Smokin' joe purchased this cigar on 2009-01-01.
Toasting and lighting were easy and produced volumes of smoke.
The first third was dominated by the earthy coffee tones of the Brazilian maduro. At that point the body was medium with a creamy rich finish that was not at all hard on the palate. I had never smoked a CAO brand cigar before - a friend gave me one to try and I was certainly pleased he did! Very nicely constructed with an excellent draw. The light grey ash it produced was firm and sturdy.
As I got into the second third you began to lose the earth tones a bit. The flavors became more bitter, like in a dark chocolate sort of way, but still creamy on the finish. A very rich and enjoyable smoke! Except for a minor blip the burn remained consistent and even.
The dark chocolate and coffee remained intact into the final third of the cigar, though I started to get more of the Connecticut wrapper leaf than the Brazilian which dominated the first two thirds and which I liked very much. It didn't get any stronger than its earlier medium at all, but it did seem to spoil the balance of the flavor it had earlier - I'm not as fond of the Connecticut as I am the Maduro so it may just be me, but I pretty much lost interest after that. But, for all you fellow Maduro lovers out there - well worth trying. I give it high marks even if only for the first two thirds!