This year, we decided to give you a tour of the show through the pictures we took while we were there. Some are of new items, and some are just things we thought were interesting. We will have a new slideshow for each major manufacturer and one big one for the smaller manufacturers.
CAO has announced a new, stronger follow-up to the Flathead V-19 blend, Flathead V21. This brand new blend, created by Rick Rodriguez and the CAO blending team, uses a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and Nicaraguan and Dominican ligero tobaccos.
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.
The long-popular “CAO Gold” blend of cigars has now joined the other benchmark premium cigars in Arango Cigar Co.’s Clasico series of private label brands. All Clasico brands are exclusive to Arango. They are sold only at brick and mortar shops, not through mail order or Internet sales.
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.
CAO is known for using some of the world’s most unique and unexpected tobaccos in its blends. Previous blends have included tobacco from the Amazon jungle, the wilds of Africa, Italy, Columbia and many more. Now, with their latest cigar, the aptly named CAO Borealis, uses tobacco from none other than Canada. This cigar is only for the Canadian market, hance the plain packaging.
CAO (Owned by General Cigar) has announced a limited edition follow-up to their Pilón line which has been around since 2015. CAO Pilón Añejo will use the same labor-intensive fermentation techniques along with a new blend and period of aging after it's been rolled.
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."
"Another great cigar that I enjoyed. Beautiful light chocolate wrapper with bumps and veins showing. Nice notes of sweet tea, hickory, black pepper, and butterscotch balance this cigar out. Minor splitting at the end that corrects itself. Even burn with a nice inch long ash. Great late afternoon smoke. A cigar I'd try again." -Sean F. (fullermaine)
The original CAO Amazon Basin was inspired by a rare tobacco in a remote region of the Amazonian Rainforest. The initial release happened in 2014 and was re-released in 2016 and inspired several spinoff cigars in the years since. Now in 2022, the original blend is coming back again.