CAO is a company that I started out smoking very early on. My first stick from them was the CAO America Potomac (please reference Tim’s video review for pronunciation), it was an attractive barber pole stick that had a lot of bold flavors. The CAO Flathead 660 is a classic and one of the only Gordo’s I always have in my humidor. The price point of the FASA lines are what peak my interest. At $7 a stick, this is a no brainer for me to try.

OVERVIEW

VITOLA: Toro
SIZE: 6″ x 50

ORIGIN: Nicaragua
FACTORY: STG Estelí

WRAPPER: Connecticut Broadleaf
BINDER: Cameroon
FILLER: Nicaragua & Dominican

STRENGTH: Medium Full

SOURCE:
Vendor

ENVIRONMENT

WHERE:
Outside

WHEN:
1 February 2025 @ 1 p.m.

DRINKS:
Water

WEATHER:
Overcast and cool

HOW MANY CIGARS SMOKED:
3

PRODUCTION

RELEASE TYPE Regular Production

ORIGINALLY RELEASE DATE April 2024

TOTAL PRODUCTION
Typical Box Size: Boxes of 24
Production Totals: Unkown

VITOLA BREAKDOWN
o Toro (6″ x 50)
o Gordo (6″ x 60)

BAND DESIGN

CAO makes some interesting bands, this band reminds me of a cheap version of the CAO Vision band. There is a very modern design that is sharp and simple. It reminds me of a car logo, a fast car logo. With the die cuts it is still an interesting design despite it’s very plain black-and-white color scheme. I can appreciate CAO sticking with a theme and not mixing design themes as some other brands do.

PRE-LIGHT OBSERVATIONS

CONSTRUCTION

This cigar has a very rustic look, there variations of really dark brown and light brown. I like how die cut of the half moon in the band really draws your attention to the darkness of the wrapper. There’s a lot of mottling, noticeable veins, and underneath the wrapper you can see some bulging veins from the binder. There are a few soft spots when squeezed in some areas so it’s not the best constructed cigar just from looks and feel but but the wrapping is very tight, the seams are tight and minimally visible. There is a neat double cap to top it all off.

AROMA

Heavy barnyard and cream notes on the body of the cigar. Right behind those you smell some fruit resembling a plum and berry combination. It’s not super deep but it is there. The foot is really the same with the inclusion of just a hint of white pepper. Overall, the aroma is very pleasant.

COLD DRAW

The draw feels a little restrictive and there isn’t too much in the way of flavor that I have noticed on the cold draw. There are just woody cedar notes with some sweet tobacco thrown in the mix. I expected a little more from the cold draw just based off the aroma but it is very plain.

SMOKING EXPERIENCE

LIGHT & DRAW
Cut: Straight
Fire: Torch

The draw is actually perfect right off of light up. The notes are initially very pleasant with chocolate and cream with earth taking a dominant role. There is a bit of black pepper on the retro that fades into a cedar. The finish starts out as a little bit spicy but smooths out into a really creamy milk chocolate. A truly wonderful start that I did not expect.

SMOKE

There’s a good amount of smoke coming off of each draw and it is just pouring off the foot. It gives off a pleasant room note that is just a slight barnyard with cedar.

FIRST THIRD
>> Dark Fruit, Chocolate, Cream

The draw remains perfect and the burn is just slightly wavy. The ash holds on for a little while and I actually had to step away from the cigar in the first third for about 10 minutes. When I came back, it was still lit and smoked perfectly. The ash has like a semi brown hue to it and is tight with no flakes. There’s not too much variation from what I described right off a light up. Upfront I noticed a lot of those fruity notes like prune and berries. It has nice smooth draws with lots of chocolate, oak, and cedar. The retro is also very smooth with a hint of white pepper mixed with cream and earth. The finish actually tingles the throat in the beginning with some spice, but it quickly dissipates and is replaced with a heavy cream note and cedar. I did not expect the cigar to be as smooth as it is especially consider considering the price point. With that being said, I do wish there was a bit more sweetness outside of the fruit notes in the beginning.

SECOND THIRD
>> Marshmallow, Pepper, Pecan

The perfect draw continues into the second third along with the waviness of the burn, but there was never any need to perform a touch up. The ash continues to be fairly tight as well. You can notice a lot of the bumps observed in the body of the cigar continue into the ash. The smoke output is still plentiful and smooth. On the palate, there is a creamy marshmallow that is full and semi sweet mixed with dark chocolate and earth. It isn’t super sweet, but it’s just enough sweetness to keep me interested. The retro is and continues to be the spiciest thing about this cigar. In this third that spice holds on for the duration and doesn’t really calm down. It’s a black pepper all the way through. I got a little bit of pecan mixed with heavy cream and cedar on the finish. There is a leather note that sticks with you right up until the next draw. It’s like a new leather not an old warm leather.

FINAL THIRD
>> Leather, Earth, Wood

Again, the draw is still perfect and the smoke output offers big plumes of smoke. The burn is still wavy but no corrections were ever needed. The sweetness on the palate has disappeared and what is left is a strong leather note mixed with the little earth and heavy cream. The spice on the retro has also subsided. It is more of a smooth warm cedar mixed with a little white pepper. On the finish, there isn’t much variation and that strong new leather note is still present. Trailing off from the leather you get a tiny bit of earth and a lot of woody notes but nothing outside of that. After an exciting second third, I feel like the last third fell flat.

RATING & FINAL THOUGHTS

FLAVOR PROGRESSION

While the flavors of the cigar were not plentiful outside of the second third, they were very consistent. I wish that there was a little more sweetness in throughout the cigar and that the final third would have built on the flavors of the second third. The flavors that did exist were very smooth, manageable, and not off putting by any means. I would not call this a one dimensional stick, but it does lack sophisticated transitions between thirds. Despite falling flat on flavor at the end it was still a pleasant smoking experience.

BURN EXPERIENCE

I was a bit worried about the construction just looking at the cigar. All of the samples were pretty rustic and bumpy through observation, but I actually had no issues with any of the samples. Besides just a little bit of waviness that always self corrected, the smoke was always plentiful. The tightness from the cold draw really opens up once lit and gives you a nice open draw that everyone hopes for when they’re smoking a cigar.

43RATING BREAKDOWN
0.65 / 0.80 … Craft & Aesthetic
0.35 / 0.50 … Pre-Light Characteristics
0.50 / 0.50 … Lighting Process
6.70 / 7.70 … Smoking Experience
0.43 / 0.50 … Personal Enjoyment

COMPLIMENTS & CRITIQUES

SOLID PERFORMANCE AND DECENT FLAVOR

I’m always interested in cigars that I can find at a cheaper price point and provide a good smoking experience. While this isn’t the best cigar that I’ve smoked this year I enjoyed smoking it and I would consider buying a box. The price of the cigar really isn’t factored into our reviews, but I it is something that I focus on and I know it is a consideration of many when choosing a cigar. At a $7 price point you can’t argue that this cigar has value and if you like bold and chocolatey flavors in your cigars, this is a cigar that would make a great addition to any rotation.

SIMPLY STOGIES RATING: 8.63 / 10.0

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