I just finished smoking a CAO Italia Novella. It had measurements of 4.5 x 46. The cigar, still in cellophane, was stored in my makeshift humidor along with 11 other cigars and a Water Pillow (www.waterpillowsinfo.com). It was a medium-colored cigar, a little veiny and rough-looking. I squeezed the cigar just a little and it was clearly well-humidified. I proceeded to take off the cellophane, cut, and then smoke the cigar. It took about 59 minutes to smoke.

Overall Impressions:

My overall impression is that I am disappointed. I found the cigar too rough and not very dynamic or interesting in flavor. The smoke, furthermore, fluctuated too much in thickness–some puffs it was thick and creamy while other, equally forceful puffs it was thin and weak. On top of that, by the end of the cigar the burn had become extremely uneven.

The Doña Flor Selecao Robusto is available for a bit less, and I would definitely recommend that cigar over the Italia Novella.

Review:

The pre-smoke smell of the cigar was promising, offering a fresh, coffee bean type of smell and a nice touch of subtle chocolatey sweetness.

I smoked the cigar outside during a cool, sunny afternoon in Southern California. The temperature was 63 degrees, with humidity of about 28 percent.

At first, the flavor was fresh and cedary. The smoke was very thin and a little rough. The burn, however, seemed acceptable and the ash was very white, turning a greyer color a few minutes later. The early flavors included wood chips and fresh cedar, without the same dry taste as was found in the Doña Flor Selecao.

Around the fourth puff, the draw produced thicker smoke and was a bit smoother, with continued cedary freshness. It continued with a faint vanilla-like sweetness, but it was more faint than subtle. There were some flavors of sweet wood chips, which continued for a while, except the sweetness faded away. At this point I noted to myself that the thickness of the smoke had been fluctuating considerably.

The flavors stayed the same, but slightly drier and maybe just a touch sweeter. There was a bit more cedar, but there was also some unpleasant aftertaste. Freshness and cedar, as before, continued with faint sweetness here and there. The most interesting part of the cigar was a single puff, right around the time the ash fell off (more or less when the ash reached about two inches, although the burn had become quite uneven), which had a strong cherry taste. This only lasted one puff and then the cigar returned to the same flavor as before: a slightly dry, occasionally faintly sweet taste.

There was a hint of chocolate or cacao and then the smoke became more rough, with the same faint vanilla flavors and a hint of dry wood. The fresh cedar once again surfaced and continued with only occasional sweetness and perhaps a puff of faint butterscotch.

Towards the end, the burn had become extremely uneven–there was at least a three-fourth inch differential between two sides of the cigar. The flavor became subtly, instead of merely faintly, sweet and a bit smoother before becoming unpleasantly rough at the end. With about an inch or so left the cigar died out. I managed to relight it, but it was extremely difficult because the burn had become so uneven and about a half-inch of ash had stayed on the cigar but was covered on one side by the unburned wrapper, and thus wouldn’t fall off without a lot of tapping. The very end of the cigar was quite rough and the flavors essentially stayed the same, except decreased in presence and intensity to the extent that the cigar was bland and completely uninteresting at that point. The last puff or two left an unpleasant aftertaste.

Unfortunately, for a novella this cigar was not very dramatic. It was not a page-turner. None of the beloved characters died and there really was not much of a climax. There were no tragic downfalls or heroic struggles against the odds. 

I ordered a Doña Flor Selecao Robusto (Brazilian wrapper) from www.fumeeworld.com. Its measurements are 4.88 x 52. It arrived packaged with a Water Pillow (www.waterpillowsinfo.com), a small plastic bag that keeps the cigar humidified when stored in a closed container.

Quick Summary:

This cigar had a slow start but overall it was impressive. I would most likely buy/smoke this cigar again. Plus, the cigar was only five dollars. If you haven’t tried it and are wondering if you should, I’d say definitely give it a try. In my opinion it was well worth it. In total, it took me an hour and twenty-two minutes to smoke it.

Commentary:

The cigar was wrapped in cellophane. I opened the sealed bag and took out the cigar. I took off the cellophane so I could see what the cigar smelled like. It smelled a lot like strong roast coffee beans, bitter cacao, or perhaps a very dark chocolate without much sugar. The smell was somewhat “earthy,” whatever that means, and reminded me of clean, fresh soil.

The Doña Flor Selecao is a dark, veiny cigar. It has a firm feel with some give. The labels are quite nice, and one of them shows a beautiful woman holding a red rose. The feel of the cigar is slightly oily and slightly gritty, as strange as that may sound. It feels like the wrapper has a very fine grit to it, almost like fine sand. Overall I like the appearance. My only criticism in this regard is that there appear to be a few tiny tears in the lower part of the wrapper. This isn’t the merchant’s fault, as the cigar was shipped in its original cellophane wrapper.

