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CAO Brazilia Box Press
This week has been hectic for me. I meant to post this review on Tuesday but the job that pays my bills got in the way. Today’s review is of the CAO Brazilia Box Press and you can win a 5 pack of cigars by answering the question at the end of the review. By leaving a comment you will be selected in a drawing in which a winner will randomly be selected to win the 5 pack.
Cigar: CAO Brazilia
Size: 5.5 x 55 (Box Press Robusto)
Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: Brazil
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Appearance and Construction (17/20): This brand introduced in 2001 is a full bodied cigar with a rich dark wrapper that appears slightly lighter in the box press format. The cigar is spongy to the touch with no soft spots. The leaf of the wrapper has some veins throughout, and the cap of the cigar often features creases from the box pressing procedure. The band on the cigar is among my favorite in the industry with its stunning colors vibrantly standing out against the dark cigar.
Flavor & Notes (27/30): From the get go this cigar produced some nice notes of wood with coffee. The coffee notes are to be expected with a Brazilian wrapper as the country is known for their coffee production. In fact this cigar paired up well with my morning cup of coffee as I sat in my familiar smoking grounds of the beach. As I watched the whitecaps in the distance I slowly worked my way through this cigar. As I reached the 2nd third of the cigar the notes become primarily coffee with the occasional bitter dark chocolate thrown in. The final third of this enjoyable smoke was coffee with a slighter bitterness as the cigar smoked a little hot.
Burn/Ash/Draw (22/25): The ash of the cigar was not as strong as I would of liked with some significant flake once the initial ash is lost. The burn of the cigar is fairly even although toward the final third a slight canoe formed. The draw of the cigar was loose, and bit more then I would like, but it did not take away from the smoking experience.
Overall (24/25): Definitely my favorite cigar in the Brazilia line. Not only is the cigar priced right, but the consistancy of the cigars is virtually dead on with ever smoke. The box pressed is more flavorful then the other lines, but not nearly as strong. Someone in a shop asked me why I thought the cigar was more flavorful then the other line, and I said it was because of the box press compression. Not understanding how this was possible, I used the analogy of a cheese sandwhich. If you take a sandwhich and press it with your hands, the flavors are more intense. The same works for cigars. Not the best analogy in the world, but it serves its purpose.
Rating: 90
Price: $86.99 for a box of 20 at Famous Smoke
WIN A 5 PACK OF CAO BOX PRESSED CIGARS: For a while some people have asked me to do some video reviews. I have stayed away from doing them because a) I am not photogenic and b) I prefer to read a review rather then watch one. Although I do watch some reviews online. The question is what do you prefer, written reviews or video reviews?
The Cigar Smoking Experience
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i prefer written reviews, that way i can skim it and read the parts i want to. i dont really like having to ffwd through video reviews and they can take 10 to 20 minutes. a written review i can get through in about 2 minutes.
I prefer written reviews mostly because I read blogs at work and watching a video is a bit more ‘wrong’ during business hours…but, I don’t see how one in a while could hurt anything…
Great review. I havent got a hold of the box pressed yet, but wanna try it soon. As far as the review format, I appreciate both. Don’t always have the time or patience for a video review so often I will browse written ones instead.
I prefer the written reviews. I’m not always in a place where I can listen to the audio.
I prefer written reviews because they’re shorter and I can breeze through them at work.
Barry,
It would be great if you could do both, a written and video. I do read reviews more often, but i also like to review a video if it is a stick I’m interested in. Video allows me to see for myself how the stick burns, volume of smoke it might produce (improtant to me), quality of construction, etc. Since shops around here don’t carry a wide variety, if it’s something new, or not from a major manuftacturer, it’s hard to see what you’re geting. Like they say, if you have a face for radio, there are ways to do an edit of a vieo that focuses on the stick, not the guy doing the review.
Good review–I enjoy the read better than the video–The written puts in short and easy way to understand as the video drifts on & off at times–Thanks for the review!
I like the “Written” review Barry. Sometimes I don’t have the time to rread the whole rreview at that time. Some kind of distraction(Usually from the Boss)comes up and, I have to deal with her. It’s just easier to get back to where I was with the written rreview.
I prefer both as well. I really tend to appreciate the off the cuff nature of a video review (reminds me of “virtual herfing”), but sometimes I just want to quickly get an idea of a stick’s flavor profile in a write up before I make a purchase
Great review Barry. The Brazilia BP is one of my favorite smokes.
I do like both styles of reviews, however overall I would say I prefer the written. It’s a bit easier to get through it and when the reviewer is good at taking pictures throughout (this one for example) I can see imperfections, burn, etc up close.
I do however like the occassional video though for the mere aspect of being able to see the smoke. You can also see the reviewers face. Their face a lot of times tells a story, especially if they are enjoying the smoke.
Great review Barry.
I prefer written reviews because I am not always in the position to watch a video (like at school or work or on my phone…) so written are more helpful for me. They are also searchable which is another plus.
