Cigar Review: A Sweet Criollo

Cigar Name: CAO Criollo Pato (4 7/8 x 50)

Cigar Description: Criollo 98 wrapper around Nicaraguan-grown, Cuban seed filler.

Cigar Strength: Full

Review of the Cigar itself: Not sure where I got this one but it's an interesting cigar. The wrapper is, pronounced 'cree-yo-yo', a Criollo 98, Cuban-seed sweet, earthy tasting wrapper. When I first read the label I thought to myself, Oh, cool! I creole cigar. Being Acadian, this appealed to me in a heritage sense. In actuality, it means someone of pure European Spanish decent, although sometimes is translated to mean creole. The usage of it suggests, when referencing an object, that it has been made or grown locally. Perhaps a better definition is that it's simple in it's creation. And sometimes simpler is better.

That is the case with this cigar. It has a nice sweet flavour to it (not an overwhelming sweetness) with a gentle twinge of leather and nuttiness in the background. The head or cap of the cigar is twisted off into a little "piglet tail". I had gotten into the habit of laying the head flat on my desk while cutting it so this meant I'd have to hold it and cut carefully. It actually cut quite well. The construction felt a little loose and there were a few veins along the chocolate brown wrapper but it still looked appealing. I toasted the end of it as I listened to a colleague on my Skype headset. One of the advantages of my job is that I get to work from home and often get to enjoy a cigar at my leisure while working.

The aroma from the cigar was mild and pleasant but, sometimes, was overwhelmed by the amount of smoke that it generated. At one point, when I went into a long discussion with my colleague, the cigar went out and I had to relight it. It was as if nothing had happened. It re-lit with ease and continued to burn perfectly. Rarely do I find a cigar that can be re-lit on the first go and continue so easily. Construction appearance aside, it's well made. This also has to be the one cigar that I got such a single long ash on, especially after a relight. The sweetness dissipated near the end, only to be replaced with a rich peppery taste. Tied in with that peppery was a stronger leather taste while the sweeter taste was relegated to the background. For a relatively small cigar, it packed a nice taste to it.

One thing that both disappointed me was the band. While I liked the simpler paper band and it was loose enough to remove, it did tear too easily. Next time I'll just slip it off. All-in-all, a nice little discovery for myself and yet another cigar to add to my "I like list".

Enjoyed with: Coffee and water

Smoke time: approximately 75 minutes

Final Review Rating: 8.5/10

CAO Criollo Pato


The Piglet Tail


Now that's a burn