Cigar Review: CAO LX2

Salomon, 7" x 54 ring gauge, MSRP $62.50 for a box of 5
Much has been made of CAO's LX2--a cigar packed with three types of ligero tobacco and sitting at the top of the company's lineup in regards to body and strength. Since its unveiling over a year ago, it has become the cigar that company president, Tim Ozgener, uses for lesson in blending, the first CAO stick to be offered as a lancero, and now the first to arrive as a salomon-sized perfecto. These are available only in boxes of 5 (at the moment) with a manufacturer's retail price of $62.50, or $12.50 per stick. The packaging is almost as beautiful as the cigars inside--a leather-looking box with faux wood grain on 3 sides; the two pieces are fastened together at the upper left corner and swivel apart. This box wouldn't look out of place on your bookshelf, although I suspect it would make for a lousy humidor. It could make a nice short-term cigar-carrier, though. And, of course, the box doesn't mean much of anything if the cigars inside are not worth smoking.

As always, the LX2 is beautiful to look at. This sample had an almost-flawless wrapper with just a little oily sheen to it, and no prominent veins. It does seem a bit firm to the touch--hopefully that does not cause problems in smoking. The aroma from the wrapper has some notes of barnyard, along with a little cocoa and a little coffee. The perfecto shape prevents any real aroma from the foot, and also makes prelight draw more than a little tight, but that should change after the stick is lit. Flavors of dark chocolate and chili pepper were the most prominent in prelight, along with a little leather.

The initial puffs were strong on the leather and quickly gave way to a black pepper heat. A very little bit of smoke quickly gave way to a much larger volume as well. It seemed, at this point, that construction would not be a problem. This one started of somewhat harshly--lots of leather and spice in a full-bodied smoke that was not smooth in the least. It was not unpleasant, bu was not the best experience I could remember having with an LX2, either. As the first third wound down the harshness abated, although the leatheriness did not.

In the second third a strong, black coffee flavor came out. The draw did tighten, though, forcing me to try to re-clipping the end. This was successful in opening the draw, but it was also successful in causing the wrapper to start to unravel--which would be something I had to pay attention to the rest of the way.

The last third had more leather and in increase in spice, although there was still a fair bit of black coffee. Overall, this is a very good smoke, although it was not able to supplant the lancero as my favorite LX2 vitola. This is mostly due to the harsh start, that did mellow out rather quickly as it settled into the familiar are wonderful LX2 flavor profile. This turned out to be a good stick for a chilly day, although it would probably be too much cigar (in smoking time) for a very cold winter's day.

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

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