« Cigar Review: Puros Indios Viejo Toro | Home | Cigar Review: Don Tomas Sun Grown »
Cigar Review: CAO Brazilia Gol!
By Alex | May 8, 2008 |
Brand: CAO Cigars
Line: Brazilia
Vitola: Gol! 5 x 56
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Brazil
Filler: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Flavor: Full
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $89.95 (Box of 20)
The CAO Brazilia has long been one of my favorite smokes–I always have a couple on hand in my humidor. It’s perfect for a quiet, contemplative smoke, which is what I was in the mood for tonight. So I grabbed one of these and headed outside with my MP3 player to enjoy a smoke on the porch. My wife was kind enough to bring me two fingers of scotch to go with it (Talisker Single Malt, Aged 18 Years), and I found that the combination of a beautiful spring evening, some Johnny Cash, and a great cigar and scotch pairing made for a fantastic evening.
As always, my cigar lit up well and evenly, and I was instantly hit with the delightful earthy tones of this cigar. It hit the right spicy notes with the aroma of hickory burning on a grill. I took a sip of scotch to go along with the cigar and immediately noticed that the few puffs after a sip combined with the flavor of the scotch for a delightful woody taste that I savored for awhile.
As the evening wore on, the burn stayed good, and didn’t require any touchup. The second third of the cigar made for that delightful change I’m used to–the move from the nice coffee flavors to more earthy tastes–almost reminiscent of truffles. The woody undertones remained, and as I sipped some scotch with it the flavor of the cigar became a little sweeter, and for a minute or so I could have sworn that the cigar took on a taste that I can only describe as a hint of toasted marshmallow, which complemented the earthy flavors.
By the time I got to the last third, the flavor changed yet again. The coffee tones were back, only this time with a hint of cream. At this point, that coffee and cream flavor mingled with the scotch to add undertones of hazelnut and the earthy truffle notes I’d detected in the first part of the cigar. As I finished the cigar, the coffee notes changed a little bit–almost reminiscent of espresso, and the scotch brought out some notes of honey and fennel. It was only reluctantly that I had to put the cigar down at this point, because I could no longer physically hold it.
As I smoked, the night went from light to dark, and a little breeze had picked up. A relaxing end to what had been a stress filled day.
If you're new here, you may want to check out the Cigar Review Index or subscribe to get updates through RSS or Email. Thanks for visiting!
Tags: Brazil, CAO Cigars, Cigar Reviews, Nicaragua
Topics: Cigar Reviews |
May 8th, 2008 at 7:36 am
[...] those of you who are interested, my latest cigar review is here. The CAO Brazilia has long been one of my favorite smokes–I always have a couple on hand in my [...]
May 8th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Nice review. Just reading it relaxed me a bit. I don’t know what it is about the Gol!, but it just seems to be several steps above to other sizes to me. This has been a top cigar of mine for the past 2 years.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Brazilia is one of my favorites.
May 8th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
This is more than a good review, it’s a damn fine piece of writing. Just reading it helped me relax, and I was really able to picture the scene.
Surprisingly, while I’ve had a number of CAO cigars, I’ve never had the Gol!. I’ll have to pick one up and enjoy it with a dram of Talisker myself (which reminds me, I think I finished my last bottle of Talisker…I need to pick up another soon).
May 8th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Jason -
Yeah, as far as I’m concerned, the Gol! is the best Brazilia size, too. It definitely has the best burn, and just the right balance of filler/wrapper flavor. I don’t know what they do to their tobacco in Brazil, but I hope they don’t stop!
Adam -
Thanks for the kind words. And FYI, the Brazilia also pairs very well with the McCallen Cigar Malt Scotch (10 year, single malt), which is an excellent Scotch in its own right.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Cigar Malt Scotch? Is that a typo or is it actually called that? Either way, I’ll have to check out the McCallen. I’m always looking for new scotches to try (and new cigars, of course).
May 8th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Adam,
Whoops, my mistake. It’s actually The Dalmore Cigar Malt. Not sure why I thought it was a McAllen. But yes, it’s called Cigar Malt. It’s blended to complement tobacco flavors. It’s a very very good scotch.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Dalmore Cigar Malt is very good, and not terribly expensive.
The CAO Brazilia is one of their best cigars. Currently though I’m really on a CAO Mx2 kick.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I haven’t tried the Mx2 yet. I have one that I’ve been aging for far too long. I was actually going to finally light it up this week, but I’ve got a bit of a chest cold, so I’ll have to wait. No point in lighting it if I won’t be able to properly enjoy it.
May 9th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
[...] Around the Blogs: Cigar Jack checks out the CAO Brazilia Gol. Keepers of the Flame smokes a La Flor Dominicana El Jocko. Stogie [...]
May 11th, 2008 at 6:32 am
[...] Cigar Review: CAO Brazilia Gol! Related Posts [...]
May 12th, 2008 at 10:25 am
I finally had one of these on the weekend (though, it was the Samba, so not exactly the type reviewed) and DAMN! that’s a good cigar. I think this will definitely become a regular item in my humidor. Thanks for reviewing it and, by extension, giving me the idea to try one for myself.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:33 am
[...] Adam Snider: I finally had one of these on the weekend (though, it was the Samba, so not exactly the type reviewe … [...]
June 20th, 2008 at 6:18 am
[...] Verdict: I didn’t have the severe burn issues I had other people mention, but it did require a couple touch ups. I still love the Brazilia line and definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a full flavored cigar. You may also want to check Alex’s review of the CAO Brazilia Gol! [...]