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.

Xikar Defiance Contest Winner….

Xikar Defiance

I want to take the time to thank the 100 people who took their time to leave a comment for the Defiance contest. The cigars and cutter were donated by Xikar and we at acigarsmoker.com thank them for the great prize.

I took all 100 entries and ran a random number generator and the # corresponding to the comment was the winner..

The winner is from the Northwest, USA and she runs her own website called The Rice Bowl. If you have some time check out her site as she writes really well.

Once again, congratulations Flyrice and may you enjoy your cutter and cigars!

Cigar Review: Xikar Defiance Sentry

The Senry

I was recently contacted by Xikar based upon a review I did of the Defiance a few months back. They offered to send me a 5 pack of cigars and a xikar cutter. I told them thank you but I am going to raffle it off for my loyal readers. So if you want to win the 5 cigars and the cutter posted below all you have to do is leave a comment and I will randomly select a winner. The cutoff for this contest is 12 noon (Eastern Time) on February 2nd, 2009. Good luck everyone!

Winner has been selected, thank you for your entries!

Cigar: Xikar Defiance
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 6 x 46 (The Sentry/Lonsdale)
Wrapper: Nicaragua Cuban seed shade grown Criollo wrapper aged 4 years
Binder: Nicaragua Cuban seed sun grown Corojo binder
Filler: Nicaragua

Appearance & Construction (18/20): A great looking Criollo leaf adorns this cigar that has minimal veins. The foot reveals some loose packing which I have not witnessed in any of the other sizes. It’s crest style band sports the words In Pures Veritas under the name of the cigar. It’s secondary band has the word Xikar in silver on a black background. The side of the primary band has the words, do not remove. I suggest you remove it for a chuckle :)

Flavor & Notes (28/30): The pre-light draw reveals offers notes of cocoa with a slight caramel which is a nice change compared to what I have been smoking lately. These notes are definitely amongst my favorite. As we work on the first third of the smoke, notes of wood and caramel prevail and are easily definable. The second third of the smoke the notes of caramel remain but in the background as wood becomes the dominant note. The final third of the cigar notes of nuts, wood and touch of caramel are noticeable making this one of my favorite smokes.

Burn/Ash/Draw (23/25): Despite this loosely packed foot, the cigar smokes nice and slow for a lonsdale. It’s ash is a little weak, and is medium in color. The burn line is dark, but it is straight, revealing a well constructed cigar in its wake. The draw is not too loose, and not too tight, goldilocks would be happy with the draw.

Overall (23/25): This lonsdale packs a lot of flavor for a medium bodied smoke. The loose foot turned out to be a mirage as the cigar smoked nice and slow and never disappointed.

Rating: 92
Price: 6.75

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.

Contest Time: Arturo Fuente Shorty Story

Well it is that time again. We at acigarsmoker.com will try to run a monthly contest for you our loyal readers. And this months contest come courtesy of Cigars Direct.

Cigars Direct is one of the leading on-line retailers featuring many rare and hard to find cigars.  I suggest you check them out you will be amazed….

The rules for the contest are simple just leave a comment at the end of this post. On November 15th, 2008 which would of been my dads birthday we will randomly pick a winner from those who left a comment….

This months prize:

5 pack of Arturo Fuente Short Story Cigars!

Remember you have to be in it to win it, so be sure to leave a comment

EDIT: This contest is now closed and the winner will be posted within the next 48hrs.

Contest Time!

First off the picture is not the greatest so I apologize for that..

Tonight my local B&M, Barrister Cigars donated this brand new tee shirt with the Old School Cigar Co. logo over the left breast. The tee shirt is in size LARGE and will be given away to a lucky reader of this website.

I am also adding to the contest a 5 pack of random cigars in honor of Famous Smoke Shop becoming a sponsor of acigarsmoker.com.

To enter all you need to do is leave a comment on this message and the winner will be chosen at random on October 10th at 10am.

Barrister Cigars is the only authorized dealer of Old School Cigars in the entire state of New Jersey. Old School Cigars are the makers of:

• GR8
• Randello
• MJH
• Old School Originals

If you are ever in the Union, NJ area stop by Barrister Cigars at 2565 Route 22 West try an Old School Cigar and tell them acigarsmoker.com sent you.

Cigar News and Lottery!

As my regular readers know a few weeks back I was invited into the Altadis VIP program which has a few perks. These include merchandise, swag, and a newsletter…

One of the things listed in the newsletter was the addition of new cigars to the Altadis family. These cigars include:

• Mi Dominicana by Jose Seijas: an exquisitely constructed, full-bodied Dominican Puro.
• Montecristo Reserve Negra: a deliciously robust maduro worthy of the Montecristo name.
• A. Turrent Six Generations: perhaps the finest cigar from the industry;s oldest cigar makers made with hand selected tobaccos aged for seven years.
• Romeo Y Julieta Museum Edition: available in a limited edition of 2000 humidors each featuring 36 super premium cigars and a signed and numbered serigraph from renowned 3-D artist Charles Fazzino.

All cigar information reprinted from Altadis Cigar News August 2008 Volume 1 Issue 3

Also sent to me from Altadis USA was a couple of baseball caps from Montecristo one of which will be sent to a randomly selected reader of my blog. To enter please send an email to me, the address is listed under the contact section of my web page. In the subject line place, “I want the hat” and your shipping address in the body of the email. The winner will be randomly selected via a drawing. This contest is open from now til 9pm eastern time on August 7th 2008. The winner will be notified via email and the first name of the winner along with the city/state will be posted to the blog.

Best of luck, and long ashes to everyone….