The CAO Amazon Basin Cigar: A Rare Rainforest Smoke
Cigar enthusiasts awaiting the return of CAO’s Amazon Basin cigars will have a serious treat in store for them. Unlike most blends, the Amazon Basin cigar require ingredients that aren’t grown year-round. They aren’t harvested but rather cut down once every three years.
Cigars represent a fusion of many cultures and traditions from across the globe. The CAO Amazon Basin Cigar goes a step beyond and uses a varietal of tobacco from deep within the Amazon rainforest. Traditionally, cigars use blends that rely on crops that are very easily and readily accessible.
One of the biggest draws of the Amazon Basin Cigar is the hype around the phenomena surrounding the trade of tobacco. In many cigars, hype and nostalgia go hand in hand. The CAO Amazon Basin Cigar stands alone, if not for the limited availability then certainly for the experience and uniqueness of the cigar itself.
Bragança tobacco
To differentiate itself from the rest of the cigars in the humidor, the CAO Amazon Basin uses Bragança tobacco, unlike the other cigars in the CAO family. Bragança tobacco is difficult to find and grown in the Amazon rainforest. The environment and soil of the area are very unstable, which makes growing Bragança tobacco difficult. The people who live in the area and have grown this type of tobacco for many years rely on old, traditional techniques.
Only once every three years does the harvest occur. Rare yields make this cigar a true limited-edition offering. After the leaves are plucked, the “cane” takes a decidedly less modernized route. Highways and cargo trucks do not transport the leaves from the farm. Instead, the leaves travel to the mainland by canoe down the Amazon River before they are shipped to the CAO factory in Nicaragua.
An Unconventional Process
Cigar tobacco is fermented in large piles around the factories in a process called pilones. From there, leaves generate a preserved, controlled heat, developing a myriad of flavors and smells throughout the fermentation process. Bragança tobacco is fermented in a completely different way.
After harvesting, the leaves are tightly rolled into long tubes, called carottes. These tubes are bound with rope and left for six months of natural fermentation. This process of intense, stretched fermentation captures oils in the leaf. The flavor is concentrated in a way that industrialized fermentation could never accomplish.
The Robusto
In the end, a creative process is all for nothing without an exceptional product, which is why the CAO Amazon Basin cigar receives consistent praises for its rich and complex flavor.
The Wrapper and Binder
Bragança filler is surrounded by a Nicaraguan binder, cloaked by an oily, dark, Ecuadorian, Sumatra wrapper, creating a rich, aromatic, and bold smoke.
Flavor Progression
When the cigar is lit, it provides the smoker with a boisterous burst of earthy spice. As you smoke through the first third, the earthy spices become more pronounced and strong notes of dark roast coffee and leather begin to arise. Near the end of the first third, you’ll get the beginnings of roasted cacao.
During the middle third, the Bragança tobacco comes fully into effect and you will most likely notice hints of black cherry and molasses. The sweetness is a welcome addition and helps to tone down the flavor profile of the wrapper. Towards the end of the middle third, the spices start coming back but now there is a pronounced, woody finish to the smoke. Despite the full-bodied flavor profile of the Bragança, the tobacco is very smooth from the very start to the very end.
The Signature Tobacco Band
While CAO showcases a beautiful cigar, they also have and breathe bold color and design into their packaging. Normally, there is a top layer of paper around the cigar with the CAO logo, but for the Amazon Basin cigar, you will see a large, tightly coiled, smokeable tobacco band.
This design is a nod to the rustic methods used to harvest and ferment the Bragança leaf. Don’t be concerned with the band, as it is smokable tobacco as well and with the spicy and now bold flavors of the Bragática are packed to the brim, you can even burn right through the band. In fact, many smokers report a slight shift in flavor as the cherry hits the band in a friendly competition against the already full and bold flavors of the Braganta.
Securing Your Rare Smoke
Amazons Basin cigars take some work to track down, and some good manners with the local tobacconist. Innovative use of core tobacco so it is harvested triennially means that CAO has to release these cigars in small and limited lots. When the cigars hit the shelves, they usually disappear at a good pace.
CAO has been able to make these cigars for a few years, meaning that tracking down a box secures a historical cigar. There are multiple facets that CAO had to get right that include sourcing tobacco, fermentation, rolling, and more to get the right smoke. For the cigars CAO had to get a lot of things correct, including the sourcing and fermentation as well as the rolling. So be ready to place the order, keep a stocked humidor, and take time to enjoy the corner of this smoke.
