Cigar Czars

 

Review of CAO Orellana Cigar

By: Gary Manelski

CAO Orellana is a limited edition cigar that shipped to retailers on October 1, 2019. It is the fourth cigar released in CAO's Amazon series, and is available only in a Toro size (6 x 52) priced at $10.99 per stick. These cigars are made with a Brazilian Cubra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a blend of Amazonian Braganca, Colombian, and Dominican filler tobaccos. In addition to the cigar using nontraditional tobaccos, a piece of tobacco leaf rolled up to resemble a cord is tied around the cigar, giving it a somewhat unconventional appearance. To find out more about these cigars, check out the press release.

The sample CAO Orellana Toro cigar began with a modest taste of pepper along with a subtle natural tobacco sweetness. After few minutes, a woodsy flavor joined in the mix. As the cigar was smoked, the pepper gradually faded but the sweetness became more noticeable along with the wood flavor. The woodsy taste eventually became predominate along with some hints of spice. The sweetness lingered throughout the duration of the smoke, with notes of leather emerging near the end. I enjoyed the first 30 minutes of the cigar the most, but the remainder was still pretty decent. The cigar stayed within the medium-to-full bodied range, and would be appropriate for mainstream as well as experienced connoisseurs.

It took me one hour and 45 minutes to smoke the CAO Orellana Toro down to two inches remaining. During that time, the cigar had a very good draw, a slow and mostly even burn, and held a medium-to-long ash. I did have to relight the cigar about one-third of the way down, and also apply a couple of minor touch-ups beyond that point.

I found the CAO Orellana to be a very interesting smoke. The flavor during the first 30 minutes was worthy of a 4.25-point rating, but then gradually declined after that point. Overall, the cigar still deserves a very good rating of 4 points on a 5-point scale, and it is worth trying just to experience the taste of some nontraditional tobacco. The flavor is somewhat unusual, but not to the point where you would have to smoke a number of these cigars before developing an acquired taste.


Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer.


See All New Cigars for 2019 From General Cigar

 

CAO Orellana Cigar
CAO Orellana Cigar

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