I picked up the rental car around 8:30, packed it up and headed to Nashville to meet two of my traveling companions (the third will join us Thursday in Philadelphia). Ray arrived in town Monday night and I met him at Smoke and Ale, just north of the Nashville Airport. We had a cigar, got him checked out of his hotel and took a spin around "greater Nashville" so he could see a few sites before heading back to the airport to pick up Keith. Then it was off to CAO Headquarters on the west side of town.
Susie--CAO's awesome brand ambassador--greeted us at the door and took us through a tour of their operation, culminating in a visit to the Escaparate room--where all their experimental and proprietary blends are held--and the showroom where we got to pick out a cigar to enjoy while watching the "Seed to Soul" video. We all picked up a pre-release version of the Favorito size of La Traviata and Susie served us some very nice French Roast coffee as we settled into the lounge area. I have already smoked the Animado vitola of La Traviata and planned on buying a box; after trying the Favorito size...I am undecided on which size box I will end up buying. Yes, it is that good. Keep your eyes out for them to be released soon.
I had picked up a Rock-n-Rolled baseball cap at a CAO event last year; Jon Huber--CAO's Director of Lifestyle Marketing--was good enough to autograph it for me and it will join my hat rack in my office, where it will live comfortably next to my CAO HQ hat signed by company president, Tim Ozgener. Susie and the folks were good enough to supply us with some smokes and some swag. The swag will come in handy for Thursday night's CAO event at the CI Superstore in Bethlehem, PA, and I'll be sure to include a picture when that day's post appears.
If you get to Nashville--and you really should, it's a great city--make it a point to call CAO and get an appointment for a tour. After leaving their office I wanted to smoke nothing but their cigars for a week or two. It's awesome to have brand ambassadors like Susie who inspire with their attitude.
It's already late as I write this tonight and it looks like another night of insufficient sleep ahead with another full day tomorrow. We're heading out by 9:00 in the morning to tour the distilleries of Maker's Mark and Wild Turkey before heading on to West Virginia to spend the night there.
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