Grantz 79.74

Picked this one up to try from my local tobbacco shop. I am so sorry I did. It was like smoking crap on a stick. Not only no taste, but bad taste. Had to appologize to those I was smoking with for ruining their smoke. I think this is a private label cigar of Cox's.

I am glad I only bought one.

CAO Gold Corona Gorda 90.585

This was number 6 of the 7 cigars in CAO Commemorative box. It was a good mild cigar that smoked fairly well. I still prefer the CAO camaroon cigars however. Nothing spectacular to say on this cigar. Below is info from one of the online sellers of this cigar.

CAO Gold Cigars
Introduced in 1996, the CAO Gold has received some of the highest ratings in the industry including two 90 ratings. Recently, the CAO Gold Corona was awarded a 90 rating from the Cigar Aficionado, making it the second highest rated non- Cuban corona in the world. This cigar features a gorgeous Ecuadorian Connecticut seed wrapper along with aged Nicaraguan binder and filler. The flawless construction and smooth flavor features hints of buttery vanilla, cream, and nutmeg.
• Wrapper: Ecuador, Connecticut• Binder: Nicaragua• Filler: Nicaragua

CAO Gold Maduro 90.585

This was number 5 in the 7 cigar CAO commemorative box. It was a pretty good mild cigar and smoked very well. Having the maduro wrapper and mild leaves inside gave it a nice taste on the lips and a smooth smoke in the mouth.

I would smoke these again.

Cigarjack.net had this to say on this cigar:

I mentioned awhile back when the CAO Gold Maduro was announced that I was excited about this cigar. The CAO Gold is an enjoyable cigar, but I find it a bit mild to be one of my go-to cigars. The CAO Gold Maduro has the same Nicaraguan filler as the original line, but the wrapper is a Brazilian Maduro. I find CAO Cigars in this price range to be above average, and the CAO Gold Maduro doesn’t disappoint.
During my lunch break today, I stopped by the Cincinnati Tobacconist and was happy to see that they carried these. I picked up a couple of the robustos and lit one up right there. Before I get too far ahead of myself, I should mention that firstly, I gave the cigar a thorough examination of construction and armoa. Not much can be said bad about CAO when it comes to the construction of their cigars and this was no different. The wrapper, a beautiful dark brown with no overtly large veins, was firm to the touch. I grabbed a v-cutter and gave it a quick clip along with a couple of test draws and right away got a hint of flavor reminding me of Scotch or Bourbon.
I slowly toasted the foot with matches until I was billowing beautiful smokey clouds hinting of vanilla. The cigar didn’t have the spicy bite of the CAO Brazilia, but did have the same nutty tones with a more earthen body. The Gold Maduro isn’t devoid of spice, but defintly mellower than its sibling from South America. It also had a nice slow burn taking me nearly a full hour to smoke the robusto. This is one of the cigars you want to let the ash hang as long as possible so that it burns cool. It seemed to get a hint of bitterness after I knocked the ash off until it had a chance to progress a bit.
CAO’s high end cigars may be over hyped, but their mid-range ones definately aren’t. I paid $4.95 a stick for these and they were well worth the price. Great construction and a nice medium body that didn’t over power, yet did not lack in flavor either. I noticed only a faint buzz from this one, so I wouldn’t worry about grabbing at any time of day. In fact, I couldn’t wait to smoke this cigar again and lit lit up my second one on the way home from work. In conclusion, I highly recommend the CAO Gold Maduro, just be sure to keep it slow or it may turn bitter on you. My horoscope told me I’d find a new love today. Rating 8.5 out of 10.

cigar cyclopedia new magazine out

Here is a link to the new magazine for this month. Check out their site or download prior pdf versions.
http://www.cigarcyclopedia.com/webapp/images/stories/cigargallery/2009/PPCG082109.pdf

Update: 1/2011

Farewell to CigarCyclopedia
Friday January 7, 2011
. CigarCyclopedia.com is now on an indefinite hiatus due to lack of sponsorship. According to the message posted on cigarcyclopedia.com: "We have received inquiries about buying and continuing the site, and that may yet happen. But for now, we are at rest." We wish Rich Perelman and his entire staff the very best in the months ahead, and thank him for keeping the site online, albeit without further updates. CigarCyclopedia is/was a great resource for cigar smokers, and will be greatly missed.

