The wrapper on this cigar seems is very pretty, it’s got a very fresh and organic feel to it. At the same time it’s also pretty cryptic. On the front form top to bottom, you see “CAO”, “OSA” and “SOL” while on each side there are the words “San Agustin” and “Olancho”. Also in the white section it appears to be a map type of image with some names and rivers or roads on it. To help break the encryption for everyone, the “OSA” is simply the first initials of the regions where the tobaccos for this cigar were harvested. In this case it’s from ‘O’lancho, and ‘S’an ‘A’gustin.

I’m not sure exactly what the map is supposed to mean, possibly just tying into how the name is connected to it’s area of origin. The “Sol” in the name simply translates to “Sun” from Spanish. Likely signifying the Sungrown wrapper that surrounds the cigar. It’s also interesting to see that General Cigar kept the trend of naming the cigar after the location of it’s wrapper like CAO did. Although CAO usually named it after the wrappers after their country rather than region, such as the “Italia” or “Brazilia”

The blender for this new cigar is Rick Rodriguez of General Cigar. According to General/CAO, the leaves were chosen from the above mentioned regions in Honduras because of their unique weather conditions that result in some extra natural oils. I can’t say I noticed any excess of oils but it had a nice sheen to it. I will also say that General has some big shoes to fill after the massive success of CAO’s La Traviata and La Traviata Maduro.

I have to admit I’m coming into this cigar review with mixed feelings. I’ve enjoyed many of CAO’s offerings but now that they’ve been acquired by General Cigar I have some concerns since I’ve not had a good track record with General’s offerings. Maybe I just haven’t found the line they make that appeals to me. So here I guess we will find if the acquisition worked out in favor of the CAO line or not…

A quick disclaimer, this cigar was sent as a sample from General Cigar but I can assure you my review and opinions are my own and are completely honest. Now with that out of the way, let’s get to the “Good Stuff” as Tony would say!

Cigar: CAO OSA SOL
Drink: Innia & Gunn Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer
Vitola: ”Lot 50” Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Honduran Sungrown
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran
Price: About $5.50 – $6
Burn Time: A little over an hour

Construction:
• The CAO OSA has a very velvety smooth wrapper that has a warm cinnamon color to it
• There are some visible veins along the wrapper but they are not bumpy at all
• The head of the cigar is finished with a very clean double cap
• The foot of the cigar seems a bit messy, it looks well packed but some of the leaves seem sort of folded in and not really cleanly cut
• From the cap to the foot, the entire cigar is very firm with very little give when squeezed, let’s hope that doesn’t translate to a tight draw…
• The cut was very easy and clean and left me with a slightly tight draw. It’s not overly difficult to draw so I’ll stick with it for now

Burn:
• Toasting was a little bit tedious and there were some dark spots near the center that would just not glow properly, but after a few puffs I think I’m well on my way
• The cigar has a slight wave to it within the first inch, we’ll see if the burn corrects itself or gets worse…
• The wave is slowly getting worse as the cigar progresses, I’ve made it to the half way mark without correction but it may need a touch up soon
• As predicted, I needed a hefty touch up shortly after the halfway point and it continue to go downhill after that…

Smoke & Ash:
• The first few draws were a little weak in the smoke department but it got going to a moderate amount per draw shortly after
• There is initially a lot of resting smoke after putting the cigar down but within a couple seconds it’s pretty much no resting smoke at all
• The ash on this cigar is looking to be very clean and strong with a medium gray and black color to it
• Ash held on nicely for about an inch before falling into the ashtray, still remaining tightly bound

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper of the CAO OSA has an interesting tart sweetness to it and a bit of a mild tobacco touch
• The foot keeps the slight tartness to it and adds a bit of spice and a dry foliage type of aroma
• The tartness makes another appearance in the pre-light draw, along with more of the dry foliage earthiness
• Within the first few puffs I get a very interesting spicy bite, it’s not quite pepper, maybe something like a chili flake. Mix that in with the sweetness that’s still around and this is making for a very tasty start!
• Sweet Chili Doritos come to mind as I continue smoking this… wow! Maybe even with a little dirt thrown in the bag for the earthy flavors! lol
• The chili flavors have settled down a bit and translated to a mild white pepper, the earthiness has taken it’s place mixed with some cedar. Seems the sweetness is mostly gone now
• The retrohale up to now has been pretty uneventful with almost no bite and a bland finish
• Body for the most part has been in the low end of medium for the first half
• The flavors have settled into a mostly plain cedar and earthy mix and the finish has gotten slightly dry, a HUGE change from my initial impression
• Sadly, the blandness continues as I smoke the cigar, the flavors are turning into an almost charred wood type of flavor
• After my touch up past the halfway point the flavors took another downward turn and really turned more into the charred zone. I’m hoping it picks up…
• After another touch-up I couldn’t smoke this one anymore. I was trying to take one for the team here and hoping for the best but it’s just not happening, setting it down early…

Final Thoughts:
I REALLY had some hope for this cigar after seeing it’s construction, aroma and interesting initial flavors. That wicked sweet chili start really got my attention but it sadly tapered off quickly after that. The sweetness and chili got replaced by some plain cedar and earthy flavors that did not compare at all, it was if I started smoking a whole different cigar. I have to say I can’t remember the last time I had such a huge difference of opinion from start to finish on the same cigar. If the initial flavors on this cigar continued, I would have given this a glowing review for it’s uniqueness and delicious profile, but sadly that didn’t happen. The price point on these is accessible but it doesn’t come close to comparing to CAO’s old flagship La Traviata which was at the same price or even cheaper.

