Summary:

The flavor of this cigar is unique in my experience, and something that you are almost certain to either love or hate. There is an oaky quality that comes through the entire time, mellowing as you smoke the cigar. It most reminds me of smoking English pipe tobacco — both in the astringency and in the problems with keeping it lit — and seems to pair well with a good Scotch Whisky. The main flaw in the Italia Ciao appears to be very uneven construction. When it is good, it is quite good. However, when it is bad…

Background Information:

At 5 inches with a 56 ring guage, this is a very chubby Robusto. The Italia Ciao is a medium-to-full bodied cigar with a Cuban-seed Honduran Maduro wrapper and binder. The filler is a special Habano seed tobacco from Italy (hence the name), blended with Nicaraguan and Peruvian tobaccos. Manufactured by C.A.O. Fabrica de Tabacos in Honduras for C.A.O. International, Inc.

From the Manufacturer:

“Italy has been widely heralded as the producer of some of the world’s finest wines and olive oils, however, it has been largely overlooked as a source of premium cigar tobacco - Until Now! Grown exclusively for CAO, the Italian Habano seed used for CAO Italia was originally brought to Italy from Cuba some 40+ years ago.

“This seed is grown in the Benevento region of the southern portion of Italy, located between Rome and Naples. This Italian Habano tobacco lends an incredibly unique earthy-sweetness to the robust, full-bodied flavor profile of CAO Italia.”

Cigar Envy Cigar Review:

Appearance:  9 of 10 points

The first thing you notice with this cigar is the band. It is colorful, well-designed, and CAO won a design award for it. The somewhat veiny maduro wrapper is attractive, a bit lighter than the one on the Brazilia, and a bit redder as well. The cap is good. The appearance is slightly rough.

Aroma:  12 of 15 points

The pre-light aroma is cedary, lightly spicy, earthy, and sweet. In fact, it was almost too sweet, and led me to expect something quite different than the actual lit aroma and flavor.

The cigar produces a great deal of white smoke. The smoke aroma has some subtle floral notes. As I mentioned, it reminds me of English pipe tobacco in some ways. I’ll stress English tobacco here — both my daughter and my wife found the aroma of this cigar less than pleasing to them.

Burn:   7 of 10 points

The burn was usually uneven, with some tunneling, and the cigars went out several times while smoking. On a positive note, relighting them did not seem to negatively affect the flavor — in fact, these cigars were more unaffected by being relit than any cigar I have ever smoked. The ash is white-gray and firm.

Consistency:   11 of 15 points

This is not a consistent cigar. Some of the cigars had noticeable soft spots, accounting for many (but not all) of the burn problems. Hand-selected, the cigars are quite good. Taken at random from the box, I ran into problems. This reminded me of similar consistency problems back in the early days of CAO, but surprised me since I haven’t had similar problems with their cigars in recent times.

Construction:   6 of 10 points

Again, consistency is a problem. The construction of most of the cigars is excellent, while on a few it is poor. It almost seemed as if the box was made up of mixed lots produced at different factories or by rollers of very different skill levels.

Draw:   8 of 10 points

Excellent draw on the good cigars. Loose draw on some.

Flavor:   23 of 30 points

In terms of flavor, this is a cigar that I believe will benefit from aging.

I have laid the remainder of the ones I still have away to rest, and will sample them periodically to see just how much aging improves them. I believe that a lot of the rough edges will smooth out, and if so, I will let you know. I will also let you know if my hunch turns out to be wrong.

As I mentioned above, the difference between the pre-light aroma and the first puffs of the cigar is rather jarring. There is no trace of sweetness, nor of cedar. There is a mild spiciness and prominent pepper notes along with a very bitter astringency. This gives way to woody tones of oak and pine mixed with leather and an underlying earthiness for the first third of the cigar.

(The flavor is actually rather tasty — just not something you are prepared for the first time you smoke an Italia. If you like a good, full-flavored Scotch Whisky, you will probably appreciate this cigar.)

About one-third of the way in, the flavor begins to change. It picks up some of the floral and herbal notes that have been present in the aroma from the beginning, as well as some sweetness and a bit of licorice. The complexity is subtle, but it is there. The flavor seems to hold at this level throughout the middle third of the cigar. At the same time, it begins to wet the palate a bit.

In the final third of the cigar, the earthiness increases and a slightly sweet coffee flavor joins in. The woody notes remain but continue to mellow, taking on some charriness. The finish varies in length, and the taste of the cigar will stay with you for quite a while. All in all, a fairly flavorful and pleasant smoke, but a slow starter. Again, I think that the initial harshness and uneven quality will age out.

Number Sampled For Review:   Eight.

Other Reviewers:

Cigar Aficianado gave it an 87 in the magazine, and an 85 a few months earlier in the Cigar Insider newsletter. In the magazine, they commented “there’s a pleasant sheen on this maduro, which has black cherry notes, hints of wood and a chewy flavor.” In the newsletter they said that “this oily, coarse robusto has metallic and wood notes, and a harsh and sharp flavor.”

Smoke Magazine panelists gave it an 8.8, calling it “a perfect after-dinner smoke that finishes as good as it starts.”

Price:

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the CAO Italia Ciao is US $110.00 per box of 20 ($5.50 each).

The lowest online price right now is at ELighters.com where you can get them for $88.00 per box — a 20% discount. ELighters also offers free priority shipping with orders over $50.00 so that is the total price of the box. The next best price is at Best Cigar Prices where they are on offer at $90.00 per box. Everyone else I’ve checked bumps the price up to close to $100.00 a box.

For a five pack sampler ($29.95 retail), the best price is at Fame Tobacconist where you’ll pay $21.75 ($4.35 each). The next best price is $23.96, again at Elighters.com. Also check CigarBid, Cigar Auctioneer, or the JR Cigars Auction as these do come up from time to time there.

Prices do not include shipping and are current at the time of this review.