CAO Black VR Cathedral (torpedo)

[Augie754]

CAO Black VR Cathedral (torpedo)
Cigar Size = 6 x 52
Country of Origin = Honduras
Wrapper = Brazilian Maduro Arapiraca
Binder = n/a
Filler = Nicaraguan, Mexican
Purchased From = CigarBid.com
Purchase Date = 2007-09-26
Purchase price = $4.36
Smoke Date = 2008-07-30
Location/Occasion = Ash's, Westerville, Ohio
Weather Conditions = 80°F, 64% Humidity, Partly Cloudy

Appearance = 8.6
The torpedo was straight with few lumps. The wrapper was a very dark brown, near black. It had smaller veins and just a few small flaws. It looked dry, surprisingly almost no sheen. The band was ok, with an addition band of white splattered paint on black at the foot.

Construction = 9.1
Pre-smoke draw was good and the bunch was firm. After lighting it burnt relatively straight throughout. The draw was about as good as it gets, just the right amount of resistance. It had a cool burn and the ash was gray and solid, it held on for over an inch.

Taste = 8.0
The cigar started with a ton of flavor, mostly coffee and a little pepper. It smoothed out to a medium-full coffee flavor for most of the cigar. It wasn't great and it wasn't bad, but could be categorized as boring. There wasn't much complexity to the taste. It seemed to has a very short finish as well.

Overall
Even though the construction was superb, this cigar was a little disappointing. Not to say that this was a bad cigar, but I expect a most complex flavor. The flavor for me was a little flat.

Appearance = 8.6 x 1
Construction = 9.1 x 3
Taste = 8.0 x 6
Overall = 8.39
Strenth Rating = Medium-Full

Rating scale:
10.0 - 9.5 = buy at any price
9.5 - 9.0 = premium price box worthy
9.0 - 8.5 = box worthy
8.5 - 8.0 = single or 5 pack worthy
8.0 - 7.0 = single worthy if dirt cheap
7.0 - 6.0 = will smoke if given for free
6.0 - 5.0 = suffer through if have to
5.0 - 4.0 = unsmokable
4.0 - 2.0 = would rather stick my head in a dirty toilet
2.0 - 0.0 = would rather stick my head in a dirty toilet with my mouth open