I have one of these in my humidor, but have not tried it as of yet. I will look forward to it after reading that review!
I like video better, but also like a writeup/summary in case I do not have time to watch it at that moment. Getting a personal look at the cigar while you are smoking, smoke quantity, burn line, etc is nice to see!
Keep up the nice reviews!
Mike
Written is better for me
I like a video review so i can see someone cringe when they get hit with a different or too strong a flavor profile.I know there has been many of times a stick has made my face wrinkle up at lite up but then mellow into a very pleasurable smoke.Remember it’s all in the face wrinkle.LOL!!!!!
I prefer a written review.
I’ve tried other Brazilia’s and enjoyed all of them. Haven’t tried the BP yet.
Xcellent review!!
Nice review. CAO Brazilia Gol! is my favorite cigar. I like video better but I do think there should be just a little something written up.
I prefer written reviews for most of the same reasons, though the guys at Stogie Review make great vids and I make time to watch them when I can.
Brazilia is CAO’s best line, IMO. Nice review, as usual!
I prefer a written review. Also, you and Stogie Guys are my favorite reviewers. Keep up the good work!
I prefer a mix. I do find it hard to watch the video reviews unless I can download them on iTunes and watch them on my iPod Touch.
This is definitely my favorite size of the Brazilia.
Barry,
I appreciate all your reviews. I smoked a Brazilia BP on Monday in anticipation of your review and to see if I rated it the same as you. I gave it an 88 using your scale so pretty close, but I still prefer the America Bottle Rocket. To answer your question, I prefer written reviews because it is easier to reference and in a video review you have to ff and rew to find what you are looking for. Thanks again!
Charlie
I’m a big fan of the CAO Brazilia line, but haven’t yet tried the box pressed. I’ll be going out to pick some up right away! Thanks for the review.
I’m also firmly in the “written review” camp. I enjoy watching and/or listening to cigar shows when there’s lots of cigar-related conversation, but I like my reviews in writing. Like other contributors have stated, the written reviews allow me to skim through and get the basics quickly.
One of my favorite CAO’s and size. Nice job Barry
Personally, I like them both, but if I have to pick a preference, I am more apt to go the blogs with written reviews. I prefer to write them as well, as I am not good with talking to a video camera….
Scott
Barry,
Great review. The Brazilias are great cigars. Never had the box press, but I LOVE the Samba and the Gol.
Excellent review. I’d have to agree that the Box Press is the best of the Brazilias. I totally get and agree with the cheese sandwich analogy. Damn now I’m hungry and I want a cigar.
As for reviews…I’m split 60/40 in favor of written. Like others have said, it’s nice to skim over and refer back to easily. But the videos add a personal element that can’t be duplicated. I wouldn’t worry about being photgenic. Have you seen @Jcruz?
Stick with what you are comfortable with but maybe mix in a little video herf/review every now and then.
Thanks again for the great review and contest.
Nice review! Wood and Coffee…..yum!
I personally prefer reading a written review accompanied by some pics of the cigar. Video reviews are nice, but I usually don’t have the time to sit for 10-20 minutes to watch what I could read in 2 minutes.
-Beezer
Nice Review, I’m going to have to keep and eye out for these. Written Review > Video.
Written…because you can read at your own pace, but you can’t listen at your own pace. Nice review!
Great review, I likie written reviews but you should give the video a try, video rview are more personable….
[...] Barry at acigarsmoker.com has an excellent review of an equally excellent cigar, the CAO Brazilia Box Press. [...]
I prefer written, I can go through them in 2 minutes rather than a 10 minute video.
Nice review and what a beautiful cigar. I have yet to give these a try, but I think they cary them at my local B&M. I prefer a written review but its nice to toss a video in once and a while. I agree with BradinBuffalo, it makes the experience a little more personable.
I prefer written blogs due to the fact that I can’t always listen to them at work and of course, I do all my blog reading at work. Thanks for the review.
I love video reviews. They hold my attention more than written, and I like to see the person’s personality come through.
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[...] Cigar Review: CAO Brazilia Box Press | [...]
[...] Cigar Review: CAO Brazilia Box Press | [...]
[...] Cigar Review: CAO Brazilia Box Press | [...]
I prefer written reviews, I print out quite a few reviews and keep them on file for future reference. Written reviews are also much easier to use when comparing more than one persons review. Keep the video for interviews.
[...] Cigar Review: CAO Brazilia Box Press | [...]
[...] Cigar Review: CAO Brazilia Box Press | [...]
[...] Cigar Review: CAO Brazilia Box Press | [...]
I prefer the video reviews if they are done right and not just rambling. If it’s just a rambling, then I prefer them to be written or voice. Then you can skip around to the good points and bypass all the non essential stuff.
BTW – pretty good smoke, tried one of them for the first time about a week ago!
Great review! – I like your site
I’ve got a new site and have linked yours to mine.
http://reviewcigars.blogspot.com/search/label/CAO%20-%20Brazilia
Let me know what you think
Great review, the CAO Brazilia Gol is one of my favorites.