ML3 Arganese 80.58

Tried this lackluster torpedo at work today. Had a hard draw, even though I cut it way back farther than normal and at an angle. The cigar had no discernable taste. If it was not for the 77 degree sunny day outside to enjoy it would have been a waste. This just was not as good as I thought it was going to be, especially given what texcigars.com has to say. But again they sell these.
This and its corojo brother are the newest blends from Arganese. The filler and binder of this cigar are both Dominican ligero leaves. The wrapper is an Ecuadorian maduro that was processed for an additional 6 months. Be warned, this is a full bodied cigar with tons of strength behind it, the toothy and veiny wrapper screams nicotine kick. The Arganese ML3 was one of the stars of the 2008 IPCPR show in Las Vegas. Dark chocolate, black coffee, nuts, wood, and cream all make themselves known with this cigar. The Arganese ML3 is making waves in the cigar communities.

CAO CRIOLLO 90.915

This was a fairly good cigar and the third of seven in the CAO commemoratvie box. It just did not have any discernable flavors and was a lot more mild smoke than I thought it would be.

Cigars.About.Com had a review that was pretty good on this cigar:
The Criollo Cigars are in my opinion, one of the best Nicaraguan puros on the market today. A ‘puro’ cigar is made of tobacco completely from one country, in this case, Nicaragua (wrapper, binder, filler). C.A.O. has them available in 6 sizes and/or shapes:
•Conquistador (Spanish - conqueror) – 6 1/8” length x 52 ring gauge
•Bomba (Spanish - bomb) – 6” x 50
•Mancha (Spanish – spot) – 5 5/8” x 46
•Pato – (Spanish – drake) – 4 7/8” x 50
•Pampa – (Spanish – great plains) – 4” x 40
•Pampas – (Spanish – grasslands) – 4” x 38
Depending on the size you can get a box of 20 from $75 to $125, a 5 pack from $25 to $35 or a tin of the Pampas (5 to a tin) for $8 to $10. Singles will vary in price as well but are almost always 10% to 30% higher per stick.
Flavor
This is a mild to medium cigar and an excellent choice for the beginner. As an experienced smoker I wanted to try these because it offered a respite from the heavier cigars I am used to. Criollo in Spanish literally means a nursling or seedling and in this case it truly fits the definition. The tobacco for these cigars came from plants grown from original Cuban seeds solely in Nicaragua. The flavor was great right from the start. Initially there are floral hints, the taste of chestnuts, coffee, and a subtle sweetness. Halfway through a slight peppery flavor crept in and built slowly to a nice finish. The Criollo’s are also full of great aromas like mushrooms and cedar. It also reminded me of the campfires we had when I was kid, that and the fact that all my Mom’s cousins were in the backyard puffing on stogies.
Draw and Construction
The wrapper is a nice deep brown color and a matching label to give it an ‘Old World’ look. The pigtail cap was perfect for a nice cut from my cigar scissors. The draw is very easy and the cigar is tightly rolled. The burn is perfectly even from start to finish and the ash stayed on all the way to the mid-point of the cigar. All of the C.A.O. Criollo’s smoked were very consistent which speaks well to their quality and construction. The smallest of them, the Pampas, just as enjoyable as it larger versions, will last 30 minutes or 40 if you choose to smoke them down to 1”. These cigars all smoked ‘cool’ right to the end.
Value
The C.A.O. Criollo cigars are an excellent value, especially the little Pampas. Buying a tin for $10 is a great way to introduce your self to this high quality Nicaraguan puro allowing you to smoke several for a fraction of the cost of the larger ones (and the tin travel well). The Pampas will allow you to decide if you want to extend your Criollo smoking experience and step up to a Pato, Bomba or Conquistador. On the other hand, if you prefer cigars with a smaller ring gauge the Pampa and Mancha will not disappoint you. This is a very complex cigar and a great offering for smokers of any level. For those of you with wives (or significant others) and would like to introduce them to the aromas before you light up, try grilling some shitake mushrooms over cedar ship and fresh twigs. If they like that they will love the C.A.O. Criollo’s.

CAO CAMEROON L'Anniversaire 95.09

What a difference a draw makes. I had really hated the last one I had of these. However this 4th cigar I tried in the CAO commerative box was not pressed like the one I had tried previously. I hugely enjoyed this smoke and had great flavor. This is now in my get a box of these smokes. Definitely will feel the cigar for how tight it feels though, because that does seem to make a difference on enjoyment.
Worldofcigarsblog.com gave it a 90 out of 100 and had this to say:

The CAO Cameroon L'anniversaire Belicoso is one of the few box pressed cigars i have smoked in a long time. Somehow, i prefer the round shape. The pressed ones just do not sit so well on my fingers. Blame the fingers.

