CAO Brazilia Gol!

Country: Nicaragua
Length/Ring: 5' x 56
Shape: Robusto
Wrapper: Brazilian Natural
Strength: Full

Appearance: A big thick firmly packed dark cigar. If it was chocolate it looked good enough to eat. Wrapper was smooth and had a pretty sheen to it. Brazilias always look nice.

Pre-Light: Clipped easily and flush. Prelight draw seemed free and easy. It also yielded several yummy flavors, hinting at the smoke ahead. Cocoa and coffee, and a nice tangy note.
Burn/Draw: One of the few knocks I have had on the Brazilias in the past was this aspect. On occasion, this line of cigars would have burn issues. A lot of it I think has to do with the large ring gauges that are the more popular cigars in this line. After a brief obsession with large ring gauges when I first started smoking cigars, I have decided that anything larger than a 54 gauge is really just uncomfortable to smoke, and I tend to the more traditional sizes, with gauges of 50 or less. Thankfully, in this specific case, there wasn't much of an issue. Smoking the cigar was comfortable, it burned fairly evenly, and the draw was free and easy. There were no issues with this stick, as it yielded volumes of fragrant smoke.
Flavors: These are some rich, tasty cigars. All the promise of the prelight flavors were realized. There was a rich cocoa base, on top of which a rotating caste of tobacco tang, coca, and coffee flavors played. Also, there was a nice note of woodiness that teased in and out on occasion. This cigar was a joy to smoke, very complex. In my opinion, the best tasting cigar in the CAO line I have tried. If I were to buy a box I would probably get the Lambada (6" X 50), or the Ipanema (4 1/2" X 46) because of the lesser thickness, I can say that if you are willing to deal with the occasional funky burn, the CAO Brazilia line is a worthwhile purchase.

TomC