CAO Brazilia

Brand: CAO
Cigar: Brazilia Gol!
Shape: Robusto
Size: 5" x 56
Wrapper: Brazil
Filler: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Price: $5.99

Appearance: 9
Construction: 8
Taste: 7
Value: 7
Overall: 8

I had been wanting to try one of these for some time so when I was at a local B&M a few months ago cleaning out their inventory of discontinued Dunhill pipe tobacco tins I grabbed a CAO Brazilia Gol! for $5.99 which is pretty cheap considering the steep Washington state taxes.

The cigar's appearance is top-notch and this has to be one of the best-looking brands currently available. The box and band offer up the colors of the Brazilian national flag and the cigar itself is an ebony delight with its dark Brazilian wrapper.

Construction was solid and the cigar lit easily and burned well. I used a punch on the cap and there was a bit of tearing around the hole after I had been smoking for a while. For such a large ring gauge I probably should have used a cutter instead.

Flavors were about what one would expect from a dark, robust cigar. There was a nice kick of pepper and spice upon the initial light and while it did fade a bit it was still evident at the final draw. The typical maduro tastes of rich leather, dark unsweetened cocoa, and strong coffee were all out in force as well. Toward the end the coffee flavors turned a bit too astringent for my tastes -- kind of like the last inch of a coffee pot that's been sitting on the hot plate for a bit too long.

Overall the CAO Brazilia Gol! was a fine cigar. I very much enjoyed the look of the stick as well as the first two-thirds of the flavor profile. A 56 ring gauge is a bit larger than I like in my robustos so my next order from the Brazilia line will consist of the smaller Piranhas which are 4.5" x 46.