This Friday I received a pleasant surprise from my Review Sponsor at Tex Cigars. On my front porch I found a box containing some CAO Italia Ciao cigars. I could not wait to fire them up. I have smoked them in the past and have been very impressed, but have only reviewed the Gondola. As soon as I opened the box, I stuck them in my humidor for a couple of days to make sure they are fully hydrated before lighting them up. On Sunday, after watching my beloved Bears get their asses handed to them, I fired up the Italia Ciao thanks to Tex Cigars.

The CAO Italia is a four country smoke highlighting the Habano seeded tobacco grown in the Benevento Region of Italy. The fillers consist of tobacco from Nicaragua, Peru and Italy. The binder and wrapper hails from Honduras. This is a full bodied smoke with an earthy flavor and hints of coffee. As with all CAO smokes, it is well constructed, even burn, smooth draw and held a good size ash. It did not disappoint. The Italia runs for $89.99 for a box of 20 and are available at Tex Cigars.

MonkeyDan Rating: 89