CAO Brazilia Gol!

CAO International, Inc. was founded in 1973 by Cano A. Ozgener (hence the CAO in their name) and produces of one of the country's top lines of premium cigars and cigar accessories. Their famous Meerschaum pipes are smoked by presidents, senators and other dignitaries. And while the cast might not be considered "dignitaries", CAO's cigars were featured in the third season of HBO's "The Sopranos" (spawning a separate line of cigars by the same name, with sticks titled "Associate", "Soldier" and "Boss"). They put five years of planning into the production of their Brazilia line cigar before it was released in 2001. And we're officially declaring: it was well worth the wait. The line is characterized by larger ring gauges (the Gol! is just behind the Amazon (6x60) and the massive Anaconda (8x68!))—getting the dynamics right on a large ring cigar can be difficult—but CAO clearly gets it right. Notice the deep maduro Brazilian wrapper—yeah, this Brazilian spent some time in the sun alright (and no tan lines—they wear their bathing-skivvies pretty small down in Brazil ya know). Expect very rich spicy & peppery notes at the opening, with creamy notes developing within an inch and balancing the rich, full-bodied notes of leather & spice that persist all the way through this very consistent smoke. Finishes smooth but firm, with some notes of coffee, which makes a stout or robust porter a great pairing for this cigar. Know what else is great about this cigar? If you're not a soccer fan, now you've got another reason to run around obnoxiously shouting "Gol!!!!!!!" Go ahead, give it a try!