CAO Brazilia Lambada

Overall Score

1 review for CAO Brazilia Lambada

  1. Avatar photo

    C**** I********

    CAO Brazilia Lambada

    CAOOrigin : 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:5/5]
    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).

    CAO Brazilia Lambada
    Construction : [rating:5/5]
    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:2/5]
    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:3/5]
    I will wait a little bit before buying any more CAO cigars except, perhaps, the LX2/MX2 series.

    Overall Rating : [rating:4/5]
    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).

    [sz]cao brazilia[/sz]

    Helpful?
    0 0
    • c**** t*****

      The CAO Brazilia did nothing for me either, in fact, I thought it really sucked. The CAO Flathead Robusto was much better, but neither of them even come close to an Olivia Series V, so what’s the point of them ?
      Even the little Nica Rustica Robusto beats them all to hell.

    • N*******

      My first experience with the Brazilia was similar to yours. I ended up leaving a few in my humidor for a few years as a result. Smoking a “samba” right now and the two year aging has mellowed some of the grassy notes and left wonderful pepper and spice. Loving it right now with a bottle of ” the cover drive” Cabernet Sauvignon.

    • l******

      I’ve been smoking CAO for years and i have noticed that every so often a batch will be less than satisfying. This was explained to me as an occasional drastic change in the growing season (temperatures, humidity, etc) that cause the leaf to develop differently. Sometimes it can be for the better, but more often to the detriment of the finished product. That being the case, when the season is optimal, i buy up what i can. I keep 3 humidors (2×125 count and 1×250 count) for long term storage to get through and “lean” years. Right now they hold an extensive supply of MX2, Italias and Brazilias.

    • M******

      Interesting. My all time fav is the Brazilia Gol. I just tried the Samba and it was a totally different cigar! Hard draw, minimal smoke output.. and hard to light and keep even. I like the Brazilia for both its aroma off the stick and the flavors in my mouth.. after 50+ sticks I have yet to find a bad Robusto stick but my very first Samaba was.. good but not great.. Maybe the sizes are not consistent in flavors…

    • h******

      I didn’t like this cigar at all. It tasted like I was smoking a woodchip and had a poor burn through out. I will stick to the MX2s from here on out

    • J*** A*****

      I had one box..liked them,.next box I didn’t…found them to be really sensitive to over humidifying..put the Bovida 65 system in my box…new box of Lambada’s..the longer in the box…the better they taste..good cigar.

    • A********

      The Brazilia was the first cigar I smoked and, good bad or indifferent, I liked it enough to become enamoured with cigar culture. I’ll thank cigarinspector.com and Aaron for writing reviews on other cigars so to provide insight into my selection of new sticks to try. Haven’t had one in a while, but I remember enjoying the Brazilia very much.

    • M* G******

      I have a review on this one that I wrote last night, and it’s a little different. Although slightly disappointed, I managed to find several great qualities about this one.

    • M*

      I had the same smoke as this review. By far one of the most dissapointing smokes ever. Seriously. I didn’t even finish it. Threw it out at about the half point. I kept waiting for the flavor to show up, nothing, totally bland and it left my mouth super dry, cotton mouth. I had read really good things about this smoke and it sat in my humidor for a while too.

    • C**********

      Wow, I am suprised to hear such negative comments about CAO.Brazilia is wonderful,full flavor,nice wrapper from Brazil.Try the Gold Maduro,also very smooth and clean,its mild.The Maduro is also very good,all CAO cigars burn well,nice ash,tons of flavor.Italia,is just ok.

    • C*****

      Hard to believe that I used to not like this cigar after trying it a few times. In the last couple of years this cigar is really, really good which has led me to try others. I like this one and continue to smoke this and glad I came back to it for another try. Would have hated to miss out on this for the rest of my days.

    • C****

      I found the Brazilia to be flavorful. I would definitely keep a few in the humidor.

    • m********

      I must say I don’t have a completely developed palate yet, but that is the fun of being a novice I think. I get to try many brands with no idea of what to expect. The Brazilia is the first stick I’ve had that I could actually start to taste varying flavors for real. It may not be overly complex, but I love the flavors I can pick out. And the balance for me seemed superb. Nothing overpowered other tastes. This is the first smoke I have considered buying a box of for a daily smoke. Iwould recommend trying some more of these, maybe it was a bad batch. Keep smokin….

    • L**

      Just had my first CAO and it’s this stick. I must have gotten a decent one, because it has some rich cocoa taste to it, with just an undertone of spice. There aren’t a lot of flavors, but what’s there is pleasing.

    • S**** J*****

      I have yet to smoke a Brazilia that’s let me down. From the girthy Amazon to the enthusiastic Gol! to the wee Cariocas, this is a tasty line.

    • k********

      I try so hard to love CAO, their range always looks tantalising, but you’re right. Apart from mabye the Soprano, these always feel cheap, taste a bit eek, and price a bit high.

    • t*******

      The more the flavor the better they are–Like this size also— good smoke

    • J**** T

      The Brazilia is my favorite CAO. The first time I had one I was blown away. It was just so unique. For some reason I just like the Gol! the best of them all.

    • J***

      I was quite surprised to see the poor reviews on the CAO Brazilia and others. My favorite non-Cuban is the Soprano, followed closely by the much cheaper Brazilia. I love the flavor of both…and like the America series too. For a non-CAO for you to compare my tastes I also very much like the Carlos Torano Silver Edition, followed by the Virtuoso. Cheers.

    • B**

      They are pretty good in my book. It seems like bad batches do exist though as it’s not the first time that I read mediocre reviews of those sticks, for both Brazilia and Italia lines.

    • C****

      I agree with your review completely! It’s good to know I’m not the only one being underwhelmed by them these days. I reviewed the CAO Gol on my podcast recently and thought the quality of the blend was nothing like it used to be. Maybe a bad batch got out somehow, but I’ve had five Gol’s from three different sources recently and none of them lived up to my old memories of that line.

    • Avatar photo

      I********

      Rob, I haven’t tried the America line yet and to be honest I’m a bit afraid to smoke one based on my bad experiences with other CAO cigars. I guess this will have to wait 🙂

    • R**

      That’s interesting that this cigar didn’t bring you any flavor.

      I think CAO is either a hit or miss with people, love it or hate it.

      What do you think about the America line? I personally think that it’s the most flavorless, worthless stick ever created.

    • N***

      I agree with Jesse, I have yet to get a hold of a bad Brazilia.

    • b*****

      Sorry that you had such a poor experience… I have enjoyed the Brazilias for several years. I get a much richer flavor profile from them. I hope that you get a chance to try a few more from different batches to see how they compare.

      Thanks for the review!

    • C**** J***

      I wonder if you got a hold of a bad one or something, I find them to be much more flavorful than this.

      We can’t all like the same cigars though. 🙂

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Cigar Region Honduras
Filler Nicaragua
Wrapper Brazil
Binder Nicaragua
Length 6
Ring Gauge 50
Vitola Toro
Construction Hand Made
Price Paid $5