First Smoke: CAO Havana Daydreamin’ Margaritaville Robusto
15 Sep 2015
First Smoke is a new series of Quick Smoke reviews, each evaluating a single pre-release cigar. Like the Quick Smokes we publish each Saturday and Sunday, each First Smoke is not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.
CAO has long had an association with music due to its Nashville roots, but Jimmy Buffet’s island- and rum-inspired tones probably aren’t the first to spring to mind. At least until CAO announced a pair of officially licensed Margaritaville brand CAO cigars this summer. One is a piña-coloda flavored cigar, while the other, called Havana Daydreamin’, is a traditional blend with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over Nicaraguan tobaccos.
The latter comes in three sizes. I smoked the Robusto (5 x 50), which features a notably shiny, golden brown wrapper. Once lit, it produces very mild, mellow flavors, with paper, cream, and light cedar. The construction is excellent with a firm but not difficult draw, sturdy white ash, and an even burn. With so many “Parrothead” Buffet fans, CAO has a good chance of commercial success, but the cigar itself is just too bland for me to recommend, even to a novice cigar smoker.
Verdict = Sell.
–Patrick S
photo credit: Stogie Guys
Patrick Ashby
Co-Founder & Editor in Chief
Patrick Semmens
Co-Founder & Publisher
George Edmonson
Tampa Bureau Chief
My local General Rep informed me that this is merely the CAO Gold in a new package. Who knows, although I am inclined to believe it.
The wrapper doesn’t look like the right color to a CAO Gold. I enjoy CAO Golds when I feel like a mild cigar.