Ordinarily I smoke a single cigar and review it on it's own merits as one cigar in time. With this blend I did something a little different for two reasons. First, I have been predisposed to dislike C.A.O. cigars for some years now, I have just thought that they were inferior products that were high on packaging flash but low on cigar quality. Second, I have heard so many mixed reviews of this cigar that I was confused going into the experience. Many cigar smokers that I respect loved this cigar and many cigar smokers I respect hate this cigar and I seldom have such variance in reports from the cognoscenti. I have now smoked five of these cigars and have been able to come up with a palate consensus in my own mind about what is happening in this cigar.
All five cigars that I smoked were pleasant to look at, there were some prominent veins, but all in all an acceptable looking package. The wrapper seems a touch dry to me, but there is plenty of supple resistance that tells me it is not dehydrated. An inspection tells me that the cigar seems to be well made, I am skeptical of General products (as is well documented in this blog). The pre light aroma is floral and sweet. The pre light draw is oddly spiced, perhaps ginger and has a mulled citrus flavor on the tongue.
The cigars all opened with the same flavor profile and showed some floral sweetness with some dry grassy flavors touching the outsides of the palate. There is not much complexity or depth, but the flavor from the wrapper keeps the cigar interesting. At the back of the palate there are some orange and lemon flavors that are a touch stringy. These citrus flavors are lain across a backdrop of dry and sharp wood notes. In two of the cigars I was having some draw issues at this point, but in the three I had no problems. The burn in all five cigars was acceptable.
In the first half of these five cigars the disparity begins. In two of the smokes I experience some bitterness and the smoke becomes almost unbearably dry and thick feeling. In the other three some very nice flavors come through showing a core palate of dried citrus flavors and some nice ginger notes. At the back of the palate in all five there are some nice woody flavors, but it the two that were bitter there were some very strange flavors of vegetation that had blasts of acidity. The burn and draw in all five were fine at this point.
In the second half of the smoke the profile was similar in all five cigars. The main profile shows some nice flavors of citrus and ginger with some wisps of floral sweetness mingling nicely across the palate. At the back of the palate it is all light wood with some further penetrations of a floral sweetness. The wrapper really is the star of the show in these cigars. The burn and draw perform well in all five smokes.
In the end I would rate these cigars as slightly above average, for the price point I would recommend a trial on these.
Scores will be an average of all 5
Appearance- 87
Taste- 84
Construction- 88
Strength- 87
Overall- 86.25
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