CAO EXTREME

[Sam The Man]

Brand: CAO EXTREME
Style: TUBO NO. 2

Origin: NICARAUGA
Length: 7.00
Ring: 50
Strength: Medium-Full (More towards full, IMHO)
Wrapper Color: English Market Selection
Wrapper Type: Ecuador Sumatran
Binder: NICARAUGA
Filler: NICARAUGA

Cost: $143 per box of 20 cigars.

Wrapper: An eye appealing dark brown shade.
No large veins to mar the appearance. Slightly tapered at each end.

Construction:The cigar was obviously made by a skilled roller. I am impressed with the overall quality of CAO cigars.

Packaging: Individually tubed. I even like the tubes that the cigars come in, which prevents the sticks from getting damaged. These cigars will be great to put into a cigar pass, since they cannot be easily damaged.

Strength: This puppy was an entirely different animal from the regular L' Anniveraires. Extreme is a good name for this cigar. It just about kicked my butt...not completely, but about half way. Whew! I had to take a break about half way through the cigar...because my lounge chair felt like it was starting to move around! I had not run into a cigar that made its presence known so forthrightly, since I first smoked an Ashton VSG in 2001. Smoke this cigar on a full stomach!

This cigar has at least 2 to 4 times the strength of the regular CAO line.

Flavor: I tasted a dark chocolate flavor throughout the smoke, which I really liked. I think that this cigar would be wonderful with a strong cup of coffee.

Burn: The cigar burned a little one sided, but that was its only fault.

Conclusion: I liked this cigar. I bought a box of them. They should only improve with age, but they're great right from the store. I like a cigar that has flavor, irrespective of the cigar's strength. The CAO Extreme has flavor to go along with its punch. I, personally, didn't find the cigar to be overly complex, but the dark chocolate undertones were very nice. I smoked the cigar with a Diet Coke, and the chocolate and slight sweetness of the soda were a nice compliment. This cigar will probably become a new favorite of mine, and they're readily available.

 

[Lee]

Nice review, Sam! I had one of these the other day and strong it is!

Might have to pick up a couple more!

 

[SamGuss]

Nice review!

Sam

 

[benjiev]

Great review

Thank you!

 

[emodx]

I had one a week or 2 ago. Pressed but no tube. Looked like a short corona size. The band moved freely, so my guess is that it had some age. I really enjoyed this cigar. While it was full bodied, I didn't find it overly strong. I too had this with a diet coke(and rum) and thought it was one dimensional. But what a nice dimension it was. LOL.

Emo

 

[mejojo]

I bought a box of eXtreme Toro on Cigarbid ($85/20) and I can't wait for the next time I choose one.

(Un)fortunately, I also got boxes of L'Ann Churchill Maduro and Tubo #1 Maduro that extend the rotation.

These are some beautiful and tasty smokes!