Initial Thoughts
Today we're going to take a look at a rare cigar from my collection, the CAO Orellana, a predecessor to the “Amazon Basin”, that I've had for almost four years.
According to the myth (ie CAO's marketing team), the CAO Orellana comes from deep inside the Amazon jungle. The tobacco inside is so rare that they can only make these cigars once every few years, and an Indian tribe floats the tobacco leaves out by hand on a boat they carved from an old, fallen tree.
I don't know if all that's true or just marketing BS, but the CAO Orellana was a limited-edition cigar, and I've had this one for quite a while.
The defining characteristic of this Orellana from 2019, or any of the later Amazon Basin cigars from CAO, is the wrapper leaf that has been rolled into twine and then wrapped around each cigar. While it looks cool and different, this aspect of the cigar also gives us a unique and fluctuating flavor experience.
With a quick cut, the cold draw tasted very leafy. Once lit, the first blast of flavor was a little sweet, quickly followed by hints of spice.
Is this line of cigars worth checking out? Did CAO hit a home run with the CAO Orellana in 2019? Let's smoke it and find out.
CigarScore:
Brand: CAO
Line: (Amazon Basin) Orellana
Size: 6 x 52
Cut: Guillotine Punch V-Cut
Light: Torch
Price: $11.00
Wrapper: Brazil
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed
•••• B n/a n/a
Smoke Time: __ minutes
Final Thoughts
I was able to smoke the CAO Orellana (2019) nice and slow. As a reward, I was given delicious, rich flavors. Other than the uneven burn in the first third, this cigar performed fantastically.
Because I had to retouch the cigar at the beginning, the CAO Orellana (2019) earns a CigarScore 4.
