Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Halfwheel.com website)
It’s called the CAO Amazon Basin Dagger, and measures just 4 inches long with a 38 ring gauge, essentially a half-lancero. The blend remains the same as the 6 x 52 toro that debuted in August 2014, with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and fillers from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil, the latter of which is a type of tobacco called Bragança that is grown in the Amazon rainforest. The tobacco is grown organically on what STG describes as “unspoiled tropical land,” then handrolled into tubes called carottes that get fermented under high pressure. They are then transported out of the rainforest by canoe.
The cigars are made at STG Estelí in Nicaragua, with production numbers undisclosed, other than that the company describes it being released in limited quantities.
“Amazon Basin fans are some of the most passionate in the cigar world,” said Cory Beardsley, brand manager for CAO, via a press release. “We’ve seen how quickly the original sells out and heard the same question every year: when are we getting more? Daggers are our answer to that. It’s the same blend, same rainforest story, now available in a new format.”
Pricing is set at $24.99 for a pack of five cigars.
The cigar is quite small and dark brown. It has a light feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were citrus, pear, brown sugar, and black coffee. There was black pepper rated at 7 1/2. Nice start.
At the first third (15 minutes) the ash was still intact and the burn was even. The notes now were citrus, citrus peel, light pear, brown sugar, and black coffee. The black pepper is moving up and is now around 8. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is light pear with a touch of black coffee and very good lingering black pepper. The cigar is quite tasty but it does not remind me of the original Amazon Basin at this point. But, it's good enough to score 95 for the first third.
As I moved through the second third (28 minutes) I had citrus peel, brown sugar, and black coffee, which is more pronounced. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is black coffee with very good lingering black pepper. I rated the second third 94.
The cigar lasted 40 minutes. In the final third the cigar started reminding me of the original Amazon Basin. It has some richness and the citrus is back along with the brown sugar. There is also some citrus peel. The black coffee is back to a nice amount. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is brown sugar with very good lingering black pepper. The notes are working well. I rated the final third 95. This is a good, short smoke and very affordable.
Overall Score: 94.67
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