CAO Brasilia Versus Italia:Artistry of Champions:Brazilian Flag Perfecto

I seem to to be review a lot of rare item recently, I have some other rarities on my pipeline. Well today I bring you the CAO Brazilia Perfecto. Like its Italia sibling both of them are somewhat rare and are part of CAO's Artistry Of Champions Humidor. I also have yet to see I review on this particular cigar, so this is also a little bit of a comparison review to the Italia. Let's see how these cigars stack up.


SPECS-
Size-7x47
Wrapper-Brazilian Maduro with Candella and Conn. Bands
Binder-Nicaragua
Filler-Nicaragua
Cost-$20
Cut-Straight
Smoke Time-1 hour and 15 mins.
Drink-Coke over Ice


FIRST IMPRESSIONS-The first thing I noticed when I picked up the cigar was its smell. The cigar just oozed of a aromatic cedar. Second was the wrapper, it glisten with oil and the somewhat spotted maduro is a sight to look at. At close inspection though the triangle in the middle of the cigar is slightly green. Now I don't if it was originally Candela that got discolored or if it was a Conn. leaf that turned slightly green. The foot had also I interesting aroma of a sweet spice almost like clove and the tickler head had a nice aroma of aged tobacco. The construction is also a great piece of art and with a good cold taste of a nice subtle hay this cigar begged to be smoked.


FIRST HALF-As soon as the cigar took the flame it presented a great deal of a deep earth and chocolate flavor that I haven't experienced before. The black pepper was also deep and slightly sweet adding to the overall profile of the smoke. The spice is slightly stronger than the Italias but I like the profile. Exploring the chocolate flavors I could detect a slight roasted coffee undertone and the earth had a nut undertone. The ash never really hung out for very long but the burn was always straight with only 1 touch up needed.


LAST HALF-Once the burn line reached the Conn. portion of the cigar I thought the smoke couldn't get better. The overall flavors had a nice toasty finish and a few hints of a roasted caramel that slightly tasted of toffee. The main flavors never really changed trough out the cigar, after the main Conn. strip was gone I was reintroduced to the original Maduro. The maduro now got slightly darker and lost all its complexities, a new leather taste was produced along with a soy sauce finish. Though interesting it wasn't my cup of tea and after a few puff I felt I was satisfied by the cigar and set it down.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS-I think I might have to eat my words here. I never thought a Italia could be better than a Brazilia. But after smoking the Trumpets of the same humidor set I quickly found out that the Brazilian wrapper gets rather too dark and almost harsh when taken in large doses. Which one is better though you might ask? I think they're both equally good. The Italia for those who prefer a milder and less complex smoke and the Brazilia for those who can pick up on subtle tobacco subtleties easily and prefer a darker smoke. I can see me picking up another vitola (If I could) and smoke it after a Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner. So if you have one of these cigars and holding up for a special occasion but can't decide on when to smoke it, I hope I helped.

RATING-94
Buy It Again? Yes
Suggest It? Yes

CAO Brasilia Versus Italia:Artistry of Champions:Italian Flag Perfecto

Ah rare cigars, or rare anything really. Nothing out there in world has more prestige then something that is rare. Today I bring you the CAO Italia, not just any regular ol' Italia, but what I think is THE Italia to own and to smoke. This cigar is 1 outta 5 special vitolas that CAO made back in 05' to show their master rollsmanship and a tribute to their flagship brands. These cigar we're all shipped in a special commemorative box that retailed $100 and only 2000 of these boxes have been made. I was lucky enough to get a hold of one of these boxes, these things are so rare that trying to find any info on these is pretty much next to impossible. As far as I'm concerned I'm the first one ever to review this vitola and I plan to do it justice. So in to the deep abyss of CAO I go!

SPECS-
Size-7/46ish
Wrapper-The Center Piece is a combo of-Maduro,Candella,and Conn. Natural Wrapper
Binder-Honduras
Filler-Italy,Nicaragua,Peru
Cost-Around $20
Cut-Straight
Drink-Iced Tea
Smoke Time-1 hour and a Half

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-At first glance this cigar is a piece of art. The lines are very neat. The Italian flag center piece is in perfect squares, though at the reverse side the Candela strip is slightly discolored probably due to uneven sun exposure. The wrapper on this cigar is very oily and almost veinless giving the cigar a silky appearance, the sweetly fragrant cedar on the leaf just adds to this masterpiece, its almost a shame to smoke it. The foot of this cigar smells of peaches and the cold taste produces a perfect draw of sweet peach and cedar.

FIRST HALF- The cigar took the flame very well, at the first puffs the cigar opens up with a super smooth and creamy nut taste with a slightly salty cedar finish. The black pepper profile in this cigar was blended to a T, it hit the nose smoothly and never overstayed it's welcome. As the cigar progresses one can notice its very simple taste. There's nothing too complex, all the flavors are well homogenized and play off each other well. Once the smoke reached the flag centerpiece the flavors got simply sublime, along with the original main flavors small touches of chocolate and caramel were hinted with a touch of a toasted bread finish.

