Cigar Review: CAO La Traviata Intrepido

I don’t regularly smoke CAO’s, but the La Traviata Intrepido may have changed this prejudice.

When I walked into the humidor, I was looking for something reasonably priced with a medium-bodied taste. I read that the La Traviata Divino had recently made the Cigar Aficionado Top 25 list for 2010 (it ranked in at #15). The Divino appeared a tad too short for the length of time I was looking to smoke, so I decided to spend a little more and picked up the Intrepido.

It was a great choice. This stick has a simple, medium-bodied taste that consistently hints of milky coffee and chocolate flavors. The blend of the Nicaraguan and Dominican filler is surprisingly delicious, and it’s further complimented by a traditional-looking Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The ash is a bit too lite, especially at the start; you’d be smart to keep an ashtray at your side while smoking this particular stick. Yet the weakness of the ash, which I usually associate with a poorly constructed cigar, doesn’t seem to impact the overall enjoyment. In fact, I was rather surprised about how a cigar that loses its ash so frequently could stay lit for so long (required only one re-light).

This selection gains a lot of kudos for its consistency in taste; even as it reaches its coda, the Intrepido maintains its smooth, medium-bodied flavor.

For a cigar of its size, taste and consistency, the La Traviata Intrepido is a great choice and a true bargain for the smoker on a budget.

-Mike Worley