CAO Earth Nectar Cigar Review

Cigar Review Posted By: avantgrade

Cigar Stats: The Earth Nectar is a 4" x 38 Petit Corona with a
African Cameroon Natural wrapper.

Cigar Strength: avantgrade describes the cigar strength as being Mild-medium.

Cigar Price: This Cigar was bought for $3.25 and was purchased Local B&M.

avantgrade purchased this cigar on 2009-11-08.
It has 8 months of additional aging.

Look and Feel: 18 / 20
Flavor and Aroma: 37 / 40
Burn Consistency: 28 / 30
Bonus Points: 4 / 10

Food: none

Beverage: none

Cutter type: Dual Blade (Colibri)

Lighter: Tripple Flame Butane Torch (Nibo)

Appearance: Smooth in appearance; the Cameroon wrapper is of a beautiful cocoa shade, and the understated CAO band fits the cigar well

Presence of veins: Few very small veins, very smooth in appearance otherwise

Humidity: 67%

Cigar draw: Slightly tight, but eases up towards the end

Cigar feel: Medium

Oily or dry: Oily

Ease/quality cut: A little cigar that snips as easily as its bigger cousins

Pre-light flavour: Raisins and earthy tobacco tones combine nicely with the sweetness of the cap.

Country of origin: Dominican Republic

Origin of wrapper: Cameroon

Origin of binder: Nicaragua

Origin of filler: Dominican Republic

Initial Light

Alright, so I have been on a small cigar kick, and enjoying a few more flavored offerings than usual. However, I do think that CAO really has a good grasp of what a flavored smoke should be.

Giving the cigar a quick clip and light, I immediately was greeted by mild flavors of tobacco, with a crisp spiciness from the Cameroon wrapper. The infused flavors are abundant, but primarily I am picking up almonds, vanilla, and raisin. Also, there is a liquor-like undertone to the whole mixture, which may be the result of (what CAO calls) Chianti infusion. Do I know for sure those flavors are a result of everything added/promised by CAO? Not really, but I know it tastes good.

First 1/3:

The cigar is burning slow and cool, and the flavors have calmed down a little bit. I can really distinguish the raisin flavors from the entire blend, and the Chianti is complementing them nicely.

I gave my wife a few puffs, and she concluded that it tasted much like rum-raisin cookies. I happen to agree with that. Now, combining those flavors with good fillers creates an even more enjoyable balance.

Second 1/3:

I am always impressed when a small cigar holds its ash well, and this one is doing so well. The burn is staying true, with only a minor touch-up needed right in the middle of the cigar.

The smoke is well balanced at this point, bringing forth more of the infused flavors with a little less intensity than before. Here, more of the tobacco core is present versus the infused flavors.

Final 1/3:

I finished up the cigar in about 25 minutes, and every one of them was highly enjoyable.

The smoke was dense, rich, and almost had a reddish hue to it. The ash was firm, staying on for at least an inch every time.

Towards the end, the draw loosened up quite a bit from what it was in the beginning, and the body picked up maybe slightly from its mild start. However, the flavor complexity did not increase much, and neither did the body/flavor balance of the cigar. Those characteristics, though, did not take away from the smoking experience one bit. Its a flavored cigar, and a good one at that.