LAST HALF-As the longest ash feel a slight flavor switch was made. A deeper caramel flavor is added along with a deep espresso. The smoke becomes less creamy and smooth but the smoke is still soft on the palate. The construction is still holding up well and the ash is a very even and never flaky. Touch ups on this cigar were kept at a minimal but there was only a slight flaw on this cigar. During this last half the flavors didn't progress much they just stayed the same, though a pleasant taste of leather was added towards the end. The slightly salty cedar is also a minor complaint on this cigar, the saltiness sorta builds up in the back of the throat and just becomes a little too much.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS-This in no doubt in my mind the best CAO I ever tried, also one of the best cigars I have ever had and the best Italia out there. The tastes this cigar produced were very easy to follow and I'm sure any palate could appreciate the cigar. As much as I'm sad to see this cigar go, as one of my main center pieces in my humidor, I'm much happier now that I've smoked it. This Italia is also one of the better Vitolas in the B.vs.I box. I've smoked the trumpets and the Bratalia(the centerpiece) and I believe those are much better off left alone as pieces of art. I now cannot wait to taste the Brazilia Flag Perfecto and see how it compares to this majestic stick.

RATING-95
Buy It Again? If I could I would
Recommend It? If you can get your hand on 1 make the plunge, you won't regret it.

CAO Brazilia:Lambada:Arapiraca

I'm a big Brazilian junkie. I love the dark earthiness and chocolate tones that the Brazilian soil brings to their leafs of tobacco, I'm also slightly bias to Brazilians and am willing to pay attention to a cigar more if it has Brazilian tobacco in it. Whether it be binder wrapper or filler, I'm always interested in a Brazilian. But don't think I'll automatically approve of this smoke, but I can tell you early on that this is the best and cheapest cigar in CAO's "International Line". But this vitola in The Italia and the America has been giving me some problems, but is it the same disappointment in this Brazilia?

SPECS-
Size-6x50
Wrapper-Brazilian
Binder-Nicaragua
Filler-Nicaragua
Cost-$6.50
Smoke Time-50 mins
Cut-Guillotine

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-This is a very nice wrapper, the dark brown is very figured, in some spots the wrapper is almost black and contrast the brown filler tobacco quite nicely when you compared the two. The wrapper was very fragrant and had a slight leather smell to it. The foot had a lovely aroma of raisins and touches of earth. The cold taste was delicious, it was of a very sweet date and with a perfect draw it made my mouth water. What a great cigar to finish my CAO comparison.

FIRST THIRD-Beginning with your first puffs you'll notice that this cigar is very dark and rich. Plenty of thick white smoke welcome you along with a deep mocha flavor. The cigar burns very slowly and almost perfect burn line. The spice is hits you on your nose and its very pleasurable, it makes you pay attention to the cigar. As the cigar progresses into the second third a raisin like flavors start building up.

SECOND THIRD-The raisin builds into a well rounded flavor for the mocha to rest on. The sweetness of the raisin and the deep tones of the mocha go really well together, so far this is a very well rounded stick. The spice picks up a little bit as the smoke works its way to the last third and here is where I got nervous, the longest ash falls and I'm to be expecting the downwards spiral of this cigar.

Last Third-This cigar like the other Vitolas I tried also suffers from the unusual odd flavor. But here they're not that bad. Since this is already a dark cigar the "odd flavor profile" isn't too big of an impact here. The mocha gets a lot dirtier with this, almost bringing along a cocoa powder taste to it, the raisin flavor also gets more well rounded and sweeter, but its a funky sweet like you know that flavor isn't supposed to be there. After the cigar works its way through this slump all the complexities of this stick pretty much leave which is disappointing. You just get a dark,faint taste of leather and mocha, its a boring and not very pronounced flavor but for whatever reason the cigar was very hard to put down.

LAST IMPRESSIONS-This was overall a good and complex smoke and without a doubt the best in CAO line. Though I like the box-pressed Brazilia better I thought it'd be better to use the same vitola sizes for a fairer comparison because the box press would blow everything outta of the water. This cigar is also cheap for the complexity it involves and is cheap enough for an everyday smoke. Good thing too, because the America is way too damn expensive.

RATING-84
Buy it Again? Yes,
Recommended It? Yes, try the Box-press you won't be disappointed.

CAO America:Constitution:Barber Pole

So you've seen that the Italia didn't handle so well. The America was also on the planning board for a while. The Barber Pole like style is the only Barber Pole that CAO makes I believe, this is a departure for CAO. So does this snazzy wrapper style hide the America's true imperfections? Let's find out.

