Quick Smoke: CAO Concert Amp

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

George E beat me to the punch with his review of the new CAO Concert, which I also tried for the first time at the IPCPR Trade Show. He thought highly of the cigar and I agree, though I like the Amp (5.5 x 46) even better than the Roadie (5.5 x 54) he reviewed. Excellent construction, the norm on cigars made by General Cigar, is combined with the spice and bread flavors that I often identify with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The Concert blend isn’t all that different from the many cigars that rely on Ecuadorian Habano (rosado in this case) wrapper and Nicaraguan filler (though Concert also uses Honduran filler). It’s just a particularly well-done rendition of the genre with medium body, good balance, and a reasonable price ($5.75 for a single).

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys