Ozgener Bosphorus

[TommyBB]

I read a little around the web, but had not seen anything on this on social media, although I did see that Tim Ozgener has begun doing interviews. You may remember that Tim is the son of the dearly departed Cano A. Ozgener of CAO fame. The two and sister Aailyah owned CAO until they sold to General Cigars some 15 or so years ago with the first round of SCHIP legislation that signaled the demise of a few medium-sized cigar companies.

Well, Tim is back in the cigar business and seems he is making cigars. Here is this morning's e-mail from Two Guys Smoke Shop in New Hampshire. Sounds similar to what I wrote!

Tim Ozgener is back in the cigar industry. His father Cano started CAO Cigars, a name everyone has heard. Eventually, the company would be sold and Tim would leave the cigar industry. He's back with a new brand featuring his family name, Ozgener Cigars.

The Bosphorus is his first blend in 12 years and this box pressed cigar features a dark Ecuador Sumatra wrapper over two binder leaves; Ecuador Connecticut and Nicaragua Jalapa. The cigar is rounded out with all Nicaraguan fillers from Esteli, Jalapa and Ometepe.

The name Bosphorus is a reference to the Bosphorus Strait which is located in Turkey where his family was born, making this a fitting tribute to the legacy of his father.

It might be 12 years since his last blend, but he hasn't missed a step with this smooth medium-full bodied cigar that features notes of chocolate, coffee and caramel.

The Bosphorus is taken from the famous straits between the Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Marmara, and the Black Sea; it delineates Asia from Europe, with Anatolia on the eastern side and Thrace on the western. Cano was first involved in meerschaum pipe manufacturing before immigrating to the United States and subsequently getting involved in the cigar business in the early 1990s.