CAO Evil Snowman Review

5/22/2014

Cigar: CAO Evil Snowman
Size: Toro, 6.5"x52
MSRP: $6.60
Strength: Full
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Origin: Nicaragua

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Prelight: The broadleaf maduro is dark and oily, and doesn’t have the enormous veins the Angry Santa did. There are some minor veins, and a slight tooth to the wrapper, which covers a rather lumpy cigar. There is a slightly sour aroma coming off the wrapper which masks an undernote of floral chocolate. The foot smells like powdered cocoa. The cold draw is a bit on the tight side and reminds me of baker’s chocolate. I remove the over-sized band before lighting up (like I did with the Angry Santa) to avoid any emergency fumbling with it before I even get to the second third.

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1/3: There is just a hint of pepper at the start which quickly diminishes a long with the draw loosening up. Earth, chocolate and leather are the primary flavors and are absolutely delicious. As the first third progresses, cream, espresso and a slight woodiness are added.

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2/3: The burn is fairly good: nice, tight, white ash and although the burn line is a tad lopsided, no touch-ups are required. The second third is an amalgam of earth, leather, coffee and cream. About the halfway point I do notice some staining on my fingers from the wrapper…could it be dyed? Wood and chocolate are the strong players by the end of the second third.

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3/3: Pepper comes back in the final third, adding a spiciness to the earth, leather and wood flavors. The creamy coffee is still there, but is a supporting character.

Overall: Great cigar! I enjoyed the Angry Santa, but the Evil Snowman is much more my cup of tea. Very earthy, creamy and sweet, but not overly so. The construction was copacetic, but any (slight) shortcomings it may have had are easily outweighed by the flavors, which seem to undulate as the cigar progresses. If I stumble across any more of these, I’m snatching them up in a heartbeat.

(After note 2/14/2015: I was able to get more of these and now have a handful. They are still AMAZING!)