CAO SAYS JUDGMENT DAY IS COMING

Promotion Gives Fans a Chance to Choose New Blend

Richmond, VA—When their fans talk, the team at CAO listens. From now (April 3, 2012) through June 30, 2012, cigar smokers will have a chance to select an upcoming CAO blend, as part of the brand’s “Last Stick Standing” promotion.

CAO’s senior brand manager Ed McKenna explains, “Rick Rodriguez has been developing blends with our team in Nicaragua and has come up with three which we think are all great. So we’re calling on CAO fans to help us pick the blend that will ultimately be launched as a new CAO collection, to be released late this year, or in early 2013.”

A special three-pack tin called the Last Stick Standing is now available for free with the purchase of any six CAO cigars at participating cigar shops across the U.S. Each tin contains three distinct blends, aptly named C, A and O. The cigars all measure 5 1/2” x 54, which is what Rick Rodriguez considers to be the ideal size for allowing consumers to truly evaluate each blend.

A dedicated website (www.lss.caocigars.com) will serve as a virtual voting booth, allowing cigar smokers to rate each cigar on certain criteria, such as flavor, body, construction and overall experience.

For every rating submitted, consumers will be entered to win a box of the winning CAO blend before it’s available for purchase, or the grand prize, an all-expense paid trip for the winner and a guest to the CAO factory in Nicaragua. Sharing entries on the Last Stick Standing Facebook page will provide consumers with multiple entries to win.

Last Stick Standing, AKA “Judgment Day” events will be held at select tobacco shops across the country, with special event-exclusive offers featuring CAO OSA Sol “Lot T” (4 ½” x 50) and “Lot 46” (5 ¼” x 46 ) which will be released later this year as the first new additions to CAO OSA Sol since its debut last September. In addition, a handpicked group of preferred CAO retailers will host guided Last Stick Standing tastings by Rick Rodriguez who will share his insight on the three blends.

About CAO Cigars

CAO cigars are produced by General Cigar Co. Inc., a division of Scandinavian Tobacco Group, which manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Committed to delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar’s skilled artisans produce Macanudo®, Cohiba®,  La Gloria Cubana®, Punch®, CAO, Partagas®, Hoyo de Monterrey®, Excalibur® and several other leading premium brands in the company’s Dominican, Honduran and Nicaraguan factories. In addition, the company cultivates proprietary tobacco which is used exclusively in its blends. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. Based in Richmond, VA, General Cigar sells through tobacconists nationwide and also exports select products to 62 countries. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.

®  Macanudo, Cohiba, La Gloria Cubana, Punch, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur and Club Macanudo are registered trademarks of General Cigar Co. Inc.