I smoked the Doña Flor outside in my backyard. The weather was cloudy and cool, about 58 degrees. The humidity level was about 72%. I live in Southern California, and it had rained the night before. I hadn’t eaten anything for two or three hours, but I did brush my teeth about 45 minutes to an hour before smoking the cigar. In order to avoid any toothpaste aftertaste, I drank some bottled water.

I lit the cigar using some free Davidoff matches that I got at a local cigar shop. Unfortunately, the matches didn’t light very well and as soon as the sulfur tips had burned away, the flames would go out. Thus I had considerable difficulty lighting the cigar with these matches. The skies were not windy at the time and in my opinion there was no reason the matches shouldn’t have performed normally. Anyway, once I got the cigar lit I tested the draw. At first, the draw was a little stiff. The cigar had some flavors of bitter coffee beans or perhaps cacao. There was a slight hint of sweetness but nothing too impressive. I found the cigar a bit rough. Some people might have called this “spiciness” but spiciness is a flavor and a sensation mixed together, whereas what I experienced was merely a sensation of roughness.

As I smoked the cigar there were flavors of wood chips followed by sweet wood chips. The cigar stayed lit very well. At this point I was puffing once or twice a minute, maybe less. As the cigar progressed I became a bit more impressed with the draw and the smoke, which became slightly thicker and looked somewhat elegant. Overall I would say that throughout most of the cigar the draw was medium. Now, I should say here that the ash was excellent. It stayed on for at least 1.25 inches before falling off naturally. The smoke was somewhat unmanageable, however, as I often found myself having to dodge the smoke or even close my eyes as I let the smoke out of my mouth.

I should also tell you that the cigar did an excellent job of burning. Because of the poor lighting, the initial burn was uneven. However, within a half-inch or so, the cigar had evened itself out. After the first inch and a half or so, fresh, cedar-type flavors could be detected. The first label slid off easily. The experience continued with the earlier wood chip flavors and at times, was a bit tangy. I found myself noting a subtle hint of chocolate. The cigar also began to develop a dry wood flavor and reminded me of the dry, almost bitter sensation found in some Merlots. Flavors of “earth” and roast coffee were also present at times.

Up to this point, I wasn’t disappointed but I wasn’t too impressed. The draw wasn’t as easy as I prefer it and the flavor wasn’t as dynamic as I expected. Furthermore, the pre-smoke smell that was so promising hadn’t panned out. The smoke wasn’t too smooth either. This was probably halfway through the cigar. I was on the verge of being a little disappointed. However, this cigar made an almost-heroic comeback and by the end of the cigar I was glad I had tried it. What happened was this. As I approached the last third or so of the cigar, the flavors became more robust and dynamic, the smoke became thicker, and the draw became easier. But there were obstacles to this great finish. As I neared the last third, I began to detect a vanilla-like sweetness that hadn’t been present earlier. Then I tasted a stronger cedar aroma that was almost a bit minty, followed by a meaty flavor. This caught my attention and made the cigar almost immediately more enjoyable. However, that’s when it ran into a major obstacle: the draw suddenly became almost nonexistent. I thought to myself, “what a shame.” There was so much potential in that burst of flavors, yet the draw was going dead. I found myself puffing more often to keep it alive, but alas, it went out almost completely. There was still a good portion of the cigar that hadn’t been smoked, so I took out my last match, blew on the cigar to get rid of any built-up fumes, and relit it.

This, my friends, was where the cigar really performed brilliantly. It took some strong effort to get it going again, but within a minute or so the cigar was burning with ease and the draw was great. The smoke became thicker and creamy, and curled up elegantly before fading away. It was more manageable, and I no longer had to dodge the smoke–it just flowed naturally away from me. There was a dry, sweet taste, almost like a cured meat of some sort, or perhaps a smoked salmon. Then, in one puff, I got a meaty flavor and a dry sweet vanilla flavor. Soon after that, there was a butterscotch taste. The smoke was thicker than ever, with sweet wood chips and vanilla with butterscotch. I found myself thinking that I should describe the flavor as “vintage” butterscotch, whatever that means. Suddenly, the taste of the cigar matched, almost perfectly, the pre-smoke smell and all the expectations it had created were being fulfilled. In addition, there was a fleeting moment in which minerals could be tasted. The meaty, sweet vanilla and butterscotch flavors continued, with some wood chips at the end. I was able to smoke it down to around an inch, maybe a little less, before it got too hot to continue smoking.

So after starting off somewhat unexcitingly (though not at all badly), the Doña Flor Selecao made a great comeback. This cigar was like a great boxer who starts off slow and lackluster, gets knocked down, and then comes back with a brilliant display in the later rounds to win the fight.