When CAO first launched the iconic cigar commonly known as the Brazilia in the early 2000s, a line was drawn in the sand.

On one side stood the staunch stogie smokers who preferred "traditional blends," many of whom viewed Brazilian tobacco as a dirty, undesirable leaf with entirely too much terroir and spice to be enjoyed. 

Frolicking freely on the opposite side were the cigar hedonists. Those who were all about seeing the tobacco business evolve beyond the confines of the Connecticut Shade, Maduro, Habano, and Corojo box they had been confined to for so many decades. 

Over two decades later, and it is obvious that the hedonists have long had the upper hand. The original Brazilia is still selling well, and the use of Brazilian tobacco by both boutique and legacy cigar manufacturers has become as common as thongs in the tropics.

Aiming to build upon the success of its original Brazil-bred blend, the CAO BX3 was launched in the summer of 2022 as a full-time product line.  While various other Brazil-centric limited-run cigars have come out of CAO's factories over the years, this all-new offering seemed poised to appeal to the masses in the same way that the original Brazilia did all those years ago. The only question was, could it deliver the same sensational smoking experiences and become a legend in its own right?

 

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Unlit Impressions 

Brazilian bovine leather hide-looking wrapper. Shiny, oily, sitting out to mottle slowly in the sun. Like an elongated, cylindrical dark date. Dried yet juicy. Patiently anticipating the touch of eager lips looking to sample its wild fermented, unrefined glory.

At some point, I should probably put a book together that contains all of the poems I have written about cigars. Anyhoo...

So while I think that whoever was capping the two cigars I smoked for this review was either having a bad case of the Mondays or was on mescaline, the overall feel of both cigars was outstanding. Filled to the point of being almost tight, with sharply edged seams sticking out and a whole lot of leather looks, the Mata Fina wrapper used on the BX3  appears far less refined than what you will find on the original Brazilia.

The band is bright, chrome-accented, and clearly themed around the Brazilian flag and the rainforests from that region of the world, and there's a little QR code on the back that neither Google nor a third-party QR code app could identify.

As my pathetic peace of poetry prefaces, the cigar smells distinctly of dried dark dates, beef jerky, leather, earth, and exotic curry spices. The foot is particularly tantalizing, gradually growing sweeter with each passing sniff, and surprises with potpourri floral notes. There's also some store-bought coffee in that section to be smelled, as well as wood-like sappy sweetness, some cocoa powder, and a touch of spicy chili pepper.

Another surprise is how mellow this blend tastes once the cap is cut, with cold pulls being more of a mixed earth and stone sort of sensation than anything. It's rather peppery, meaty, and mocha-like at moments, but not enough to be the top factor here. Instead, I got more of a milky Brazil nut note off both cigars, which I find to be a staple of most Brazilian-born Mata Fina varietals. 

Initial Smoke 

Instead of a broken QR code, CAO should have put a warning label on the back of this cigar band, because this damn thing is quite peppery! Red chili flake hot at its most intense, and both black pepper and Japanese sansho peppercorn tingling on the tongue, this is not the dark mocha maduro intro one might expect. There is some dry woodiness and earth to be found, along with a jerky-like leatheriness, but holy guacamole does this stick start off spicy. 

1st Half   

While the spiciness of the cigar does fade into more of a mixed spice note, the tongue continues to get tickled by heat as the first third forms the first of many cigar flavor profiles. CAO has managed to stuff a whole damn rainforest into this cigar, complete with exotic Brazil woods, dried tropical fruits, foreign spices, and cocoa nibs, all on top of the usual combo of earthy terroir and Brazilian coffee beans. 

Surprisingly, the body of the cigar, as well as its strength sits on the shallow side of medium, thus allowing the flavor profile to do all the work. As the stick burns closer to the center, the magical, milky taste of Brazil nuts emerges. This flavor is something that I detect in most, but not all Mata Fina wrappers, and makes for an alluring alternative to the typical sweet cream and almond milk notes found in most cigars.  

2nd Half 

Right around where you remove the band on this robusto, those floral potpourri aromatics drop in for a cup of Brazilian coffee. Retrohales detecting the majority of these notes, the nose convinces your palate that the cigar is far more rainforest timber and exotic herb tea-like than mocha, at least in passing. 

Before long things get back on track, and this Brazilian street fest of flavors flows with flavors of coffee and cocoa like never before. Everything floral and light wood-like hints at coming at you once more, but chooses to leave your nose with a long finish filled with a faint whiff of candied dates instead.  

Parting Puffs 

Chewy, dark, and sticky, like a nutty chocolate granola bar, the last fifteen minutes of this cigar serve you the strong Brazilian tobacco tastes you have been expecting all along. Strength spikes here too, with the review stick in the video being particularly potent, as it hit me with a pop of nicotine that made my head spin. 

Body, spice, and tough leather undertones also built quite a bit here, leaving me with the notion that this blend is a good tick beyond medium, while not being full either. Still, the distribution of all of these assessable attributes somehow strikes a balance, and you are gifted with a closing that is pleasant, if but a bit hot in the hand. 

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

Heat actually was the biggest issue I had with this vitola, as both times I encountered it in considerable amounts in the second half of each stick. Even when puffing slowly the cigar got uncomfortably hot in the hand, and I found myself juggling the damn thing to keep my fingers from catching fire. 

Somehow, this heat did not influence flavor, and the cigar never got charry or bitter on me beyond the usual dark roast coffee bean taste. Ash build was good, if but a tad flake-filled at times, and self-corrections by each cigar kept me from breaking out the torch for a touch-up during both smoking sessions. The draw was also close to spot-on, despite both cigars feeling a touch overfilled and tightly bound, and the medium-bodied smoke that was pulled forth was absolutely delightful in texture. 

Final Thoughts  

Brazilian Mata Fina-wrapped cigars that are bound beneath by Arapiraca leaf continue to provide one of my favorite cigar flavor profiles, with the BX3  being one of the prime examples of this experience. 

In the BX3, these varietals create a smoke that has the terroir funk and leather-like depths of a Connecticut Broadleaf maduro, the exotic chai tea spice and bright, sun-grown fruity flavors of top-shelf Sumatran seed, and then adds a dash of corojo spiciness to keep things lively. 

While the portions of the filler that hails from other countries do play a hand in the formation of these flavors, I can see where it also mellows the smoke down a good deal. This is a cigar with more medium in it than max, thanks in part to those sweet wood retrohales and the spicy side of the cigar being bold, but completely under control at the same time. Results are a really good blend with few imperfections, that could have gone deeper into the mocha-soaked rainforest, but opts to stand on the edge of the tree line, instead of charging in head first.

Flavor, Aroma & Transitions

Depth & Complexity

Construction, Burn & Physical Appeal

Backstory & Branding

 

Overall Balance & Repeatability

 

Stogie Specs

Cigar	CAO "BX3"
Wrapper	Mata Fina (Brazil)
Binder	Arapiraca (Brazil)
Filler	Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, & Nicaragua
Factory	Nicaragua
Size	5" x 52 "Robusto"
Strength	Medium-Full
Pairing Drink	Homemade Iced Mocha
Rating	4.4/5