Two months ago I tried the CAO Brazilia Box Press 5½" x 55, and I'll be honest, I didn't like it. But after hearing about how much everyone loves the Brazilia I gave it another shot. And I'm glad I did--it has flavors of chicory, cinnamon, and nutmeg, perfect for a winter afternoon. The rectangular box press shape is based on an old method of shipping cigars, in which pressing them in boxes before drying would result in a cigar with less excess room around the sides.I shot it on a copy of Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software by Steven Johnson. An interesting look at how emergent systems form in nature, in software, and in human interactions.
A while back I sampled a CAO Sopranos Edition Boss, part of a licensing deal with the acclaimed HBO series. (I watched all the seasons, and swore furiously at the TV during the terrible final episode.) This torpedo cigar (7"x56) is made from a Brazilian wrapper, Honduran binder, and filler from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Colombia. Cigars are a lot like wine in many ways. With either, a pedestrian sample will merely taste like wine or tobacco. But a great one can be complex, and scent and taste associations can dredge up all sorts of memories. This one had a strong roasted chestnut aroma, which immediately transported me to the Galleria in Milan back in 1996. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a 120 year old shopping mall right in the middle of Milan near the Duomo. I had my first roasted chestnuts there, purchased from a street vendor who was cooking them on a metal dish over a low propane flame. Later I had a seafood stew and a Gran Marinier-flavored crepe.
The book is Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, a sometimes dense tome about economics, statistics, randomness, and dealing with the unexpected. It's a great companion to the Malcolm Gladwell books.
4 comments:
Thanks for the notes on the CAO Sopranos. I've always avoided this stick because the show branding is really goofy. Sounds like a decent stick though...
The Sopranos is expensive, and some say it's overpriced, but I think that it's an excellent cigar. My preference is to have a great cigar once every week or two rather than a half dozen cheap cigars per day.
Same thing with cheese. I'd rather have an ounce of Roquefort than a pound of Velveeta, even if the Roquefort is pricy.
But is the Sopranos expensive for what it is?
Like you, I don't mind a pricey smoke, but I still want value for the price.
Don't be knockin' Velveeta! That's a fine processed cheese food!
Well, I think a Sopranos is good for a special occasion, or if you want to treat yourself--certainly not an everyday cigar. But it's delicious, and anyone that's a fan of CAO certainly ought to try it.
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