SPECS-
Size-Constitution 6x50
Wrapper-Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro and Shade
Binder-Brazil
Filler-Ligero from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Italy, and USA
Cost-$8.60
Cut-V
Drink-McD's Mocha Iced Coffee
Smoke Time-40 mins.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-Again CAO shows quality craftsmanship. The barber pole is almost flawless. The Maduro leafs shows some nicks and tears here and there but nothing that takes away from the smoking experience. The tightly rolled cigar produced a Tea like flavor on the cold taste. The wrapper had a hint of leather to it and the foot was nice and earthy. Not to bad of visual introduction, but I take this cigar with a grain of saltFor like the Italia, I don;t want to be dissapointed.

FIRST HALF-Yup, you guessed it another CAO reviewed in halves. The cigar has a really good spice that hits you up front, its a very well rounded spice that brings to it a clover-like sweetness to it. Along with this unexpected spice a taste of cedar is added to the finish. It doesn't bring any imagery to mind like the Italia, but its still good. This stick burns at a slow pace and has no issues burning through the multiple wrapper layers. Towards the progression to what would be the second third, the clove sweetness is gone. Cedar and nuts take the main stage at flavors, the spice sticks more to the background and the longest ash falls, I anticipated what the cigar had to throw at me next.

LAST HALF-The nuts and the cedar were still present but slowly those flavors started to decay. The nut started tasting stale, the cedar got an unripe taste, the spice was in the back of the throat and harsh. The smoke was like this for maybe 10 minutes before it got better. All the sudden the old enjoyable flavors slowly start blooming, but they're not the same. The harshness and bitterness completely throw you off from your leisurely smoke you were having, Its a shame too because the cigar was starting to get good. I get bored by the smoke, I end up taking the wrapper leaf of and just smoking the binder and filler, for what ever reason it tasted better that way.

LAST IMPRESSIONS-I'm upset to see this cigar didn't do too well either. The main flavors are really light and crisp and would work great for the morning smoke. The first halve was really something else, just like the Italia, but in the end it had its short-comings. In rank I'd say this falls in the middle. This is the most expensive cigar and prettiest in the series, it's just a shame it just did not produce anything good today.

RATING-78
Buy It Again-Maybe only 1 more time on a certain day in July.
Recommended it? Only if you're feeling patriotic.

CAO Italia:Positano:Natural

This is going to a 3 part review. The next few posts are all CAO related, I'm comparing what I call "CAO's International Cigars"; The America,Brazilia,and Italia. CAO have had these smoke all planned out for a while and once released have gotten some acclaim to em all. At my young smoking adventure I started smoking alot of CAO's and was wanting to one day smoke all the International Lines and see how they compared. So after so many Italia's America's and Brazilia's which one do I think is best? Let's start with the Italia.

Specs-
Size-6x50
Wrapper-Honduras
Binder-Honduras
Filler-Italy,Nicaragua,Peru
Price-$7.10
Smoke Time-30 Mins
Cut-Punch

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-CAO makes very good looking sticks and very pretty bands, this Italia is no exception. The smooth brown wrapper displayed no major veins or defects. The wrapper had no particular smell or taste. The same was for the foot, just a slight earthiness. The stick was solid, probably too solid because the draw was a little tight and produced no particular flavor.

FIRST HALF-I'm reviewing the Italia And The America in halves rather than thirds and this will be obvious why once I get to the later half. This cigar opened up nicely, a nice and subtle spice up front and a good strong finish. This is a very slow burning stick so it took a while for the main flavors to start progressing. A espresso flavor opens up the as the main flavor on the stick and its very well rounded. It kinda makes you feel like you are at cafe in Italy enjoying a nice cup of coffee and watching the happy go lucky Italians, this is a very good flavor. Along with the espresso there's touches of earth and cedar that make it a very good visual and flavorful experience, the best Half.

SECOND HALF-Things go down hill here, bad. When the longest ash fell, things soon followed. The earthiness that was so enjoyable on the first half gets darker. The cedar turns stale and the coffee is gone. The cigar got so icky,nicotine,tarry and pectin full that I had to put the stick down. It was horrible. There was no finish and no spice, smoke was wispy and smelly. This turned out to be a terrible finish to what was shaping up to be a great experience. I tried out 3 others sticks to see if I got a fluke, nope. All of the cigars I tried in this size had the same problem. First half great, last half miserable. The Italia is the worst of the 3 in CAO's"International Series".

LAST IMPRESSIONS-I really wanted to like this cigar. With such an nice opening of flavors you kinda feel bad for the stick. It makes you think what happened? Maybe a Torcedor was just not feeling it the day he was making this cigar, maybe the leaf just gave up and started rotting, I can't tell you why this happened. But can only say it's a shame that it did.

RATING-70
Buy It Again? I'll revisit it eventually, some people really like this cigar, I want to see what I'm missing.
Recommend It? Maybe another Vitola, but not the Positano.