CAO Anniversario Belicoso Maduro: young & old

[cv]

Dear LLGs,

thanks to our fellow LLG rjs (providing me with the older one...) I had the chance to compare these 2 CAOs and how the age effects them. Mine was around 4 months old, maximum 6; rjs' one had 14 months aging on it. A similar review for the Churchill Cameroon will be posted soon, for whose interested...
Here we go. Both cigars had a killer look, the maduro wrapper is simply gorgeous, the construction is flawless; the cigar is box pressed, though the old one lost the box pressure and looks like a normal "round" belicoso.
Pre-light: draw was easy in both of them, while the spicy taste was a bit stronger in the younger one.
Lighting was easier in the older one, while the new one took quite a bit to be lit. Firm ashes on both of them, more than an inch before falling down. The new had grey ashes, while the old one's were almost white; burning was even on both of them, just needed very minimal corrections on both.
Taste. This is were this babies shows off. The new one was a bit more aggressive, full bodied, not too strong though (gave me just a little buzz...), and going down to the band I could recognize earthy, chocolate tastes, spices, some pepper at the beginning, and I am always happy to find in the CAO anniversary some ISOM-like taste feeling (but more in the eXtreme and Cameroon line, the Maduro gives them a kind of "sweeter" taste). His old brother had a "wiser" character, tastes developes more smoothly, the smoke is full and creamy, some of the pepper is lost with age, the whole smoking experience is even better! As well, the second one was more powerful, buzz factor up to 7/8...
The last inch of both these cigars is fresh, still tasty, not harsh and leaves a pleasant aftertaste that goes in about an hour without letting you wake up the morning after with the urge of a mouthwash; the youngest showed here is youth, tending to give out a small tiny bit of ammonia if let hot, while the older one goes smooth to the end with no need of care.
Overall, I give the young CAOs an 8.5 and the old ones a full 9.
Again, a great couple of CAOs and... I will do my best to let the ones I have to rest for a while before smoking them, and I am so happy to have 17 more of these to go... :-)
Thanks rjs for giving me the chance to try the "old brother" of my belicosos, and happy smoking to you all!

cv

[rjs]

cv,

Thanks for the great reviews. A very interesting comparison and very well described. Kind of makes and argument for aging the CAO Anniv maduros at least a little. I just received a new box and have decided to sit on them for a while after reading your comparison. Thanks. Glad you enjoyed the smokes.

... rjs

[cv]

rjs,

thank you for your posting! Well, I will try my best as well to leave some of these babies there for a while! LOL
I guess I will be able to do the same kind of review by sunday with the Churchill... and... I love to fall into temptation!

cv

[funkymunky]

I love the older CAO mady beli! I lucked out and bought a box from '98, these guys are great! Really its the only non cuban that I love to have in my humi. Thanks for the comparison and review.

Just had to throw my two cents in, isn't that a great quandry to be in? When I get a new box of cigars I just have to try one and if it is good well now there is a real problem cause I know they will only get better with age but there they are staring me in the face saying 'come on, try another just to make sure' and before I know it I don't have any left to age and the wife wants to know why I am buying more cigars when I just got some and the whole circle starts over again. Oh well, I think it is a great problem to have and I will try to think about your post to remind me to set a few aside for the future. Thanks for the comparison, there is something special about the ones with a little time on them.

[cv]