CAO Escaparate TAM.095

Escaparate is not a new concept for CAO. In fact, Escaparate was introduced to CAO around 20 years ago by Cano Ozgener and team as a way to produce micro batches of CAO products and distribute them across the country in small, controlled lots.

Escaparate was used as a testing lab, of sorts, for new blends and/or unusual tobaccos from around the world, crafting limited batches of cigars mostly as retailer exclusives. It allowed CAO to push boundaries, explore new flavors, uncover new profiles, but more importantly experiment without limitation.

Today we honor that tradition of Escaparate by bringing back that sense of adventure while doing the thing we love the most, creating exceptional cigars for fanatical cigar smokers.

CAO Escaparate TAM.095 has us reminiscing of the past. Our internal reflection has us going back to 1995 when CAO began its journey into hand rolled premiums.

We dusted off the Rolodex and called our old friend, Victor Calvo at Tambor and asked him if he would help us craft a maduro cigar using the original blend recipe he made for us nearly 30 years ago. He gladly said yes, and the result is a Broadleaf cigar that is as close as you can get to the first cigar that put CAO on the premium map.

What he created is a dark Toro using a hefty Connecticut Broadleaf with an amazing amount of sweetness. The counterweight is an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder with an expertly balanced filler blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican Seco and Ligero. An herbal bouquet of cinnamon wood and allspice mingle with graham cracker and rye bread as you smoke through each inch of the cigar. Chili powder and candied red hots provide a lingering spice while hints of cherry cola and brown sugar ebb and flow throughout the cigar. The spice lingers briefly but is not a predominant flavor and only stays on the palate as long as it needs to.