I found myself with a few hours on my hands so I decided it was time for the CAO Flathead 660.
It’s a beast. It is a solidly packed box-pressed cigar, with a very rich, almost chocolaty aroma. The pre-light draw is a bit tight, but I’m getting complex flavors, including a sweetness. By the way, I decided it was best to hole-punch the head to avoid cutting issues. This is due to the rather large and squared-off head.
The first third was medium-bodied and medium-strength . There were plenty of rich tobacco flavors coming through, including slightly sweet earthy notes that made me feel like I was smoking a candy bar. It didn’t put off a lot of smoke compared to other cigars but it didn’t bother me. I was enjoying it.
The second third kicked up a bit in strength. Flavors seemed to become more rich and specific. Tobacco and deep earth notes, mixed with an almost dried-cherry sweetness were present. I could also not get that candy bar mentality out of my head. Partly based on the visual aspect of this cigar, but also due to the semi-sweet, chocolatly under-notes.
The last third was more of the same. I could definitely feel the strength of this cigar but it wasn’t overwhelming. I kept hoping the draw would open up a bit more but maybe it was my hole-punch and not the cigar. Overall, I really enjoyed this stick. I needed every bit of the 2 hours and 20 minutes it took to smoke this baby. I have the Flathead 770 at home in my humidor and I was told to plan for close to 4 hours! That should be interesting.
This was a very affordable cigar- I paid somewhere in the $10 range. It ranked #3 on Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 Cigars of 2015. I would recommend to any friend who would enjoy a good cigar.
-RR