CAO Bones is a full-time addition to the brand’s top-rated lineup and is handcrafted in Nicaragua at STG Estelí. The brand began shipping on August 4 th.
The vitolas are named after several dice games called:
- Chicken Foot (Robusto): 5” x 54 – SRP per cigar $7.49
- Blind Hughie (Toro): 6” x 54 – SRP per cigar $7.99
- Matador (Churchill): 7.25” x 54 – SRP per cigar $8.49
- Maltese Cross (Gigante): 6” x 60 – SRP per cigar $8.99
I received several samples of the Chicken Foot vitola from General Cigar for this review.
Specifics
The blend is comprised of a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper that is aged 4 years. The binder is a Connecticut shade leaf and the filler is a mix of Honduran tobacco from Jamastran and La Entrada as well as Nicaraguan Esteli and Dominican Piloto Cubano.
The Experience
Appearance
The wrapper is Maduro in color with thin but visible veins and visible seams. The wrapper had the faint smell of tobacco. The double cap was fairly smooth. The finished foot had an earthy, sweet aroma.
Pre-light
The Bones cigar is very firm to the touch. The pre-light draw was fairly easy, with a bit less resistance than I preferred. The cold draw had a dry tobacco flavor with a savory wrapper that also had a bit of bitterness.
1st Third
The cigar starts off with a medium to strong retrohale, a bit stronger than I would expect. The main flavors I picked up on were a strong, heavy tobacco with a slight vegetal finish that was long.
2nd Third
The retrohale was still medium strong but leaning more towards the stronger side. The cigar became slightly astringent at this point, dying out my palate. There was a slight bitterness on the long finish.
Final Third
The retrohale was at full strength by this time and had a sharp finish to it. The flavors on my palate were back to a strong tobacco and the cigar had a long satisfying finish.
Combustion
The cigar has a nice, even burn throughout the entire session and produced a very firm, tight ash that was white in color. It also produced a very good amount of thick, satisfying smoke.
[su_box title=”Summary” style=”soft” box_color=”#e1dddd”]Overall, I had a very enjoyable experience with this cigar. I would categorize it as a medium to full strength and medium to full bodied cigar.
At the end, I rate the CAO Bones a 90. [/su_box]
Have you smoked the CAO Bones yet? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below!