Stew
Todays cigar is the CAO Vision Prana (torpedo) (serial # 307695) which comes in at 6.25×52. The cigar wrapper is Dominican corojo, and the binder consists of a Dominican Piloto Cubano which is cuban seed. The filler is a blend of Dominican, Nicaraguan and Brazilian tobacco.
In my inspection of this cigar, I liked the cigar label which is all white with silver lettering with CAO across it and silver stripping (nice touch CAO!) The wrapper itself is very veiny and I found wrapping inconsistencies towards the top of the cigar which is depicted in my photo below. I also found two white spots towards the end cigar (also depicted in the photos below as well) but other then that, I found no soft spots to the touch and I was ready to rip into it.
The snip and toasting phase was excellent with no complaints! Once the cigar was light I had nice amounts of clear blue / gray smoke. The draw was smooth and presented no problems and away I was into the hyped CAO vision.
The flavors consisted of floral and earth on my palate. I also detected hints of charcoal and spiciness which is odd because most of the reviews that I have read on this cigar do not mention charcoal (hey maybe its me but I detected it!) Towards the end of the first third of the Vision I also detected hints of creamy buttery flavors. Not bad so far folks and I have to say it is living up to its hype.
So far we are past the first third and the only complaint so far is the burn issues. The ash was holding itself quit well until I wanted to show you it in a photo at which point fell off (dame!). Oh well here is the burn issue though, so take a look and judge for yourself.
Ok so we are half way there is so far the flavors which I mention above remain the same. This cigar is keeping me interested and I am glad because you are going to open up your wallet for this baby! One thing I should stress though is the spicy earthy flavors increase with the smoke so if you’re not interested in these flavors skip this one.
Due to the recent developments, I am starting to think that the CAO Vision is overrated. Besides that though, Hell its a great day for a review because the weather is in the upper eighties, I am off from work, and I am listening to the sounds of music from the forties. Yes sir this is the life! Ok, sorry for the tangent now back the review (LOL)!
The burn issues continue and I have not touched it up in hopes to see if the cigar will correct itself. So far that has not happen, so I will keep you updated. Other than that again the flavors continue but the buttery flavor has picked up a little which is a good thing for me because I like the rich buttery flavors in cigars. Back to the burn issues, I wanted you to see that it is getting worse so lets take look.
Ouch that is some “burn” issue but I think its not a reason to turn away from this cigar! Personally for me, if the cigar flavors are interesting, the draw is good, and the cigar stays lit; you have a nice cigar.
I have now passed the halfway point and the burn issue is far worse. Can you say can “CANOEING!”
Yeah that is not what you expect from a cigar with such a high price tag! I would now have to say, I know that this cigar was not constructed right and maybe the people at CAO should have taken a little more time in perfecting the wrapper to prevent this disaster.
In regards to the flavors, they stay consistent and I have to say that I am getting a little board as I am heading to the home front with my CAO Vision. I am not a flavor nut by any means of the imagination and don’t really care for cigars such as the ACID, but I like cigars that keep my palate guessing which this cigar does not! Now with that said, I would make a suggestion to CAO that they should drop the price, but again thats my opinion and I know a lot of CAO fans will say “Don’t smoke it if you don’t care for it!” Understandable but this is a review and its mine so take it for what its worth.
Not to beat a dead horse but again check out the burn issue on this baby!
I should mention (as everyone knows who is a loyal follower of my blog) that I aged this baby in my 300 capacity humidor back 2007 in trying to bring more flavors out in the aging process but it looks like it wasn’t any help. I have smoked this cigar before and as I recollect it had burn issues then as well. Again another reason that this cigar is a flop!
As I finish this extended review (with extra photos) I have to say that what started off with tons of excitement quickly ended in disappointment! I came to this conclusion for the following reasons:
1. Extreme burn issues.
2. Over priced.
3. The flavors consist mostly of spices and not enough buttery creamy flavors as I thought it would be.
In closing the only thing that puts this cigar in the high price range is the cigar humidor which you get when you buy a box of these.
Other than that, people with the drive for over powering spicy cigars will love this one. I am not one of these people and as a result, sorry folks but this is a failure and I will not be securing another spot for the CAO Vision in my humidor!
Price? Approximately $16.50 a stick (torpedo)
Cigar strength? Medium
Smoke time? About two hours.
Drink of choice? Medium Honey Dew ice coffee.
Liked it? Not really.
Recommend it? Save your money.
Hint? Skip this cigar, it’s too expensive and not worthy of the hype!
Over All?
Until next time, God bless and enjoy your weekend!
Stew
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