2004 CAO eXtreme Trois Diamant Magnum (L’anniversaire)

[smbauerllc]

Originally Posted by Ljutic

I wasn't a fan of the eXtreme line. They weren't gross, but they weren't a cigar worth trying more than a couple times when they first came out. As CAOs early entry into strong cigars, they couldn't hold a candle to bundle buddies CAO maduro and CAO cameroon. The good news is you got through what should be the worst and can look forward to better with the next two cigars.



It will be interesting to see what you think of the eXtreme corona size and if the blend is better in the thinner ring cigar.

Yeah, certainly wasn't a bad cigar, the flavor profile just didn't really do it for me, plus the bit of bitterness and sharpness is the main thing that hurt it and the score.

Bitterness is just something that kills any redeeming good taste in a cigar for me, i just can't get past it.

The texture and appearance was the only other lower score, even though appearance has little effect on a cigar to me, its all about how it smokes, but it may mean more to others, and the category is in my check sheet, just not at a very high priority. It was quite rough and lumpy, especially for a CAO.

I think I'm happy with the adjustments I made to the form after the previous cigar scored lower than I felt it really deserved, and had happened, albeit in a lesser amount, before.

The most heavily weighted sections are now smoke/burn, taste/aftertaste, and flavor/strength as i would consider them to be by far the most important factors in a cigar experience, while pretty much everything else can be overlooked and isnt nearly as important, yet everything used to carry pretty much the same maximum score originally when I first got the form.

I'm much happier with the changes and feel this got the exact score it deserved, and hopefully that will continue in the future, as i love having a sheet to remind me what specific things to pay attention to and note, and being easily able to just check off boxes while in the middle of smoking so any impressions are immediate, rather than doing things after the fact.

My reviews certainly dont make for very entertaining reading since they are just a listing of facts written out in a few sentences per section rather than the flowery, long descriptions of typical reviews. I try to keep it to strictly the facts as much as is possible with the least amount of opinion, and am 100% honest in my reviews as I know no one will have any hard feelings over an poor palate amateur's review of a cigar. In fact so far, i have been thanked for the honesty on my poor reviews of a few cigars i was given and reviewed in the past.

I like Bruce's @Ljutic idea of doing the Corona eXtreme next for comparison of the 2 vitolas. I think that would be interesting.

Really wish I had had the opportunity to taste all these when they were young to see how and what effect the age has had on them. To date i have only been able to do so with some JLP Cazadores, PL Montecarlos, and I believe that's it.

Thanks again for the rare treat to try out some well aged smokes, Bruce. It was well worth the wait and was very generous.

I friggin' LOVE cigars