Video review HERE.
(Description provided by General Cigar)
CAO is launching a new series called “Arcana” which will highlight the secrets and traditions of old-world tobacco processing methods, passed down from generation to generation to bring out the best in native tobaccos from across the globe.
The first release in the CAO Arcana series is called “Mortal Coil,” a single cigar that resurrects “Andullo,” the oldest tobacco fermentation method of the Dominican Republic.
Andullo tobacco is made following the time-honored methods of cultivation and curing sungrown Habano-seed tobaccos. Instead of traditional bulk fermentation, Andullo tobacco is wrapped tightly in handcrafted palm tree pods known as “yaguas” that are compressed with rope coiled around the pod. This old-world process of fermentation takes approximately two years and transforms the tobacco into rough, leathery-looking leaves with a characteristically thick texture and earthy sweetness.
Rick Rodriguez, CAO’s blender/ambassador said, “With the Arcana series, as we did with Amazon Basin and its Bragança leaf, we are once again shining a light on original tobacco fermentation methods to bring excitement to the fans of CAO. When it came to developing our first Arcana blend with Mortal Coil, we had the choice to go big or go home and as we always do, we decided to go big. The Andullo leaf in the blend shows the length the team and I are willing to go to deliver a unique taste experience, and it gives us a chance to show once again that CAO is a brand that stays true to its passion for tobacco.”
Wrapped in Connecticut Broadleaf, with a Connecticut Shade binder and a filler made with Dominican Andullo surrounded by Honduran Jamastran, Nicaraguan Esteli and Dominican Piloto Cubano, CAO Mortal Coil has a deep aroma that brings forth pre-light notes of sweetness and spice. The full-flavored, medium-bodied cigar opens to reveal nuttiness and a creamy, earthy sweetness.
Called Mortal Coil Toro, the 6 1/8” x 50 cigar will sell for an SRP of $10.99 per cigar. The singular frontmark will be packaged in 20 count boxes and only 5,000 boxes will be made, reserved solely for the U.S. market.
CAO Mortal Coil is handcrafted at STG Esteli.
The cigar's band is in a coil and comes off in a coil. The cigar has an average feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were fig, brown sugar, nutmeg, and an earthy black coffee. The cigar started with white pepper rated at 7. Pretty good start.
At the first third (34 minutes) the cigar has become rich. There are buttery notes in the sweet fig and brown sugar. The nutmeg is quite manageable and in the mix. The black coffee helps cut some of the richness and provides depth. It makes a nice base. The cigar is medium bodied at this point. There was not a lot of a finish. It had minor amounts of fig and black coffee with modest lingering pepper. I cannot determine if it's white or black because it's so minor. The cigar has ramped up and gotten very nice, rich, and sweet. I rated the first third 95.
As I moved through the second third (1 hour 5 minutes) there was a massive transition. I no longer had the incredibly sweet and rich fig and brown sugar notes. They are very faint. I now have a semi-sweet chocolate and a lot of earthy black coffee with some nutmeg intertwined in the mix. The cigar is now medium to full bodied. The pepper has intensified and I would call it black at 7 1/2 to 8. The finish has faint notes of fig, nutmeg, and improved lingering black pepper. The cigar has made a huge change. I rated the second third 90.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 33 minutes. The massive transformation continued. I now had unsweetened chocolate, black coffee, and a minor, almost non-existent sweetness. The cigar is very close to full bodied and the black pepper has really ramped up. It's 8+ now. The finish is primarily nutmeg with just minor hints, or residue of fig. It's almost like the bottom dropped out! I rated the final third 83. The cigar is nothing at all like it started. I have never had a cigar that had such a dramatic change. If only it held the flavors it had in the first third. If only.
No comments:
Post a Comment