CAO began in 1968 as a pipe company founded by Cano Aret Ozgener in Nashville, Tennessee. The company’s initial business was selling and meerschaum and briar pipes as well as humidors. Cano Ozgener had an engineering background, and it was the key to his work for modifying pipe stems to improve their performance. The company CAO entered the Cigar industry around 1995 taking advantage of the US Cigar boom. Partnering with Carlos Toraño (a Nicaraguan grower) and with Nestor Plasencia (a Honduran Cigar producer) to develop its first lines which were released in 1997 to retailers.
The company CAO was later acquired by an international company by the name of Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) in 2006. Initially, there were concerns about quality after acquisition, but STG’s subsidiary, General Cigars, work to restore the brand. CAO is now a premium brand under General Cigars, and its cigars are produced in factories in Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. This is a review of their latest cigar, The Fasa Sombra
The band is dark blue with embossed gold lettering with the word CAO and the word FASA. There is also a cut out of an upside-down crescent moon, and an upside-down triangle at the end of the band that protrudes downward, which resembles the CAO “A”. There also is a gold tab on the back of the band the says CAO in the same dark blue as the band color.
There is a secondary band at the foot as well. It features the same blue color and embossed gold lettering, with “SOMBRA” in gold. There is a cut out of an upside-down triangle at the top of the foot band and it looks like the two bands would complete each other. On the back of the band is a gold tap that has a triangle the resembles the CAO “A” as well.
The cigar is a very light shade of brown almost tan. The wrapper is smooth looking with almost no wrinkles. The wrapper has very little veins, though there are some bumps throughout the cigar, giving it an unsymmetrical look. It is a standard parejo with a finished foot. Unfortunately, it is not that eye catching, even though there is gold lettering it does not pop and says “I’m right here!”
The blend of the Fasa Sombra is an Ecuadorian Shade Wrapper, a Cameroon Binder and a Nicaraguan, Dominican Filler. Three puffs after the first light the ash seems to be good, and the burn line is even. Halfway in the first third and the ash is great no flakes, no fractures and it hasn’t fallen off the cigar. The burn line is still great, no touch up needed. Going in the second third the ash fell. On the second third the ash is flakey and is falling off. The burn line needs a bit of touching up but not much.
On the cold draw, you may get notes of pretzel and a little cardboard. On the retrohale of the cold draw is the same thing as the culture draw. On the first light, you may get a note of toast, a little bit of hay, and a bit of woodiness. On the retrohale of the first light, there are strong notes of hay, as well as that Dominican twine could possibly be there and a bit of creaminess.
The first third of the Fasa Sombra, there are notes of toast and hickory. There is a possibility of a slight sweetness as well. On the retrohale of the first third there’s a possibility of the Dominican twine coming back and hickory. You may also get a bit of creaminess and a slight bit of spiciness.
On the second third, you may taste stronger notes of spice like white pepper. You may also get a note of leather and a subtle note of hay. The retrohale of the second third may have notes of spiciness and a subtle creaminess.
On the final third, you may get a note of sweetness, as well as a subtle note of spice. You may also get some hints of leather on the final third. On the retrohale of the final third, you may find the spiciness is very subtle and the creaminess has come back.
The Fasa Sombra is priced well, with a single going for around$7.99, and a box of 24 can go for around $191.76. This cigar is priced absolutely fair for the flavor profile and quality of the construction. It’s the perfect cigar for a newer cigar smoker, but more experienced smokers will enjoy it as an everyday smoke.
GC Rating: 90
Thanks to the Wooden Indian Tobacco Shop for sponsoring this review of the CAO Fasa Sombra Gigante. If you'd like to try the Fasa Sombra, or anything else from the CAO catalog, visit www.woodenindiantobacco.com, and use the code for 10% off your order plus free shipping!
