5/17/2014
Cigar: CAO LX2
Size: Robusto, 5.0"x52
MSRP: $7.10
Strength: Full
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown
Origin: Nicaragua
Prelight: The LX2 has an extremely smooth, veinless wrapper and quite impressive bands. There is a floral, barnyard scent coming off the wrapper and the foot is woody with a dash of chocolate. I use a v-cut and the draw seems just a tad tight, but doable. The cold draw tastes deliciously sweet with chocolate and baking spices.
1/3: The first few puffs are very spicy with a backing note of cocoa. The spice fades quickly and the pepper soon becomes merely a supporting character to sweet cream and wood. The ash is firm and the burn is straight.
2/3: The cigar continues its theme of cream and wood, but the pepper has (welcomingly) come back again. I am shocked how smooth this double ligero is. The burn becomes slightly jagged, but doesn’t require a touch up.
3/3: The cream and pepper fade back and the final third is predominately wood. The cream is still evident, but muted, and hay becomes noticeable as well. The burn straightened itself out ending the cigar on a high note.
Overall: Although not complex, this was an extremely enjoyable cigar. I really liked how the sweet cream balanced the spicy notes of pepper and wood. However, I found it to be a solid medium in strength as opposed to the advertised full. Perhaps it had been resting a bit before I got it. I can see the LX2 getting ratings in the high 80s all day long.