Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina
Binder: Brazilian Arapiraca
Filler: Brazilian, Honduran, Mexican, Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 54 Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $9.49
I have had these cigars marinating naked in my humidor for nearly 5 months.
I blew my theory that my stroke improved my palate over the last three reviews. Turns out that I was extremely lucky to choose blends that were friggin excellent from the get-go. I’ve since smoked plenty of cigars, and that magical palate I thought I possessed, as part of my deal with the devil, was me convincing myself I had attained special status. Nope. Same ol’ me.
BACKGROUND:
Regular Production
Released July 2022
The P.R. for this cigar makes me yawn, but if you’d like to read what CAO has to say about it, click here.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
CAO blends are notorious for needing centuries of humidor time. Every CAO cigar I’ve smoked green was a waste of good money. And this blend ain’t no different. The cigar was released in July and there are reviews dating from August to December without mention of relaxation time for the stick.
I am a zealot of a fan for Brazilian tobacco. It hits the soft spot in my heart and the hole in my palate…or maybe it the other way around. I love the sweetness, depth, and wide spectrum of flavors. When used as a wrapper, you just gotta plotz when you see that beautifully dark oily leaf that shines like a work of art. Gorgeous.
Starting the morning by listening to “The Rolling Stones Redux” on Amazon Music…plays 100 tunes from different artists from the 60’s and early 70’s.
The floral aromas and dark chocolate emanating from the stick linger in a cloud above my head like a mist of perfume.
This stick is packed like an impacted bowel on “My 600lb Life” contestant. I grab my trusty PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool and stab at it like a frantic Anthony Perkins. Normally, a plug is small and occurs at the placement geographically near the cigar band. Today, the entire shaft is one tight sausage. The specially designed stainless steel barbs on the PerfecDraw pull out half my weight in unnecessary tobacco so I now have a clean airway…without that tool, the cigar might have ended up in the trash. BTW- I was using the PerfecDraw a couple years before I began placing the heads of dead horses in Dr. Rod’s luxurious bed in order to convince him to became a sponsor. My mother’s family were all mob figures. Dinner visits looked like supper with the Sopranos. I saw the count dwindle down from being a child til my teens in the late 60’s. Never knew what happened to them.
The first puffs are fruity sweet from the Brazilian leaves. The finish is the first thing to impress. Notes of figs, chocolate, café au lait, malt, chewy caramel, Ritz crackers with a slice of smoked Gouda, cedar, and salted pretzels.
The woodsy smokiness is a nice treat.
Strength hits medium/full like a crash dummy on smack.
The cigar is packed to the gullets and will be a very long smoke. As long as it provides hits to my pleasure neurons, that’s OK with me.
I posted a short here from YouTube last night of me being a nut job. We were at my daughter’s birthday dinner. For some reason, the Likes don’t show and the hour I spent trying to correct it was useless. I’m pretty sure of the 650 hits, at least 7 people hit Like. Ha. Clearly, I am viewed as a disgusting old man. Which, of course, I am.
Complexity is not this cigar’s strong suit. A nice tasting cigar but devoid of intensity. But it has only burned an inch in 15 minutes. It has time to shine. Really great sticks always start with a bang. This baby starts with shooting itself in the foot.
The ash is solid stone and going nowhere.
“You Don’t Always Get What You Want.” Who doesn’t love that song?
A glint of complex nature begins to peek out from the bushes.
The Savory v. Sweet balance is spot on.
I wish CAO would bring back the V17.
My prediction is that the BX3 is a good knockaround cigar. Nothing more.
The cigar band looks great under blacklight and strobes.
The peace increases. Flavors mentioned earlier are finding a dominant position. The spiciness is too much. It blots out the nuances.
Yet, as the cigar burns towards its death, I find I’m enjoying it more.
Sips of water puts a magnifying glass on the subtleties.
I may like this cigar after all. But patience is the key. I wasted a couple sticks smoking them too soon. It is annoying that one must wait half a year before a CAO stick tastes like anything.
Do you ever find yourself mesmerized when you open a humidor and just stare at the bundles of joy? I find it is like downing 8 Klonopins with shots of good bourbon.
The medium/full status is smooth.
I have no idea how long it will take to get my brain back in working order. I can’t seem to find my funny bone. Forgive me.
“Crossroads” by Cream. I would always dread playing this tune in my weekend bands. Every band played a long version to give the guitarist plenty of time to solo. Meanwhile, I’m holding down the fort playing the riff without break. Often, my right hand would cramp. So embarrassing when your hand goes dead in a live appearance.
Transitions finally kick in. A slow-moving train. Whizzing ain’t in the picture.
Exceptional flavor points don’t stand out like they should. I really don’t know how the blenders at CAO can fuck things up so easily. They must have dead palates.
Here is a blend with impressive leaf stats and CAO just couldn’t get them to shine as they were intended. Again, just a nice cigar. Nothing special.
The stick teeters on linear. Here’s hoping that the second half pulls out the stops.
The Doors are playing. Listen to their songs and you notice that guitarist Robby Krieger plays clams that are left in the final mix.
The char line is behaving like a champ.
Brown sugar, dark chocolate, malt, creaminess, spicy pepper, black cherries, dried figs, caramel, cedar, and pumpernickel fill out the flavor profile. Unfortunately, they don’t provide fireworks.
Regardless of how long the cigar rests in my ashtray, it remains lit.
The downside of writing contemporaneously is that I tend to ramble.
Sips of water are the key to this cigar’s impression.
Chocolate and malt hold the helm.
The spiciness has calmed itself and as a result, the nuances are given a chance to do the Macarena on my palate.
“Dixie Chicken” by Little Feat. Lowell George was a gifted song writer. Non musicians don’t realize that his songs had constant time signature changes throughout his compositions. They were never easy to learn. I needed charts to learn them.
The halfway point arrives at the one-hour mark. It is put up or shut up time.
The sweet spot finally makes its appearance.
Complexity kicks in and widens the spectrum of flavors.
Nicotine arrives as the cigar hits full tilt. The strength is nearly blinding.
Not a cigar for newbies. Unless they have a defibrillator nearby.
The BX3 delivers an excellent sense of deliciousness.
The nicotine is now so strong that my eyes are blurry and I’m having trouble typing.
I’m going to finish this cigar even if a brain aneurysm is in the offing.
If you smoke this cigar with friends, they are going to think you passed away.
I must get up and walk it off.
I eat a pumpkin muffin and it helps with the nicotine poisoning.
Five minutes later and I’m spinning like a dreidel.
With 2” left, I must put the cigar down.
Too strong for this Mannish Boy.
My Sponsor, Atlantic Cigar, has all three sizes in stock ready for your purchase.
RATING: 88
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
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