CAO Brazilia (Chango) 6.5" x 50

Here is what a vendor has to say about the CAO Brazilia

The Brazilia is the fuller-bodied side of CAO.  Its dark and spicy wrapper make it very flavorful with a long earthy finish.

For years CAO dreamt of a cigar that uses premium Brazilian tobacco, but finding good Brazilian leaf at the end of the cigar boom was not an easy task. At the time Brazilian tobacco was not at the top of its game. However, CAO stumbled on a beautiful dark wrapper leaf from the coveted Bahia region and the rest is history. After its launch this cigar brought attention back to Brazilian tobacco and essentially was the rebirth of Brazilian cigars in the US cigar market, as other cigar makers flocked to South America in attempt to recreate CAO’s success. The rich Brazilian wrapper gives the CAO Brazilia a full-bodied and full-flavored aroma that carries a long and spicy finish. It is a truly unforgettable cigar, and a powerhouse addition to the humidor.

CAO reminds me of a kid I went to school with. He talked a lot of b.s. and he always had a look on his face-irrespective of the fact that he had little to be proud of-like he'd just whupped Jack Bauer's butt and was taking his daughter to the drive-in. Just like this kid, I occasionally decide to "hang out" with a CAO cigar and every darn time, when it's through, why I didn't remember the last time. This time I'm going to do a review-perhaps this text will remind me so I don't walk down that road again in a year.

Let me start out by saying that I really wanted to like this cigar. The green and yellow tubo was attractive and the idea of a Brazilian maduro smoke really appealed to me. But when I pulled the stogie out of the tube I felt a somewhat dry stick with a mottled wrapper that smelled only of really strong cedar. Cedar is NOT my favorite cigar flavor. Where is the rich maduro aroma? Not here.

The light did not improve things. The smoke was full but the flavor was charry. After a few puffs I detected a little bit of a nutty flavor. After a few puffs, the Chango increased in flavor, kind of a mix of cedar, char, and some kind of full and mellow espresso with a little sweetness. The aroma improved as well, kind of a mellow sweetness.

Overall this smoke is remarkable for the marketing and its white ash, its good construction, and its layered flavors which provide a rich experience overall. It reminded me very much of some kind of rich dessert and was surprisingly good overall. I rate the Chango a "3" on my 4 point rating scale and am pleasantly surprised that I found a CAO that didn't let me down!

Here are two bonus pics-Michelle enjoying the Fall morning with me while I smoke the Brazilia and read The Passage...

...and here are three of the "Reid Boys" enjoying some fishing at the Reid pond! Notice the authentic props (Reid casa, Reid "Old Red truck", rotting log where Ry was scared silly by a dead snake...