CAO 65th Anniversary

[Magnum PI]

Anniversary or limited editions seem to be the norm in the cigar world today.  One such is the CAO 65[sup]th[/sup] Anniversary Ton Tons.  Theses cigars were released in 2002 to celebrate the 65[sup]th[/sup] birthday of CAO founder Cano Ozgener’s birthday and his triumph over his battle with cancer.  Proceeds from the sales of these box-pressed, Nicaraguan Puros are donated to a fight against cancer fund.

[Magnum PI]

Each box comes with a pamphlet that gives a short history of Cano’s life and the founding of CAO, as well as some information on his son and daughter, who are in the family business.  You may recognize them as the three individuals depicted in most CAO ads.
 
Like most CAOs, the presentation of these sticks is incredible.  See:
 
http://www.stogiechat.com/cigar-forum/view_topic.php?id=5031&forum_id=7
 
The 65[sup]th[/sup] Anniversary come in three sizes, with the Ton Tons being the smallest of the three, with a length of 5.0” and a 50 Ring Gauge.  Ton Ton was the nickname of Cano’s mother, and this cigar was meant to be a tribute to her as well. 
 
Ok, enough background info, lets fire it up.  The cigar cut easily and cleanly with my XiKar cutter and lit easily with some matches.  At first, this cigar had some spice and pepper taste to it – not on the VSG level, but enough to notice it.  There also was very little smoke to speak of at this point.
 

[Magnum PI]

During the second third of the 65[sup]th[/sup] Anniversary, the flavor of spice and pepper quickly disappeared, and it was replaced by a smooth, woodsy taste.  The smoke became much, much thicker.  I enjoy thick clouds of smoke from my cigars.  Though there were no flavors of sweetness, I found the cigar to be very light, mellow, and easy to smoke.

[Magnum PI]

The construction was impeccable and I was getting some great ash, which only fell off once – half way through the stick.  I didn’t experience any burn problems and never had to touch this one up.

[Magnum PI]

The spice and pepper flavor returned at the conclusion of the 65[sup]th[/sup] Anniversary and I smoked it down to the nub.

[Magnum PI]

As I have written before, I have ignored cigars by CAO thinking that they were all hype and not enough substance.  I am quickly changing my mind.  Cigars like the Maduros, mx2, and my favorite the Sopranos, have made me realize how wrong I have been.
 
Like I stated at the beginning of this review, almost every manufacturer is releasing limited edition cigars to celebrate one event or another.  No one will confuse this stick with any of the Padron Anniversary cigars.  But at about one half to one third the price of the Padrons, the CAO 65[sup]th[/sup] Anniversary is an enjoyable, light cigar.  Its perfect construction and great for an evening with my two closest friends, my dog, and my girlfriend, who was kind enough to be behind the camera and help me in my first ever ‘real’ cigar review.

[JoeBob]

Nice review!

I've actually never seen these out in the wild....maybe I'll run by my local today and see what turns up!

[NewAwlins]

The CAO Gold 10th Annivesary Perfecto - a 6 X 60 beauty of a stick - is another you might want to try. 

I am a CAO convert having overcome the same resistance that you mention.  

 

Thanks for the review

[BaileyCAO]

Awesome review PI!! I actually have a box of the Modas and love them.

[ColbyPants]

very nice visual review.  I almost feel like I was there