CAO announced today that Zócalo is coming back, now as a regular production cigar. The name comes from a celebratory city square in Mexico. Zócalo was first released in 2018 as a limited edition blend and in just one vitola. The new regular production version of Zócalo comes in three sizes. It was the first CAO cigar to use a Mexican wrapper. We reviewed the original back in 2018 and gave it an 89.
General Cigar has announced a new series in the CAO brand: Arcana Series. The first release in this new line is called Mortal Coil. The purpose of the Arcana Series is to "highlight the secrets and traditions of old-world tobacco processing methods, passed down from generation to generation to bring out the best in native tobaccos from across the globe."
The original CAO Vision was released in 2007 and was discontinued some years later. That cigar was best know for its packing with a bright white box and illuminated interior. Both of those things are returning for 2020, but with a brand new blend.
"While this cigar is far from pretty, it didn’t give me nearly the experience its outward appearance perhaps alluded to. Straight forward flavors and mostly solid construction with a very nice aroma." -Matt Ca. (Cade)
So, I'll start by saying I don't recall ever having any of the other Amazon blends from CAO. I have, though, seen people rave about these blends for several years now. What I can say is this cigar had a great beginning, that first third was great. Unfortunately the cigar seemed to fall down on itself. The flavors dwindled until the bitterness formed at the end. The body and the strength of the cigar seemed to dwindle the same. The cigar loved to burn, even it was wavy at all times. The draw was excellent with my v-cut. If you're a fan of this line of CAO Amazon limited releases you definitely have to add it to your list; you've already got so much invested into it. For me, though, that first third was the highlight of the cigar. After that the cigar just started fading. Fortunately that first third burned almost as long as the last two combined, for a total of a two hour smoke.
"This was an enjoyable cigar from the prelight on. It started of medium-full, built a little strength as it went, and finished in the upper end of the medium-full range. Flavor transition from the 2nd to the final third sealed the deal on the enjoyment factor and this is definitely a cigar I would visit again." -Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
"A cigar with some of the classic notes and transitions that mesh well together. Always been a fan of red pepper and coffee notes in cigars, and to end with a mellowed out cinnamon bread, was very rewarding. I wouldn't run out and buy boxes of these, but I could definitely smoke this again." -Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
General Cigar has announces a new line of cigars for it's CAO brand: CAO Bones. But it's more than just cigars, it's a celebration of dominoes, and dice.
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·"This was a good cigar but it was pretty one dimensional. For the full bodied fan, this is a decent pick, but for the Smoker who likes them mild this might be a turn off. I’d smoke another one but won’t run out to pick up a box. " -Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
The CAO Amazon series began in 2014 with the release of the Amazon Basin, a blend containing a rare filler tobacco called Bragança from the Amazon rainforest. Next came the Fuma em Corda and Anaconda both using other exotic Amazonian tobaccos. Now, CAO is shipping its latest in the series CAO Orellana.