CAO Concert Event at Finck's Cigar Factory Outlet

Val here!

We had a wonderful time tonight at Finck's Cigar Factory Outlet on West Ave. They hosted Ricky Rodriguez of CAO cigars, promoting the release of the CAO Concert.






The place was PACKED!
I forgot to get some pictures outside while it was still light...
 I was too happy enjoying the brisket and goat.
Thomas seemed to enjoy the Shiner they had on tap.
 I have never had much of a taste for beer,
but lucky for me Finck's sells soda, so I was a happy girl.






CAO was generously giving customers samples of the new cigar, and once I ate, I sat down with some good friends to enjoy it. The wrapper was smooth, with fine veins, no obvious flaws. The wrapper is a Ecuadorian Habano Rosado, with Connecticut broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. The Concert is an homage to CAO's roots in Nashville, TN.

The pre-light draw was mildly sweet, and when I lit the cigar, which lit easily, it had a nice draw.  The flavor was interesting. It started out mildly spicy and earthy, with an odd flavor coming up towards the end of the first third. It turns out, I had never tried a cigar with a hay-like flavor before.  During the 2nd third, the hay-like flavor came and went, weaving under and around the strong earthy flavor.  I was not sure how I felt about it all, until I got to the last third. The last third was just fabulous. The flavors all came together just right and the Nicaraguan earth and leather flavors came to the fore.

Pros: The last third had an incredible flavor, the first two thirds were pleasant and a bit different from my every day cigar. This is smack in the middle of the medium range in strength and flavor, so it should please a wide audience.

Cons: Note - I believe most of these cons will disappear once the cigar is aged for a while in our humidors. We will try another one in a couple of weeks and give more information then. The cigar was a bit moist, as it is very new, and towards the last third mine split a bit.  It didn't split so much that I couldn't finish the cigar, but it might have been an issue if it was further up the cigar. Also because of the moistness, I had to relight it a few times, and others in the room seemed to need to do the same.

Overall: Overall I feel that the flavors in the last third show the promise in this cigar, and I look forward to trying it again. This needs some time in a humidor to age a bit, not uncommon with newly released cigars I have tried. Out of all of the non-flavored CAO cigars, I like this one the best.





We had a wonderful time, thanks again for hosting a fine event!  If you want to know what is going on at your local Finck's, check out their site at: http://www.finckscigarfactoryoutlet.com/












Thomas: Trying to catch up...

I was running late getting to the event because things had been busy at work.

By the time I arrived the parking for Finck's was full and I had to park in the lot behind theirs. Be aware if you go, don't park on the street to the side of the shop. The Castle Hills PD will ticket you.

Once inside it was like a family reunion. Old friends and new friends, free food (BBQ brisket and slow roasted goat), free beer on tap (Shiner Bock) or can (Budweiser) and plenty of deals to be had.

The Guys and Gal from CAO were uber friendly and ready to talk details about their new cigar, the CAO Concert. Ricky was very outgoing and ready with cigar knowledge and quips. THE give away was a Concert table top amp that was iPod/MP3 player ready. Way cool!







The cigar itself was interesting. Had some earthy notes with a bit of grassiness or hay notes that kept it interesting. Flavour and strength were smack dab in the middle of medium while flirting with mild for a few puffs and then Full a little later. The Concert would be great with a little age on it and with a strong coffee I think.

Thank You to the fine folks of Finck's and CAO for pulling off a great party!