Habano tobacco may be as commonplace as charred meat on a Sunday, but you never see it being used in every single section of a cigar. Premium cigar blends are called "blends" for a reason. So to encounter a smoke with 100% habano leaf from the wrapper inward is more than just an oddity. It's pretty much unheard of.

So when CAO announced that it would be bringing back its top-dollar Vision line for 2022 and that it would be made entirely from habano, everyone stood there slack-jawed. Up until that point, this high-end blend had relied upon all manner of tobacco from around the world. This was a very odd turn of events, and no one knew what to make of the CAO Vision 2022. 

The lineup looked promising though, with a Honduran wrapper, a Jalapa binder, and then filler leaves from the biggest growing regions in Nicaragua: Condega, Estelí, and Jalapa once more.

But reviews remained mixed, with quite a few people saying that the blend tasted a touch undercooked and that it refused to burn right. By that point, we had already stocked up on this limited-run blend, and playing on a hunch, decided not to promote the cigar... until now. And as you shall soon see, there are several reasons why we did this, and all of them will make you want to thank us later. 

[Become a Klaro Member - Get the  CAO Vision 2022 (December Only)]

Unlit Impressions 

First off, is the subjective fact that I never liked the marketing used for the Vision line. No matter what the release, or what color LED lights adorned the box they came in, it always seemed a bit too flashy for me. I mean that in the most literal sense possible. The bands on any of the CAO Vision cigars are blinding when they catch the light just right, making them an absolute bitch to photograph. Nothing as bad as say the Graycliff 300, but close.

Overt your gaze from the retina-searing burnt orange, chrome, and Xerox white sheen that is the barrel and foot banding, and you are greeted by a fairly oily, rust-red, coffee bean-colored wrapper. Mottled in places, with unappealing veins and split seams, this outer shell is not what one expects to see on a cigar blend of this pedigree. In fact, one cigar had a mid-size soft spot right in the center, with both cigars feeling lumpy in other places. 

At least the blend smells nice. Medium roast coffee, caramelized toffee, and faint leather and cedar, along with some muted spice swirl about the outside. A walnut and cinnamon-topped bowl of maple syrup coated oatmeal clings to the inside of the foot, followed by the lingering scent of fermented tobacco leaf, sawdust, and more of that burnt sugar toffee undertone. 

Cold pulls are more of a raw oat taste, with dried malted milk powder, clay, sawdust of the sticky cedar variety, and cinnamon spice with all of its heat honing in the deeper you draw.

Initial Smoke

Spicy and salty umami flavors, dried walnuts, more cinnamon, and a wet, raw-tasting cedar plank spank the palate into obedience. Out of nowhere a slice of dried pineapple slaps the tongue, delivered upon a massive cloud of smoke from that near-perfect draw. My, oh, my, aren't we a feisty one...

1st Half   

Sweeter, funkier, and fiending for a good time, the first third opens up the senses with more of the same flavors and aromas from initial impressions. But while this recital may not surprise the palate, you will find that there's more going on over on the retrohale side, starting with smooth baking spice notes of powdered nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and sweet cinnamon. Who doesn't love a good old fashioned cookie sale?

Medium in strength and flavor, as well as in body, the cigar does not change much in the first half and prefers to leave you with a pleasant combination of all of the above. Granted, it does get gradually deeper on you the more you burn, but the overall intensity of the smoke filling the air never seems to climb. Instead, you will likely find yourself admiring the fluid draw, clean aftertaste, and lengthy ash this cigar provides in the first hour more than the subtler baked dessert bread flavors, cedar, and tropical topsoil.

2nd Half 

Darker fruit flavors of prunes and figs form later in the second third, stirring the senses a bit more than before. As rich, Honduran-born soil tastes take on new life, those mixed baking spices form a spicier interlude. Oiled leather lends more flavor and a little bit of body to the blend, with a creamy finish of roasted tree nuts and sticky cedar sailing ever deeper into retrohale waters. This is really good smoking right about now, so best to enjoy it.

Drying out a good bit in the final third, and favoring a 50/50 mixture of milky almonds and toasty, slightly bitter roasted walnuts, comes the biggest transition within the blend. Standing behind it is the basic, yet balanced creaminess of a classic café au lait. Nothing crazy. Just a clean coffee and cream combo that stands up to the stronger cedar flavors and rainforest funk touching the taste buds. 

Parting Puffs

Sea salt-strength salinity strolls in, just to see me get up to leave during parting puffs. Charred wood of the acrid variety, bitter coffee grounds, and that dark, dank, and undeniably funky forest duff taste tell me that the last round of this cigar is not for me. Pity. I was hoping for a more memorable farewell.

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

One of the big complaints people had with this version of the CAO Vision when it came out in 2022, was that it tended to burn rather poorly and struggled to produce a good draw in certain instances. I did not encounter either, and outside of a jagged edge at times, a random flake at others, and a single touch-up on my review cigar, this blend burned pretty damn well for me.

It also had a lovely draw, the smoke pulled was well-balanced in body and felt cool on the tongue, and the ash tended to hold on for quite a while. Altogether, I found the Vision 2022 to be a solid B+ performer both times, and feel that the extra aging we've given this blend has allowed it to further improve its combustible capabilities.  

Final Thoughts  

There are things about the CAO Vision 2022 that make me wonder how this blend would have turned out if something other than just habano tobacco was tapped for the job. Would a Sumatran strain or a Brazilian leaf add more complexity, along with stronger transitional flavors? Perhaps. But that wouldn't have caused so many heads to explode.

Instead, this blend builds you up to a somewhat melodramatic climax in the final third, with medium-grade levels of suspense and intrigue. Does it disappoint? A little bit. Have I found myself disliking the cigar itself for any particular egregious error? Not that I can think of at the moment. 

In fact, my biggest issue with this blend outside of its lack of evolution, was its physical appeal. Loosely fitted, cheap-looking cigar bands, lumps along the barrel, soft spots, and a striking difference in color between the two cigars I smoked made me ponder one thing above all others.

To me, this smoke fell short of the echelon status that is associated with this limited-release cigar line. It's good. But is it really that good? But perhaps the bigger question now is, do you think this rare, LED-lit unicorn from CAO is worthy of your humidor?

Flavor, Aroma & Transitions

Depth & Complexity

Construction, Burn & Physical Appeal

Backstory & Branding

Overall Balance & Repeatability

Stogie Specs