Review Notes: I frequently enjoy CAO's other offerings, the CAO Brazilia Amazon and Samba, both of which I have been very pleased with. Itching to try something different, I purchased a CAO Italia. I think it is safe to say that I made a mistake. The cigar's appearance was excellent - very few veins, no cracks in the leaf, and a nice sheen to the leaf. It also appeared to be constructed very well, and smelled great. I took my Xikar single flame lighter and tried to fire it up. It took FOREVER to burn, almost to the point that I was literally charring the foot of the cigar. When I finally got it to burn, the draw was horrible. . . I became light-headed just trying to get a little smoke. The flavor was pretty nice, tasting mainly like nutmeg and slightly woody (when I could get any smoke :p) I placed the cigar on a ashtray for about 1 minute; when I picked it up to take another draw, the cigar went out. I tried to relight it, but again, I was charring the cigar. I didn't bother with the rest. Recommend? Nah . . . I'll just stick to my Sambas. . .

Review Notes: I like it. Definitely distinctly different and a good value, especially with 2 years of age. Draw was overly loose, very surprising for a CAO. Aroma very nice. Flavors are sweet and slightly floral. I'll try all the sizes.

Review Notes: While the Italia line is not my favorite, this nice looking cigar is a good value.

Review Notes: This was one of those cigars I chucked into the woods after about 10 minutes. Somebody at CAO needs to learn how to roll cigars! The draw was crazy tight - I'm talking 5 puffs to get ANY smoke. When I actually got some smoke it didn't even taste that good. I know a tight draw isn't everyone's experience with this cigar, but crap, the draw was ridiculous. Big waste of money. I've had several CAO's, and I'm sorry, but I don't get it. A very uninspiring brand to me. People think they like CAO crap only because they don't know any better. The owners of CAO understand marketing, not quality, and that's how they sell their garbage. Ever notice the 50 square feet of marketing junk covering their boxes?

Review Notes: It is definitely a unique cigar with an unusual but pleasant flavor - which is probably attributed to the Italian wrapper. I thought it was refreshing change.