Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the CAO FASA Noche Toro is medium brown with some darker marbling and there are some thick, knotty veins running down the back of the cigar. The seams are smooth while the caps have some raised edges on the head. There are two bands, both white and black, with the primary denoting the brand and the line, while the secondary denotes the sub-line. The aroma from the wrapper is dark chocolate and light cedar, while the foot brings the same mix along with some light spice. The pre-light draw brings a dusty cedar and light floral note.

First Third

The cigar begins with toasted cedar, black pepper and some earth and light chalky cocoa. At a quarter inch in, the pepper is fairly bold. At a half inch in, the earth increases a bit. The retrohale is toasted cedar, zingy black pepper, earth and some mild chalky cocoa. At an inch and a quarter, the black pepper mellows a bit. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with the earth a bit behind, black pepper in the middle of the profile and chalky cocoa in the background. The strength was right at medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the chalky cocoa increases a bit. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, zingy black pepper, earth and some mild chalky cocoa. At an inch in, the earth picks up a bit. At an inch and a half in, the chalky cocoa note departs. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with the black pepper in the middle of the profile. The strength remained at medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the earth becomes even with the toasted cedar up front. At a quarter inch in, the chalky cocoa note rejoins at a light level. The retrohale is now just toasted cedar and earth with mild black pepper. At an inch in, a light wood bitterness joins the profile. At an inch and a quarter, the chalky cocoa is no longer detectable. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with black pepper in the middle and some wood bitterness in the background. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.

Burn

The burn was a bit wavy at times, but never needed any attention. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.

Draw

The draw was a little tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.

Overall

The cigar began with toasted cedar, black pepper and some earth and light chalky cocoa. The second third saw the chalky cocoa and earth increase a bit and then the cocoa departed towards the end of the third. The final third saw the earth become even with the cedar up front. The chalky cocoa rejoined for a bit and then departed and a wood bitterness joined in. The CAO FASA Noche Toro had a nice start as the chalky cocoa provided a pleasant accent. As it departed in the second third, the profile took a step down and remained that way for the remainder of the cigar. This cigar had a profile that showed through some of the homogenized flavors that were present and typical of STG releases that I experience. Around the middle of the cigar, the profile succumbed to the homogenized components, but I think there is still a good flavor profile hidden in there. I wouldn’t come back to this cigar as it didn’t do enough through the whole cigar, but it tried its best.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.85

Cost/Point

$1.19

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: CAO FASA Noche Toro