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.”
Mortal Coil uses Andullo tobacco, one of the oldest tobacco fermentation methods in the Dominican Republic.
Instead of traditional pilon fermentation, Andullo tobacco is wrapped tightly in handcrafted palm tree pods known as “yaguas” that are compressed with rope coiled around the pod. This old-world process of fermentation takes about two years and the final tobacco product is rough and leathery-looking. Other examples of cigars that have included Andullo tobacco are the Ventura Project 805, La Aurora ADN Dominicano, H. Upmann Hispaniola by Jose Mendez, and the VegaFina Fortaleza 2 Andullo.
“With the Arcana series, as we did with Amazon Basin and its Bragança leaf, we are once again shining a light on original tobacco fermentation methods to bring excitement to the fans of CAO. When it came to developing our first Arcana blend with Mortal Coil, we had the choice to go big or go home and as we always do, we decided to go big. The Andullo leaf in the blend shows the length the team and I are willing to go to deliver a unique taste experience, and it gives us a chance to show once again that CAO is a brand that stays true to its passion for tobacco.”
Rick Rodriguez, CAO’s blender/ambassador
The blend uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Connecticut Shade binder, and a fillers including Honduran Jamastran, Nicaraguan Esteli, Dominican Piloto Cubano, and Dominican Andullo. The cigar is described as full-flavored and medium-bodied. It comes in one size, a 6 1/8 x 50 toro that sells for $10.99. Mortal Coil comes in boxes of 20 and only 5,000 were made. It is rolled at STG Esteli. Mortal Coil shipped February 1, 2021.
