danthebugman
BoM Nov '10
This afternoon I took a break from my chores to sit out on the deck with a cigar. Didn't have a lot of time so I was looking for something smaller and the dark wrapper of the CAO VR looked enticing so I bit. Grabbed a cutter, a lighter, and headed for the deck.
Got a 5er of these a while back off the "Devil Site" and forget what I paid for them. At any rate they sure are good looking sticks. This particular size is the Mural which is a 4.5 x 44. The wrapper is a Brazilian Arapiraca, the binder is also Brazilian, and the filler is a mix of Mexican and Nicaraguan tobaccos. The wrapper is mostly dark, chocolaty brown with some lighter brown mottling in places. It's oily and exudes earthy, barnyard aromas. There are some veins present, but nothing that should cause burn issues. The seams are tight and while the cap looks as if it's been applied a little lopsided, it's secure and neat. No apparent soft spots and while solid, has a slight give to it. The foot band is a nice touch, but in my opinion doesn't really fit with the cigar.
The cap cuts easily yielding not much more than a slightly earthy, sweet tobacco flavor. Draw is spot on.
Took to the flame easily and produced copious amounts of thick smoke right off the bat.
Initial flavors are of an earthy cocoa, with a slight hint of wood and a definite coffee on the retro-hale. As it progressed through the first third I also picked up a slight bit of leather on occasion. Did I mention this thing is putting out a LOT of smoke? :crosseyed Burn started out a little crooked, but corrected without intervention.
Into the second third I began to catch fleeting tastes of a fruitiness. Berries of some sort. It never lingered long enough for me to quite put my finger on it. Never experienced that flavor in a cigar before, but mixed with the earthy, cocoa, and coffee flavors it was a nice touch. Burn has been great and smoke output unreal.
In the last third the cigar unexpectedly went out. One puff it was booming smoke, the next nothing. It was weird. I tapped off the ash and put the torch to it. Fired right back up and no more problems. Finished with a slight increase in body, though I'd rate it at a solid medium, and flavors overall remained the same. Got a little artsy fartsy with the photo editor on this last pic...
Overall a nice way to spend 45 minutes. Definitely glad I picked some up and when I run out I'll probably look for more. Box worthy? For me no. While I liked it, it didn't leave me having wet dreams about it. Maybe I'll change my mind by the time I've finished off the one's I have :dunno:. Price point for these isn't bad at around $80-90 for a box of 20 (expect to pay a little more for the larger vitolas).
Dan
Got a 5er of these a while back off the "Devil Site" and forget what I paid for them. At any rate they sure are good looking sticks. This particular size is the Mural which is a 4.5 x 44. The wrapper is a Brazilian Arapiraca, the binder is also Brazilian, and the filler is a mix of Mexican and Nicaraguan tobaccos. The wrapper is mostly dark, chocolaty brown with some lighter brown mottling in places. It's oily and exudes earthy, barnyard aromas. There are some veins present, but nothing that should cause burn issues. The seams are tight and while the cap looks as if it's been applied a little lopsided, it's secure and neat. No apparent soft spots and while solid, has a slight give to it. The foot band is a nice touch, but in my opinion doesn't really fit with the cigar.
The cap cuts easily yielding not much more than a slightly earthy, sweet tobacco flavor. Draw is spot on.
Took to the flame easily and produced copious amounts of thick smoke right off the bat.
Initial flavors are of an earthy cocoa, with a slight hint of wood and a definite coffee on the retro-hale. As it progressed through the first third I also picked up a slight bit of leather on occasion. Did I mention this thing is putting out a LOT of smoke? :crosseyed Burn started out a little crooked, but corrected without intervention.
Into the second third I began to catch fleeting tastes of a fruitiness. Berries of some sort. It never lingered long enough for me to quite put my finger on it. Never experienced that flavor in a cigar before, but mixed with the earthy, cocoa, and coffee flavors it was a nice touch. Burn has been great and smoke output unreal.
In the last third the cigar unexpectedly went out. One puff it was booming smoke, the next nothing. It was weird. I tapped off the ash and put the torch to it. Fired right back up and no more problems. Finished with a slight increase in body, though I'd rate it at a solid medium, and flavors overall remained the same. Got a little artsy fartsy with the photo editor on this last pic...
Overall a nice way to spend 45 minutes. Definitely glad I picked some up and when I run out I'll probably look for more. Box worthy? For me no. While I liked it, it didn't leave me having wet dreams about it. Maybe I'll change my mind by the time I've finished off the one's I have :dunno:. Price point for these isn't bad at around $80-90 for a box of 20 (expect to pay a little more for the larger vitolas).
Dan