Anyway, the cigar is very beautiful. The veinless wrapper shines in golden leather colours and the rolling and construction seem to be almost flawless. And that really shows and feels in the draw and burn.

I have always liked the Belicoso/Piramide vitolas, as they usually have great draw and they allow the tobacco to burn cool and even, simultaniously focusing the flavours towards the tapering end...

Flavourwise, the CAO Cameroon Belicoso is a great cigar. It has a certain "honesty" in its essence. On the milder side, the cigar offers some profound earthy flavours, combined with a sideline of spices. Toss in the sweet tastes of caramel and roasted sugar and there you have it. Nicely balanced, interesting cigar, with enough character and depth to receive a high score.

Origin: Nigaragua

Construction 19/20
Appearance 17/20
Smoke/Ash 7/10
Burn 19/20
Draw 20/20
Aroma 8/10 (8,8,7)

TOTAL POINTS 90/100

CAO ITALIA 90.25

This is the second cigar I tried in the CAO Commemerative box. While not as enjoyable as the CX2, it was an OK smoke. I probably will not go out of my way to pick these up however as it just did not stand out like other cigars in the same price range. Stogiereview.com had this excellent review:

I know, I know, I promised to review a Gran Habano cigar this week. Well the thing is, I’ve been down with a nasty little bit of bronchitis for the past week, so I’m pulling my notes for a cigar review I planned to do on my home blog. I fact, my friends over at Tex Cigars hooked me up with a couple for me evaluate. I don’t think they’ll mind if I review it here instead.
I should note that because I planned this review for my personal blog, I took fewer pictures than normal. Size limitations and all. (The rough life of a WordPress freeloader.) OK, let’s get to that cigar!
Cigar Stats:Size: 5 x 56 (robusto)Wrapper: HondurasBinder: HondurasFiller: Italy, Nicaragua, PeruSmoking Time: 1 1/2 hoursBeverage: WaterPrice: ~$4.50The Pre-SmokeOf all the CAO cigar bands, I think the one that wraps the Italia is my favorite. Or maybe its tied with the Brazilia. Either way, it’s a cool looking cigar.
Under the band, I noticed a bit of inconsistency in the wrappers of the three cigars I smoked. (Yeah, I threw one of my own into the mix too.) On the very first of these I found the wrapper to be very smooth. The other two were lumpier and veinier, and the last (shown above) was actually lopsided. (The cigar kept rolling over as I tried to get a picture of it.)
Before clipping the cigars for the cold taste I gave them all a squeeze and found them to be consistently firm. On the wrapper I detected a very sweet barnyard scent and a dark chocolate aroma at the foot. In the cold taste I got chocolate and coffee flavors.
The BurnOverall these cigars had a pretty good burn, generally even for the first two thirds before straying noticeably in the final third. All three cigars produced a great looking solid white ash that extended well over an inch before falling like a rock into the ashtray. And finally, consistent with my past experience with other CAO cigars, I found the draw to also be great, with a slight bias toward free-and-easy. Which works for me, as I prefer a looser draw.
The FlavorThe Italia opened up with a sweet coffee flavor that was quickly followed up by a smooth cocoa flavor with an herbal flavor that resembles thyme. The rest of the first third was a combination of chocolate, sweet cocoa and caramel.
In the second third, the cigar became creamier and the cocoa flavor was joined by earth and leather. And that earthiness took over in the final third and brought a little spice with it.
The PriceAt $4.50 a stick, this cigar fits in at the top end of the budget range. And I think it’s a reasonable price, given the quality of the burn and the tasty array of flavors.
The VerdictBefore this review, I had only had one Italia. It was a smaller Novella in a bar in Memphis. As I recall, I got a lot more of that herbal thyme flavor, so when I smoked the Italia this time around I was surprised. I didn’t expect such a smooth, sweet cocoa-y smoke. And I think I know why the flavor was so different. In addition to the smaller size of the original, I was drinking some hoppy beers. The strength of the hops easily over powered the lighter, more subtle flavors of the cigar, but enhanced that single herbal flavor. I bring this up because I think this is a cigar you need to carefully consider what drink you pair with it.
So getting to the verdict finally, I did really enjoy this cigar. While I was smoking it, I was reminded of the three musketeers candy bars I used to like as a kid. Especially in the first third. I haven’t had a candy bar in ages, but I can see myself reaching for an Italia the next time I have a sweet tooth.
Oh hey, I almost forgot. Walt also reviewed the Italia back in 2006, why not check it out and get another point of view? Enjoy.
Liked It: YesBuy It Again: YesRecommend It: Yes