CAO Flathead V554 Camshaft
A Nicaraguan Maduro, Box-pressed Beauty with Hints of Cocoa, Coffee, and Black Pepper
Pre-light characteristics:
The foot of the cigar gives off an awesome scent of cocoa powder. The wrapper has the aroma of chocolate and cocoa. The pre light draw tastes of cocoa and a light pepper.
The First Third:
The very first puff was incredible. Immediately my palate was hit with chocolate, cocoa, coffee, and a mild black pepper on the finish. The draw is beyond effortless and gives off plumes of smoke. I can tell I'm in for a nice, tasty treat with this cigar. I paired this with a pumpkin coffee from McDonalds and I can tell you right now it's a great match. The roasted coffee flavors go very nicely with the creamy, rich, and robust flavors from the flathead. The burn and ash are perfect. I didn't have to tap off the ash until it reached about 2 inches...and the only reason I did that was because it was windy outside and I didn't feel like wearing the ash.
The Second Third:
The taste remains about the same but with a smoother, even more pronounced cocoa on the finish. Such a nice creamy finish with each puff. The aftertaste is excellent with no bitterness whatsoever. The burn and ash remain excellent.
The Last Third:
Towards the end of the cigar I got a bit more coffee and chocolate flavors. Cocoa was still present but a tiny bit in the background. The mild, black pepper was nice and smooth on the finish. The cigar continues to taste, smoke and burn absolutely perfect with no issues of sidetracking or burning too hot.
Conclusion:
The overall strength profile is full and it's an absolutely stellar cigar. Total burn time was about 1-hour. I'm more than happy to rate this cigar a 95! I couldn't be happier with the fact that I purchased a box of these without ever trying them because I know that CAO is such a solid cigar brand. I smoked this first one after just 3 days of humidor rest. I can only imagine how incredible, and even more smooth this cigar will taste after some solid aging in its spanish cedar home. If you haven't tried this yet, you need to. It's without a doubt an instant classic, and yet another fantastic cigar from CAO.
