Origin : Honduras
Format : Toro
Size : 152 x 20 mm
Ring : 50
Wrapper : Brazil
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : ~$5 each

I definitely have a problem with CAO cigars. First, my disappointment with the CAO Italia. Now, I think I completely missunderstood the CAO Brazilia which is getting good reviews all around the cigar blogosphere (you might also want to check out the guest review by Cory of the CAO Brazilia Gol! here at Cigar Inspector). Somehow, I found it quite tasteless and disappointing.

Appearance : Rating:
I had the Lambada vitola for this review which is a standard 6 x 50 Toro. The dark Brazilian wrapper looks really good and smells of chocolate (among other scents). Of course, the band makes me think about Rio de Janeiro beaches, the carnaval and the 1994 World Cup in the USA which was the first one I watched (I’m still quite young, you know).

Construction : Rating:
Unlike the Italia, the construction on this stick was impeccable. The Lambada was regularly packed, was very easy to cut & light and it smoked beautifully.

Flavor : Rating:
The flavor, on the other hand, completely disappointed me. It was bland and grassy with occasional coffee notes. I felt no real evolution and the smoke left my mouth very dry. I put it off in the beginning of the last third.

Value : Rating:
I will wait a little bit before buying any more CAO cigars except, perhaps, the LX2/MX2 series.

Overall Rating : Rating:
I heard rumors that the blend for Brazilias has been changed. If this is true (can anyone confirm?), then I can understand that I didn’t like this cigar as much as others (who reviewed the cigar much earlier than me).