Cigar Review: CAO Brazilia Lambada

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I realize how lucky I am to be sponsored by cigar retailers who send me cigars to review. I was reminded when this cigar showed up in my mailbox sent by Heather and Ralph at Fumee World. Now, you’ll notice that there aren’t very many CAOs reviewed here (yet), and that’s because I haven’t really bought into all of the hype. One cigar of theirs, though, that’s been a winner for me is the Brazilia. Now, this is my first tasting of the Lambada, but I can tell you that I love the Gol and the Piranha. I’m hoping this sexy stick lives up to its name.

Appearance: I’m always surprised at how oily the Brazilias are. This one is no different. While not as oily as others I’ve had, the sheen on the wrapper is tantalizing. Smooth veins can be seen, but they’re not prominent. The wrapper has a little tooth, but it’s dark chocolate coloring is quite appealing. The double cap is almost imperceptible.

Taste: This cigar started strong with spice and wood. This is pretty usual for the Brazilias and quite pleasant in its mix. After about an inch, there was a hint of fresh bread that shadowed these other two flavors, but that’s about the gist of it for this cigar. Not complex at all, but still good. About halfway through, though, the strength increased from medium body to a full in-your-face body.

Aroma: Holding this to my nose, I get a pungent mix of tobacco and strong dark chocolate. Very strong aromas that promise full flavor once it’s lit.

Construction: Gently squeezing this sample along its length, it felt a little spongy, though consistently so. It’s a lot looser than I’m used to when it comes to quality sticks. After cutting, I drew and got firm resistance. Firmer than I like. Upon lighting, though, I knew there were going to be problems. I had a hard time keeping this thing lit and it only wanted to burn on one side of the cigar, requiring numerous touch-ups and re-lights. Halfway through, though, it finally eased up and got back to where it was supposed to be. I’m sorry to say that this seems to be a common problem with CAO.

Overall: I have to say that the construction problems influenced the rating on this, otherwise I’d give it another full star. These cigars are always full flavor, if not always full-bodied (though this one turn out to be). The Gol still remains my favorite in this line, but these aren’t far behind in my book. Now, if I could just get a CAO that burns well…

Cigar Rating:

- Ricky

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1. 

   tobacmon says:

   April 23, 2009 at 12:21 pm

   I enjoy the Brazilia and the Italia line’s–both are some of my go to smokes..