it was definitely a full bodied smoke. The ash held very well, and was a tight clean white color. The stick had notes of cinnamon, and some chocolate in the first half, and it became much more spicy as it made transition to full bodied. There were no burn issues, and I did not need to relight it once, even with a 20 minute overseas phone call interrupting my smoke.

Overall: I am not sure if I would smoke this cigar on a hot summer day, I was lucky enough that it was a cool, dreary day, but toward the end of the smoke I was sweating. It is definite a cigar I plan to visit again in the fall. Perhaps on a cool October morning. The cigar was rich with spices, chocolate, and cinnamon that remained with me well after the smoke. Perhaps on that cool fall morning I’ll remember to bring a Hot Chocolate with me to enjoy my smoke.

My Local Price: Compliments of CAO ($6.50)
Rating: 89 (Out of 100)

CAO America Four for the 4th

Just had to share the pictures from this box set gift pack I picked up tonight. I was actually hoping one of the cigars included in this pack was a short story size cigar that CAO could of called the firecracker. But alas the CAO minds were not creative enough. The one I am looking forward to smoking the most is the box press CAO America. Reason being is the CAO Brazillia box press is such a great smoke (review coming soon!) that I am hoping the box press CAO America changes the complexity of the cigar as well…