Crement, 6" x 52 ring gauge, $8.15One of CAO's longest-lived cigars is the Gold, introduced all the way back in 1996. The Maduro version took 11 years to bring on-line, but just two years after it came out, we now have been blessed with the introduction of the Gold Vintage. The regular Gold is composed of Nicaraguan filler and Ecuadorian binder and wrapper leaves. The Vintage features filler from Nicaragua and Honduras, a Nicaraguan binder and a Connecticut-seed Ecuadorian wrapper from the 2004 harvest--a year called perfect in its combination of climate, rainfall and soil in Ecuador. Because it specifically uses tobacco from that year, I am sure this cigar is destined to be a limited edition, although it has been added to the CAO website in the regular cigar lineup, so it may be a rather long-lived limited edition.
The wrapper had a beautiful caramel cream color. While not utterly flawless, it was still very nice with small veins and a smooth feel. The aroma from the body was hay and cream; from the foot I got just a touch of chocolate and some barnyard. The cold draw was good and had flavors of hay, cream and a bit of honey (like the candy bar!!!--okay, not really).
Get ready: the word "creamy" will get used a lot here. That is because "creamy" is the major descriptive word right from the start. Creamy flavor, creamy smoke--thick, rich, and slow-moving. I have heard "buttery" applied to this cigar, too, and I totally understand the use of that word now: creamy, only thicker and richer than cream. Other flavors that came out in the first third were hay, honey and roasted nuts, but seriously...even the retrohale was creamy (it is also where the nuttier notes came through the best). I had this stick with coffee in the morning and that may have contributed to the coffee notes I also got on the retrohale. I do have to remark that the retrohale on this cigar was the easiest, smoothest (creamiest?) I can ever remember, which would make this the "go to" cigar for someone trying to learn how to retrohale.
The second third had more nuts and more coffee notes. The smoke was still creamy, but there was a little note of pepper from time to time as well as hints of autumn spice (nutmeg or allspice). Rather that "creaming out" the Gold Vintage seemed to pick up a bit of body in the middle stage. Still a mild smoke, but not at the lowest end of the body spectrum.
The pepper spice continued as a strong undercurrent in the last third. The flavors were dominated by roasted nuts and coffee, though, accompanied by a still-creamy, thick smoke. Regarding construction: I have not seen many cigars burn straighter than this one or draw better. I was able to get over an inch of ash before I had to forceably tap ash and no touch-ups were required through the entire smoke. And that all adds up to this: I might just have a new favorite mild cigar. The Gold Vintage had everything you want in a mild stick: creamy smoke with a touch of honey and hay, complex and changing flavors that continued to increase the body and interest-factor throughout, and wonderful mellowness for a morning smoke. It did have a little more nicotine kick than I expected, but not too much for comfort first thing in the morning. At the price they are asking, why would you willingly pay more for "status symbol" smokes?
Body: 3/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 10/10
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