Aaron Loomis

 John McTavish

Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the CAO Surplus Shade Robusto is medium tan with hints of green along with some lightly raised, knotty veins. The seams are a bit raised and the head is well finished. The band is black, yellowish-orange and white and denotes the brand, line and sub-line. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of cedar, hay and earth, while the foot brings a musty mix of construction paper and earth. The pre-light draw brings musty cedar and dusty earth, along with a mild spiciness on my lips.
John: The CAO Surplus Shade Robusto comes in cellophane and has a UPC sticker that tears when opened. It has a medium-sized CAO Surplus Shade band. I weighed the cigar at 11.8 grams and measured the humidity at 59.4% with the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included bright wood, with a mossy earth combination underneath. From the foot, I was getting more of that mossy earth along with a more pronounced tobacco aroma.

CAO Surplus Shade Robusto

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, earth and bold black pepper. At a half inch in, some construction paper joins the profile. The retrohale brings toasted cedar, bold, zingy black pepper and some earth. At an inch in, a light mustiness joins the profile. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is a bit ahead of the earth and bold black pepper, while some mustiness and construction paper are in the back half of the profile. The strength was right at medium.
John: The first third kicks things off with sweet tobacco combining with wood and hay, with mildly spicy wood finishing and lingering between draws. A few puffs in, some creaminess joins the lead, and chocolate breaks into the retrohale as the profile settles in. The profile remains quite stable through the first third, with the sharpness of the wood through the finish picking up in intensity through the bottom half.

CAO Surplus Shade Robusto

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper picks up a bit in fullness. At a quarter inch in, the overall profile has become a bit dry as some dry hay has joined in and tipped it in that direction. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, zingy black pepper, earth and dry hay. At an inch in, a decent wood bitterness joins the profile. At an inch and a quarter, the mustiness increases a bit. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the black pepper, with earth a bit further behind. Dry hay and wood bitterness are in the middle of the profile with mustiness and construction paper just behind them. The strength remained at medium.
John: The second third gets going with creamy wood leading, followed by sweet tobacco with some mild baking spices underneath. The finish consists of mild baking spices teaming up with tannic wood at almost medium strength.

CAO Surplus Shade Robusto

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the wood bitterness is now even with the earth in the front half of the profile. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, zingy black pepper, earth, dry hay and wood bitterness. At a half inch in, the toast level increases a fair amount. As the cigar wraps up, the heavily toasted cedar is just ahead of the bold black pepper, with earth and wood bitterness just behind. Dry hay is in the middle of the profile with mustiness and construction paper right behind. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
John: The cigar moves into the last third with creamy wood leading, as the sweet tobacco notes have largely fallen away by this point. As the last third settles in, the profile becomes almost entirely wood-driven.

CAO Surplus Shade Robusto

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout and the ash held on in inch and a half increments.
John: As with most of my reviews, I lit the cigar with the Xikar Tactical torch lighter. The burn was relatively straight through the first third, wavy in the second third and relatively straight in the final third.

CAO Surplus Shade Robusto

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
John: The draw measured 72 inches of water on the Cigar Medics draw tester. Subjectively, it was two and a half to three notches into the resistant spectrum, making it resistant on each puff.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, earth and bold black pepper. Some construction paper joined in a bit later. Then, some mustiness joined in. The second third saw the black pepper increase a bit, then some dry hay joined in, tipping the profile to the dry side. Later, a decent wood bitterness joined in and then the mustiness increased a bit. The final third saw the wood bitterness increase a bit and then the toast level became pretty heavy. The construction was absolutely perfect. The CAO Surplus Shade Robusto started with an average flavor profile, focused around toasted cedar, bold black pepper and earth. It took a step down in the second third as the profile became dry and a decent wood bitterness joined in. It remained at that level the rest of the way. The flavor profile of this cigar is what I expected from a budget Connecticut shade with pepper sharpness and overall dryness. It wasn’t able to punch above its price point like the Maduro. Definitely not a cigar I’d come back to.
John: The CAO Surplus Shade Robusto delivered its best moments in the first third, where sweet tobacco, wood and hay formed the foundation of the profile. The addition of creaminess helped soften the sharper edges, while the chocolate through the retrohale added a bit of depth and complexity. The profile did not evolve dramatically, but the balance in the first third was enough to earn it a Good rating. From there, the cigar gradually shifted toward a more wood-focused experience. The second third retained some sweetness and creaminess, but tannic wood began to take a more prominent role, with baking spices providing a secondary accent. By the final third, the sweet tobacco that helped make the opening engaging had largely faded, leaving the profile almost entirely centered around creamy wood. Construction was very good overall. The burn was never perfectly straight for the entire review, but the waviness in the second third did not require any intervention. The draw was resistant throughout, measuring 72 inches of water, but remained manageable on each puff. Overall, the CAO Surplus Shade Robusto had a solid start with some enjoyable sweetness, creaminess and a touch of chocolate that provided the most interesting part of the smoking experience. Unfortunately, the profile became progressively simpler as the review continued, eventually settling into a largely wood-driven experience without much additional development. It remained serviceable throughout, but the stronger and more balanced first third was not sustained, resulting in an Average overall rating. For a budget cigar, this offering punches well outside of its price class. My total smoking time was 1 hour and 49 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

4.68

Cost/Point

$0.45

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.80

Cost/Point

$0.36

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: CAO Surplus Shade Robusto