General Cigar launched the CAO Amazon Basin back in 2014 at the IPCPR trade show. The Fuma Em Corda is the second in the trilogy of cigars using the rare Brazilian tobacco. We reviewed the Amazon Basin and Anaconda previously. Today we are reviewing the CAO | Fuma Em Corda Toro.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
The project began back in 2012 when Ernest Gocaj, head tobacco purchases for General Cigar, traveled to Brazil in 2012. In the Amazon, he met natives who grew a rare variety of tobacco. The tobacco Ernest found was Brazilian Bragança tobacco, and became the base for the CAO’s Amazon Basin.
Ernest returned to Brazil, next time to the Alagoas region in the center of the country. There he was shown an ancestral fermentation method that made tobacco with some unique flavors. In the Alagoas, the natives fermented Arapiraca tobacco in ropes called Fuma Em Corda. Ernest tasted fermented tobacco and chewed it. He instantly knew he found something special. Ernest bought all of that year’s harvest from the farmers. The tobacco ropes were shipped to Honduras and CAO’s blending team took over.
Once the tobacco was safely in Honduras, Ernest stepped away and Rick Rodriguez took over and blended a cigar around this Brazilian Araparica tobacco. Rick and the team included Brazilian Braganca form the Amazon Basin in the blend for Fuma Em Corda. They added Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos, to bring more spice to the salty, earthy flavor of the Brazilian leaves. The blend uses a Cameroon binder and Honduran Colorado wrapper. CAO Fuma Em Corda is a limited edition that they say will never be re-released. Just 3,000 boxes were made. The cigars are made in Honduras, packed twenty-count boxes and available in a 5 x 50 Robusto for $8.99 per cigar and a 6 x 58 Toro for $10.49 per cigar.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 58
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Honduran Corojo
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Honduras, Brazil, Nicaraguan
Factory: STG Esteli
Blender: Unknown
Number of reviewers: 5 – Dave W. (mdwest) John I. (John I.) Stefan (Stefan) Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd) Alan(Eulogy)
Price: $10.49
Age: 7 Months
Release Date: June 2017
Contributed by: General Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 88
“The cigar is a little messy. The wrapper li almost wrinkled and the cap has creases all around it. It is a nice even color, though and very toothy. It’s a unique dark brown that has some reddish undertones to it. ” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
Aroma: 89
“Not much going on along the body of the cigar, but at the foot there’s a definite smokiness intermingled with composted sweetness. ” –John I. (John I.)
First Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“This started off lovingly sweet-tasting, with notes of caramel and graham cracker. The closest I’ve ever gotten from a cigar to eating a butter cookie — so much cookie butteriness it was ridiculous! Then, about a 3/4 inch in, I started getting more “white spices” (nutmeg, mellow white pepper, etc.), with the aforementioned sweetness holding on steadily. A sweet ass stick so far!” –Stefan (Stefan)
“The palate is filled with rich, thick cocoa blasts with every puff. If thats your thing, this is your cigar. It brings flavor in spades. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
Second Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The flavor profile remains the same with no transition from the first to the second third other than a slight mellowing of the notes. Notes are still thick enough that you can chew on them though. This stick is a serious flavor bomb. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
“In the middle, the cigar takes on some earthy characteristics. The smoke is almost chewy and has very bold texture to it. Some of the molasses from the pre-light makes an appearance to balance out the earthiness. ” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
“Tobacco notes are the star of the final third. Rich notes of tobacco are at the front, a slight sweetness, and baking spice finished with white pepper. The cigar has stayed pretty consistent throughout, but white pepper was the star throughout. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“The pepper really comes to the front in this final third. All of the earthiness is still there but far in the background now. The sweet notes of raisin and molasses are still there for balance, and some notes of toasted wood round things out. ” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 88
“Really good draw with plenty of smoke output on every puff. I had no issues at all. ” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
Burn: 87
“The burn was nearly perfect for the first couple inches, then became lopsided. It corrected by the final third though. No serious harm done. ” –John I. (John I.)
Construction: 87
“The foot and the head were a little bit loose packs; giving it a slightly loose draw. This cigar isn’t going to win any beauty contests either.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“We’re barely into the new year, but I can already see this cigar making my personal top 10 in 2018 list. Its hard to imagine that I will experience enough new sticks this year that this one could be at risk at falling out of the running. ” –Dave W. (mdwest)
“Definitely in the realm of “just ok,” for me. The flavor profile was pretty monotonous. Core flavors were decent, just not terribly interesting. Pretty sure there may have been some fire cured tobacco here, if so, that part of the blend was well done as it wasn’t overpowering, but then again, it didn’t really bring anything exceptional to the table either.
A couple relatively minor construction issues led to bigger problems and definitely detracted from the experience. ” –John I. (John I.)
“This ugly duckling was such a sweet surprise… It looked unevenly rolled, encased in a less-than-ideal wrapper, but — man! — it was so sweet tasting (and seemingly unadulterated by additives) that it ended up being one of the most memorable smokes I’ve had in a while! Also, I can’t imagine a better cigar to pair with a cognac.” –Stefan (Stefan)
“The flavors were pretty tasty and I enjoyed the balance and some nice transitions. If they can get the construction figured out I think they might have a really good cigar on their hands. I will be trying this one again. ” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
“The flavor profile was what really save it for me. There was enough pepper, sweetness, and slight changes throughout that kept the cigar interesting. It’s certainly not a looker, very rustic, but a good cigar.” –Alan (Eulogy)
"This ugly duckling was such a sweet surprise... It looked unevenly rolled, encased in a less-than-ideal wrapper, but -- man! -- it was so sweet tasting (and seemingly unadulterated by additives) that it ended up being one of the most memorable smokes I've had in a while! Also, I can't imagine a better cigar to pair with a cognac." -Stefan (Stefan)
