CAO Vision Prana Cigar Review – CAO Cigars

The Vision represents CAO’s first cigar manufactured in the Dominican Republic. And to make sure it was made just right, CAO went to the best: La Aurora. Blended by the Ozgener family under the watchful eye of La Aurora’s Guillermo Leon, Vision is a product of CAO’s creative genius combined with the experience of the Dominican Republic’s oldest factory.

Cloaking this cigar is a chestnut-colored, Dominican-grown Corojo wrapper cultivated four years ago. Inside, a mixture of premium tobaccos from the Dominican, Nicaragua and Brazil. After being rolled, each cigar undergoes an extensive aging process that lasts a minimum of six months. The result is a medium to full-bodied cigar boasting notable hints of toasted cedar and nuts. After each puff, a touch of mocha coats the palate, as a woody aroma is released from the blue smoke above.

CAO Vision comes packaged in an eye-catching, state of the art box that not only secures the cigars, but keeps them fresh. Scientifically calibrated to guarantee the optimum relative humidity of ~70%, this box comes equipped with an external digital hygrometer, doubling as a desktop or travel humidor. If you’re taking it on the go, simply place the box inside the included neoprene bag and be on your way. Dubbed the CAO Sensi-Box, this state-of-the-art form of packaging even lights up.

Origin: Dominican Republic
Size: 6 1/4 x 52
Ring: 52
Wrapper: Dom. Rep.
Binder: Dom. Rep.
Filler: Nicaragua, Brazil, Dom. Rep.
Hand-Made
Price: ~$15.00 each
More info about purchasing: CAO Vision Cigars

There was a lot of hype when this cigar first came out. Some of it may have something to do with the gimmicky high-tech humidor box it came in. But, Cigar Aficionado liked this cigar so much that they named it their #9 cigar of 2007. Let’s see if it’s worthy of the high praise.

Appearance :
Like almost every CAO cigar I have smoked in the past this one looks perfect. It’s very oily and has a light brown wrapper. During our pre light inspection we found the cigar to be constructed very well. It was smooth and soft to the touch and firmly packed when pinched.

Construction :
After opening up the head, I found the draw to be decent. Once lit the cigar produced thick clouds of smoke and gave way to a slow and even burn. The draw is loose but not too so, and if anything, it just offers a generous amount of white smoke with a medium body.

Flavor :
It is on the strong side of the medium bodied range. It starts out burning hot but it calms down shortly. Tons of flavor at the beginning. Not the most powerful cigar ever but it’s still pretty strong. After halfway through, there was no change to the flavor profile.

Burn :
The burn remained even and produced a light colored, firm ash. The resting smoke was light and filled the room with a mild woody aroma. The burn rate felt somewhat slow as it took over 90 min to finish.

Overall Rating :
The CAO Vision Prana is a well balanced and complex cigar, that will not disappoint anyone. Even the burn was perfect all the way. I really did not want to put this one down. There was no sign of any bitter or harsh flavors in any point. However, the price would be much more appealing at around $8.00 per single as I felt it did not merit the $15.00 price tag it currently holds. Overall, it’s a pleasant cigar, perfect for that special occasion smoke.