There once was a show on HBO that changed television forever. The rise and fall of Tony Soprano, along with his associates and his family, was as engaging and interesting a story as you could hope to see on the little screen. In the early 2000s, CAO even made the CAO Sopranos cigar as an homage and bada bing! they were on the Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 Cigars of the Year list right away. The reviewers loved the “gutsy, flavorful smoke with coffee, dark berry, and charred wood flavors.”
But as the show and its iconic star, James Gandolfini (R.I.P.) passed into memory, so did the name of the cigar line. The rebranded CAO Consigliere cigar now carries on the tradition of a smoke blended to conjure images of well-fed men in suits, seated at the back of good Italian restaurants, ringed in clouds of cigar smoke as they discuss their various problems and possible (no doubt nonviolent) solutions.
The CAO Consigliere cigar is full strength, as it should be. It takes tremendous cojones to roll with the big dogs, and this blend reflects that. The long-filler blend is substantial, combining tobacco from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia (what – no Italia? It’s been done, believe it or not!). The binder then brings in rich Honduran leaf. And the whole shebang is completed with a spicy and sweet Brazilian Mata fina Maduro wrapper.
Altogether, CAO Consigliere cigars bring a wealth of flavor. There’s the black pepper of a nice carbonara, the bitter earthiness of a high-quality espresso, and the meaty, wine-soaked satisfaction of beef braciole.
It’s a good thing, this thing of ours, you know?
It’s never a bad time to fire up an episode of the Sopranos. There, you can experience a show that was perfectly cast, outstandingly acted, and that holds up a mirror to all of us to remind us just how full of shit we can all be at times. As for the Consigliere himself, it was strip club owner and business strategist Silvio Dante who advised the big boss over the years. Maybe you’re interested to hear what this cigar has to say to you through its smoke?
Arrivaderci, associati.
Please browse our selection of CAO Consigliere cigars at your leisure.
This one seems to call for a nice glass of Italian wine. Livio Sassetti makes a Brunello di Montalcino Pertimali 2015 that everyone’s loving at the time of this writing.
