Video review HERE.
exotic filler tobacco called Braqanca from the wilds of the rainforest. The series continued on its
path of discovery with Fuma em Corda and Anaconda, each featuring rare Amazonian tobaccos.
Today, CAO celebrates its ongoing quest or discovery with a limited-edition blend called CAO
Orellana, marking the fourth release in the brand's famed Amazon series.
Orellana is named in tribute to Francisco de Orellana, the first European explorer to navigate
the entire Amazon river.
Long before the Amazon series debuted in 2014, a rich Brazilian wrapper aged patiently, waiting
to be brought out from the shadows. This is the wrapper that adorns CAO Orellana and it's
called Cubra.
The sungrown Cubra was raised in a microclimate of Eastern Brazil's fertile Bahia region. There,
a collective of local farmers worked with CAO's agronomists to yield lustrous leaves that are
inherently sweet, strong and versatile for blending. Only the highest primings of Cubra were
selected for curing in climate-controlled curing barns in Calfriza, where the wrapper's deep red
hue and natural sweetness further developed.
Rick Rodriguez said, "When I found the bales of Cubra, I knew that I wanted to blend it with
some of the tobaccos from the previous Amazon releases. Hands down, Cubra wrapper was one
of the best tobaccos I've ever used in blending. It has that Havano flavor with a little bit
sweetness and it pairs really well with other tobaccos. I think Orellana is going to be a big hit
with the fans of CAO."
To create Orellana, Rick and the team blended the Cubra wrapper with Amazonian Braqanca,
Colombian and Dominican filler and a Nicaraguan binder. The result is an intriguing, full-bodied
smoke, peppered with spice, hints of molasses and dried fruit with notes of leather and toasted
nuts.
CAO Orellana is a limited-edition release handcrafted by the CAO artisans in Esteli, Nicaragua. It
comes in one size, a 6" x 52 toro that will sell for a suggested retail price of $10.99 per cigar.
CAO Orellana will be presented in rustic wooden boxes containing 20 cigars.
The cigar is rustic looking and has a nice feel in the hand. the ropes give the cigar a very rustic look.
The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors at light up were a cedar with some citrus aspects, cinnamon, molasses, chocolate, nutmeg, and black coffee. There was nice black pepper rated at an 8. The cigar is sweet and dark initially.
At the first third (26 minutes) the lead flavor is more of a cedar. It is accompanied by brown sugar, cinnamon, caramel, nutmeg, light, subtle chocolate notes, leathery notes, and black coffee. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is one of nutmeg and caramel with nice lingering black pepper. This cigar is not coming across as sweet as some of the others in the Amazon Basin series. But, I am enjoying it and rated the first third at 93.
Through the second third (54 minutes) the sweetness has toned down. There are now cedar, brown sugar, cinnamon, caramel, leathery nutmeg, dark chocolate with no sweetness, and black coffee. The black pepper is still pretty good. The finish is unchanged. The cigar is a high grade medium to full bodied. I changed the second third score to 92 with the dip in sweetness.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 20 minutes. In the final third I still had cedar, brown sugar, cinnamon, caramel, light nutmeg with no leather, light unsweetened dark chocolate, and plenty of black coffee. There was still a nice amount of black pepper. The finish has a touch of cinnamon to go with the nutmeg and caramel. The lingering black pepper is still pretty good. The cigar is full bodied. One point I noticed; the ropes that are seen in the area where a band would normally be placed are quite bitter when you encounter them. You actually burn right through them; you do not remove them. But you will notice when you get to them because there is a slight bitterness. It's not enough to hurt the cigar. For the final third I maintained the score of 92. This is another good addition to the Amazon Basin series. After having all 4 I prefer the Anaconda over the others but they are all 92+ cigars.
Overall Score: 92.33
No comments:
Post a Comment