CAO Nicaragua Granada

Founder and creator of C.A.O., Cano A. Ozgener, started making some of the best-known Meerschaum pipes in the world in his garage as a hobby. While traveling to different trade shows, he noticed the need for humidors and started making those as well. During the cigar boom of the 1990s, he was introduced to Carlos Toraño who then introduced him to Nestor Plasencia. The rest is, well, history as the pair began creating unique blends that have developed into the cigar brand that we all know and love today.

CAO has visited many areas of the world including Italy, America, Colombia, and now Nicaragua and we couldn’t be happier! Highlighting some of the best tobaccos Nicaragua has to offer, this full-bodied smoke contains extensively aged Nicaraguan long-fillers from some of Nicaragua’s most famed growing regions including the Jalapa Valley, Condega, and Estelí. Over the long-fillers is a zesty Honduran binder and a beautiful Honduran Jamastran wrapper. Light it up and expect notes of pepper, nuts, and tobacco. Enjoy this Cigar Aficionado 92-rated smoke with a Flor de Caña 18 Year Rum.

The Nicaraguan cigar industry originated when Cuban cigar makers escaped the revolution and re-established their livelihood in Nicaragua with Cuban-seed tobacco. Blessed with dark, rich soil, their new home was ideal for tobacco cultivation and Nicaragua quickly became known for cigars that rivaled Cuban quality. Unfortunately, revolution and war came to Nicaragua in the 1980s and devastated the industry, but it’s rebounded dramatically and is once again producing tobacco considered by many to be the finest in the world.

The Esteli Valley is in many ways the heart of Nicaraguan production and is known for its very powerful and spicy tobacco. The Jalapa Valley produces arguably the finest tobacco in the country: somewhat sweeter and less intense than Esteli, but extremely complex. The tobacco of the Condega Valley is often described as a blend of the other two regions.