CAO L'Anniversaire Maduro 10th Anniversary Perfecto

Country: Nicaragua
Length/Ring: 6" x 50
Shape: Perfecto
Wrapper: Maduro

Appearance: This was one elegant looking perfecto. Covered in a beautiful deep french roast coffee colored wrapper, there was nary a vein or imperfection to be seen. This cigar seemed to be oozing flavorful essential oils as I held it. A sight, that's for sure.

Pre-Light: Clip was easy, and the prelight draw was free and had notes of sweet cocoa and roasted coffee.

Burn/Draw: The burn was never an issue. From the very beginning, lighting the perfecto nib until the final nub this cigar burned straight and true. The draw was free and easy. . .maybe a smidge to easy, as it seemed to offer no resistance at all. The cigar didn't seem to burn hot, so it wasn't a very big deal, but I would have liked a little resistance. The smoke, while quite copious, was cool and flavorful. The ash on the cigar was light grey and held quite well. Overall a well constructed cigar, though I may have liked it a bit more firmly packed.


Flavors: This cigar tasted like a slightly improved version of a CAO maduro. Is it wrong for me to find this to be a bit of a disappointment? The cigar had nice maduro flavor, some underlying tanginess, with top notes of semi sweet cocoa and french roasted coffee wafting in and out throughout the experience, a great example of what a medium strength/ medium bodied cigar could taste like. So then, why do I feel slightly let down?

I think it has a bit to do with the marketing. This is supposed to be an Anniversary Cigar, which to me means its supposed to be something special (see, for example, Padron Anniversary). and while it is an improvement over what I find to be a pretty nice stogie (the regular CAO Maduro), is it really that much better? Maybe, but I don't know if it is enough to be a special edition and command a premium price. So overall while this was a pleasant smoke, I doubt I will be buying any more. You can take that however you like.

TomC