Cigar Review: CAO Criollo

Bomba, 6" x 50 ring gauge, $8.95
I will admit that when I planned on doing "CAO Month" on this blog, I had absolutely no plans to review the Criollo. I have smoked them before and I do not dislike them, but I cannot remember ever having set out to actually buy one; the times I've had them have either been as part of a package deal (at a CAO event last year) or at the Big Smoke. It really has just not made that big of an impression on me until now. So, I was looking through the humidor at my "local" tobacconist last week trying to decide which CAO sticks to pick up to round out the number I would need for my month-long review-fest and one of the few that they had that I had not already reviewed was this one. "What the heck?" I said to myself, "maybe I'll give this one another chance." So here we are.

The Criollo is a Nicaraguan puro and is one of the "oldies but goodies" in the CAO product line. The appearance is rustic--a mottled medium-brown wrapper that is rought and veiny in places, finished off with a pigtail on the cap. The aromas were very pleasant and enticing--a little cocoa from the body and sweet alfalfa and barnyard from the foot. The prelight draw was easy and the flavor was sweet cocoa with just a little hint of spice.

After lighting, the initial flavors were herbal and bready with just the vaguest hint of spice, which I found a little odd for a Nica puro. After about five minutes, though, the spice started to kick in a little and made me very curious to see where this cigar was headed. The retrohale revealed more of the herbal essence (did I just name-check a shampoo?) than the spice. I have to say, early on, this was one of the easiest cigars I have ever retrohaled and it could be a good one to learn or practice the art on. The spice ramped up as I worked my way through the first third; by the time the second third began, the predominant flavor was black pepper.

During the second third, I found the cigar changing appreciably with a creamy coffee note coming through, although it maintained a strong pepper note on the finish. So far, the draw had been excellent and the burn line had gone from slightly uneven back to perfectly even without any correction from me.

Unfortunately, that did not last...shortly into the final third, the draw tightened up considerably. It was not completely plugged, but the extra puffing required to draw a decent amount of smoke made the stick burn hot. The flavors of creamy coffee continued while the pepper diminished toward the end.

Despite the draw problem that developed, I found myself enjoying the Criollo much more than I had expected to. This is a very, very good medium-bodied smoke that has more flavor-change going on than most cigars on the market. While I still cannot see buying a whole box of them, I will probably make it a point to buy one or two from time to time for a change. I could recommend this to almost anyone from the absolutely newbie to someone who has smoked for decades.

Body: 5/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 9/10

AFP Scale:
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8/10