Cigar Review: CAO Six One Five

Churchill, 6.5" x 54 ring (approx size), approx. $10.25
Uptown's Smoke Shop has been one of the nation's leading smoke shops since 1985. They are located on the south side of Nashville and feature a variety of cigars, pipes, cutters, lighters, shaving accessories and other paraphernalia to appeal to the needs of the "average male." They recently celebrated their close association with Nashville-based cigar company CAO by commissioning a special blend that would be exclusive: the Six One Five (615 being Nashville's area code). It was selected by Uptown's from the Escaparate of CAO and is a Nicaraguan puro, featuring a Criollo seed maduro wrapper.

The cigar is certainly a dark maduro--almost black, in fact. The veins are fairly large and prominent, giving it a more rustic feel, completed by the semi-pigtail at the head (it looks almost like they cut the tails just a little too short). The aroma from the body is on the faint barnyard side, while the foot is a richer compost/earth aroma. The cigar is firm along the length with no soft spots.

To get into the spirit of Tennessee for this cigar, I broke out my brank new red CAO ashtray for the first time and poured some Gentleman Jack to enjoy with this cigar.

After cutting, the prelight draw was very easy and the flavors are sweet and rich with chocolate and coffee. Upon lighting, there was considerable earth and a little spice, along with a citrus-y tang on the finish. The smoke was thick and tended toward the full-bodied side. As the first third progressed, the tang gave way to a more peppery, spicy finish that built up pretty rapidly until black pepper was the dominant flavor.

The pepper mellowed out early in the second third and the flavor that emerged to take its place was a rich tobacco with coffee overtones. The burn so far was excellent--very even for the most part with no need for any touch-ups. The draw continued to be excellent.

As the last third started, I got more of that citrus note--unusual for a cigar, but pleasant nonetheless. Again the "tang" did not last very long, though, and was replaced this time by an espresso and baking cocoa flavor. The Six One Five also started to display some nicotine kick at this point, something that I did not notice when I smoked the smaller robusto size.

In the past I have been singularly unimpressed with cigars commissioned by retail stores to sell as the "house" or "exclusive" brand--from a couple B&Ms I frequented in California to some of CI's special sticks, they have usually been either lackluster or just overpriced. I have to hand it to Uptown's and CAO, though, they have collaborated on a real winner of a cigar that is powerful, tasty and complex. It could have been a great addition to CAO's regular lineup and Uptown's should be very proud to be the exclusive seller of this one.

Body: 9/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 8/10

AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value:1/1
Total: 9.5/10