There I was, visiting W.Curtis Drapers for a lunch time smoke and I run into Frank Kapp, National Sales Manager for CAO Cigars. Frank was bringing the Draper Boys a pair of samples of CAO’s new cigar, La Traviata. The Draper Boys and Frank were nice enough to share with me one of the La Traviata. My first impressions can be found at the end of this post but equipped with only my iPhone here is a quick video of the CAO La Traviata in action (cameo appearance by the new CAO Gold Vintage) and a few still shots:

My First Impressions
Its rare that I nub a cigar and when I do, its usually because the cigar is deserving of such a high honor. At an estimated retail price of $4.95 to $5.75 the CAO La Traviata is priced comfortably. Maybe I was smoking slowly so I didn’t miss any flavor detail of the La Traviata or maybe I just didn’t want the party to end, either way the robusto size La Traviata kept me engulfed for close to 2 hours.

The combination of a Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and two ligero leaves (Pueblo Nuevo/Nicaragua and Dominican Republic) making up the filler, provided a slow burning cigar with a bouquet of aromas and a savory flavor profile. The La Traviata begins with a balanced, savory spicy sweet flavor, mellowed out on the spice and added a syrupy woodsy flavor and then slowly transitioned back to that savory spicy sweet flavor till the nub. Full body strength accompanied the flavors the whole time. I’d describe the CAO La Traviata as an exotic, savory cousin of the popular LX2.