CAO Black VR Moby
Length 6"
Ring Size 50
Price: around $7.00
Quote:
CAO Black VR features a dark Brazilian Arapiraca maduro wrapper that is harmoniously balanced with Mexican and Nicaraguan long fillers. This cigar boasts notes of leather, pepper and a subtle sweetness on the palate. All sizes in the line are round with the exception of the Full Fathom Five which comes box pressed.
The cigar is very dark and shiny, but looking at it I get the distinct impression that the wrapper is dyed. The color of the wrapper is not consistent, and the top half of the cigar has almost a barber pole appearance. The wrapper itself is rather veiny, but the shine makes it look almost smooth.
The cigar does not feel particularly well rolled. It has 4 hard spots spaced evenly throughout the cigar with the hardest being closest to the cap.
The cold aroma is a light mild scent of leather along the cigar. The foot is similar. Cutting the cap yields a stronger leather aroma along with a sweet grassy scent. The initial cold draw yields a strong hay taste with a bit of leather and leaves a sweetness on the lips. It provides a surprisingly easy draw given the hard spots, maybe even a bit too easy.
I toast the foot and the cigar literally lights itself. I put it down for a minute and when the ash forms all around I take my first draw which yields lots of pepper and a bit of leather. The ash is white and very flaky. I suspect I'd never win an ash stand contest with this cigar. After the first 1/2 inch or so the pepper totally disappears but within a few draws it is back with a strong taste of dried grass, then leather. At times there is a hint of chocolate or some sweetness, but most of the time the taste just alternates between leather and hay mixed with the ever present pepper. The burn became uneven after about an inch, and the ash has a large crevice in it. Also about this time the wrapper starts to crinkle around the head and eventually splits about 1/2 inch down the cigar.
After about an inch and a half the burn straightens out by itself and becomes razor straight. I'm outside and there is a light breeze. I'm surprised that the light flaky ash is still holding on.
At about 2 1/2 inches The leather taste has all but disappeared, the pepper has gotten less pronounced and the taste of dry grass is getting stronger. Then suddenly the leather and pepper come back with a vengeance. The flavors are confused and unbalanced, and do not compliment each other, then in the next draw they blend together rather well. Surprisingly, the ash is still holding on and the smoke seeps from the entire length. This is a confusing cigar in that it doesn't know what it wants to be. The ash finally falls off just short of the halfway mark and turns to powder when it hits the ground. There is no cone present and the cigar continues to burn straight with no problem.
The second half of this cigar turns out to be just as confused as the first half. Each subsequent draw produces a different mix of pepper, leather and grass, along with a hint of cherry or dark chocolate every now and then. It becomes rather difficult to enjoy because of the confusion of flavors that never really blend into anything complimentary. No matter what the flavors, the aftertaste is consistently that of straw or grass.
Throughout the entire cigar the smoke remained plentiful with a creamy consistency. The feel of the wrapper was dry and brittle from start to finish and I kept expecting it to crack, but The construction was good with the exception of the small split near the head of the cigar, which never grew after its initial appearance. With about an inch and a half left I started getting the distinct taste of an ammonia/turpentine mix. I had no desire to purge it, so I just put it down.
Remember that taste is objective. These are my impressions. I am not a fan of CAO, and the cigar was just too inconsistent for me, but if you like their profile it's probably worth a try.
