Originally introduced in 1998, the CAO Maduro quickly became popular and won "Best Maduro Cigar of 1999."The 1999 yield of Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper has been claimed as the finest harvest of this leaf in the last decade. The Connecticut Broadleaf selected for the CAO Maduro was picked an additional 30 to 40 days beyond the 1999 harvest dates. The longer "hang time" in the curing barns allowed the leaves to mature even further before being processed. The end result is a wrapper leaf that is rich, dark and oily.
I bought a CAO Maduro Churchill (7 inches, 48 ring) for $8.00 at Watch City Cigar and sat down to enjoy my last cigar in a quiet house. (My girlfriend hadn't come back from California yet.)
The cigar is a dark brown color, typical for a maduro. However, these sticks come in those annoying square shapes. Just seeing this lowers my expectations a little. However, after an easy light, I am please to find the draw and fullness both excellent. I guess I'll overlook the squared edges for now.
As expected, the tastes are bold from the start with rich charred coffee notes like a dark bitter espresso. I complained a lot about bitter flavors in my last post but as I said then, bitter tastes definitely have a place in cigars. They just need to be used properly and along with some good complementing notes.
The smoke is pretty interesting because it's bold yet smooth. It's a little unusual for a bold cigar but I like it because the delicate texture actually makes it an easy smoke for something so strong.
After the stick burns for a while, it develops some distinct rich tastes and smells of tobacco leaves. It's a smooth transition and the stick continues to smoke great with that perfect draw. The cigar is also burning evenly. The ash is a dark gray and stays on a couple inches before cleanly falling off.
I'm almost to the halfway point when the smoke develops a slightly creamy texture with some dark chocolate tastes. Things get a tad milder as the coffee notes take a step back but to be clear this is still definitely a full bodied smoke.
The milder chocolate is short lived and strong rich tobacco comes back. Once again, the transitions are practically flawless and that smoothness to the smoke never fades.
The milder creaminess continues to fade in and out as I work my down the cigar. This turning out to be more complex than I had anticipated. Usually with something so bold, its hard to have flavor transitions. However, the smoothness to the smoke (which I really cant emphasis enough) helps me experience a variety of rich, bold, and roasted notes along with some more mild and chocolate tastes.
We're into the final part and the draw and fullness are just as good as when we started. also the ash has stayed on once again for another few inches. This stick has burned near perfectly throughout.
The cigar finishes on a strong bitter note (once again, bitter in a good way....yes I'm still a little upset about San Christobal ruining my breakfast a few days ago.) This is definitely a stick that needs to be smoked slowly and enjoyed quietly. The tastes are too bold to pick up on nicotine tastes but after smoking this one, I'm feeling it a little.
This was a very enjoyable smoke. Not to mention a pretty decent price. The draw was great, the transitions were smooth, and the tastes were exactly what I'm looking for when I pick up a maduro cigar. This one was also an excellent example of why you should try everything a brand has to offer. I'm not the biggest fan of the CAO Gold (I rated it an 81) but the Maduro is going to wind up pretty high on my list. Square shape and all.
Overall Rating: 96
