CAO L'Anniversaire Extreme Corona

[clone-k]

Here goes round two of the Clone K review saga. As a huge fan of the Maduro line this is the next step in my CAO evolution. I was really looking forward to this smoke, and here are my impressions.

Construction:

This baby was put together well. A perfect beautiful specimen with no flaws. Deep brown wrapper and a good smell. It was a little tight to the feel, but had a nearly perfect draw, not to easy, not to hard. Produced ample smoke for a corona, but nothing outrageous. Stayed lit all the way down, even when I walked away for five minutes to take a phone call. Ash was thick and sturdy as a board. I was curious as to how long I could have let the ash go, but always knocked it off after an inch and a half or so. It was still solid at that distance, wowsa. So far its gravy for Clone K

9.5 Of 10 Nearly perfect. More CAO mastery here.

Taste:

Here is where things went south for me. This taste profile is not one that appeals to me. It was a fairly complex medium strength cigar. It was intensely spicy at some points, but for the most part had a slightly spicy taste that was the mainstay. It also had a slightly pepper taste at points, and I mean jalapeno pepper taste. It was unique in that I had never had that experience before, but to my buds, it was jalapeno. Also encountered a lot of earthy flavor and leathery tones. If I only enjoyed these flavors, I would have been in heaven. But to me this was one smoke I could have done without.

7 of 10 I hate to go that low, because I know to someone this is the flavor they would love. For that reason alone I didn't give it a 5. Trying to objective here.

Price:

I'll admit I got off easy on these guys. Got a five pack off cigar bid for around $3.50 a pop. I have seen theme in the cigar shop for $7-10 dollar range, and stayed away for that reason. If you can bid em cheap, and you enjoy the profile I described I'd say go for it. If you have the same prices at your shop as I do, I say stay away.

6 of 10 I wouldn't pay that much for them, but the quality is there if you like this flavor.

Final Conclusions:

This is sadly a cigar I just don't like. To be objective, I did this review with a cringe on my face. I can't say this cigar is really Extreme in any way, but hype sells. Having never had a Cameroon version of this line, this may be extreme in comparison. The quality is definitely there. I read a quickie review in the DB that foretold a spicy sweet taste, but I tasted nothing even remotely sweet. Maduro lovers will want to stay ten miles away from this guy. I will not be smoking another one of these guys, and somebody out there will be getting some Extreme's coming their way. Despite my high marks.

22.5 of 30 That’s all folks…

Your Pal,
Clone K


Bacon flavored cigars... Now there's an idea.