Pairings:
Innis & Gunn, what can I say? It’s still one of my favorite breweries. I enjoy everything I’ve had from them and I continue to seek them out every time I go to the store. Today’s choice was their Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer which is a fantastic brew. It’s got some very tasty fruity sweetness and malty flavors mixed in with their trademark wonderful oaky notes. You can even catch some spicy flavors in there if you really pay attention. It’s got a fairly dark and full body on it so it can stand up to many fuller cigars including the CAO OSA. It made for a good pairing and added some interesting flavors to what ended up being a straightforward cigar. Other good pairings with this cigar would probably be some flavorful or full bodied beers or wines to keep your palate interested. Possiby a nice stout, Port or a strong cup of coffee to overpower the cigar… lol

The post CAO OSA Sol appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Out of the bunch of Torano cigars that were sent to me I’m already enjoyed a couple of them including the Noventa 90 and the Exodus 1959 50 Years. For today’s review I picked out the Carlos Torano Casa Torano. The wrapper on this one caught my eye due to it’s oily sheen, see more on this in the Construction section below. The Torano Family of cigars has been involved in the tobacco business since the early 1900’s. They have a rich and deep history and would highly recommend reading about it on the Torano website. The have a rich variety of lines catering to a large audience.

The Casa Torano line is avaialble in both Maduro and Natural wrappers and span 4 sizes, Robusto, Toro, Torpedo and Lancero. Today’s pick is the Robusto size. Originally, the Casa Torano blend was only offered as unbanded and freshly rolled cigars at various events. As the success of this blend grew it became it’s own line. Let’s see how this cigar stacks up on one of the warmest days so far this year in the Great White North!

Cigar: Carlos Torano Casa Torano Maduro
Drink: Diet Coke
Vitola: Robusto (4.75 x 52)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan
Price: Between $4 and $5
Burn Time: Just over an hour

Construction:
• The wrapper of this cigar has a variety of color ranging from a medium brown to a very dark brown, almost black color
• The wrapper presented with a nice oily sheen to it that made it initially attractive
• The patchiness of the colors makes it seem like the wrapper may be dyed
• There are no major veins along the wrapper but it is extremely bumpy and some spots look as if branches are poking out the side
• The cigar is very firm throughout the body and hardly any spring when squeezed
• The foot appears to be very well packed
• The triple cap is cleanly applied but also looks to be one of the parts of the cigar that is almost black in color
• My double bladed guillotine cutter sliced through easily but it made a mess of filler all over the place
• Draw is a little more open then I’d like

Burn:
• The foot lit up easily and glowed evenly after a short toasting
• Burn has been razor sharp through the first inch
• The burn has been just perfect through the first half of the cigar, very nice
• Great burn straight to the end

Smoke & Ash:
• A fair bit of smoke from each draw but it could be a bit more full
• There is a moderate amount of resting smoke from the cigar as it sits in the ashtray
• The ash appears strong with no flaking and a light grey coloration to it
• Ash held on for over an inch and a half, no flaking or mess at all
• Subsequent ashes were not as long but they were still clean and fell nicely into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• There isn’t much aroma on this wrapper at all, maybe just a bit of faint tobacco
• The foot on the other hand is full of woodsy, spice and tart fruity aromas
• The pre-light draw is mostly woodsy with some hints of peppery spice on the lips
• Initial draws taste mostly of burnt wood, and not in a very good way…
• The burnt flavors slowly dissipated and I’m left with mostly woodsy and some light spice as I get into the second third
• As I hit the half-way mark I’m still getting no new flavors or further development, disappointed so far
• The body has been medium through the cigar and it’s creeping a bit into full near the end
• The retrohale had a small kick to it but the finish was mostly the burnt wood flavor so I didn’t retrohale much at all with this cigar
• As I approach the nub here the burnt wood flavors are returning and some bitterness is creeping in, forcing me to put this cigar down a bit early

Final Thoughts:
Well I think the notes speak for themselves and I can honestly say I was disappointed with this cigar. It didn’t offer me any very interesting flavors and no dimensionality. The only upside to this cigar was it’s great burn and ash. That is clearly not enough to make this cigar a winner in my books…

Pairings:
I actually paired this cigar just with a plain ol’ Diet Coke. Nothing fancy but I find it makes a good pairing for most cigars. I wouldn’t really recommend smoking this cigar if you can avoid it, but if you must pair it with a stiff and strong drink to mask out the boring flavors.

The post Carlos Torano – Casa Torano appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.