That's weird. I would have expected since they came in a ultra-cool neon lit humidor that they would have aged up quite nicely by now. Maybe they will be better tomorrow.
Posts: 310 | Location: binghamton, ny | Registered: February 24, 2006
Not to be a dick, but ive never seen more verbal tirades in my life as much as with you and CAO. Im sure the entire website can tell you do not like them. Ok dont buy them then.. what the hell..Why must you constantly remind the world that you dont like them? Alot of people dont like CAO anwyays.. join the club....
__________________________ Jersey Fresh!
Posts: 839 | Location: NJ | Registered: February 20, 2007
People aren't smoking cigars to be trendy, cool or stylish. They're smoking cigars because they like them. Because they enjoy the experience. Because for about $5 they can spend an hour sampling one of life's greatest luxuries. -David Savona
Posts: 1157 | Location: Ferndale, MI | Registered: October 03, 2004
MONDAY -- SUCKFEST 2007. Indeed, the Vision sucks...but does it suck as bad as notoriously sucky cigars like Lars Tetens? Find out tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY -- THE FUTURE OF CAO. Now that Henri Wintermans has purchased CAO, will the new infusion of cash allow the company to create even more insults to the cigar smoker's intelligence? Or does Gurkha still have the market cornered on ludicrously overpriced cigars?
FRIDAY -- VISION vs. FLAVORETTE. Would you rather smoke a Vision or a wadded up pair of filthy panties worn by one of those nasty-ass Flavorettes? I'll post the results of my local survey, hopefully with new insights from CA members Jamal Ginsberg and ILoveMeSomeMe.
And of course, every day, I'll be letting you know whether the Vision still blows.
I love the dedication to this, you seem to actually be mad at the cigars as if one of them gave you a rectal exam, without giving you a heads up. I will look forward to Monday's report but what am I going to do with myself on Tuesday?
"They're not real Cubans. They're Dominicans." Yeah. I'm a little worried. When there's no work, and the people get restless, who do you think they come after?... El Presidente!
Posts: 708 | Location: South Lyon, MI | Registered: February 08, 2007
CAO Vision vs. The World’s Worst Cigars – The Showdown!
Obviously, there are plenty of very intelligent reasons to avoid the new CAO Vision, chief among them the unjustifiably high price tag for a lumpy, veiny cigar that, to me, tasted stemmy and green. Epileptics in particular should probably avoid the flashy, neon-lit box, which manages to capture all of the subtlety and tastefulness of downtown Reno and distill it into a cigar box that inexplicably manages not to incorporate the one material I tend to look for when it comes to cigar packaging: Spanish cedar.
Since the Vision cannot possibly justify its retail price (remembering that a Vision robusto costs over $3 more than a similarly-sized Ashton VSG and a full $6 more than a Ramon Allones Specially Selected, at least when purchased via Spain), there’s no sense in comparing it to the best, most pedigreed cigars in the world. So it only makes sense then to compare it to the worst.
Let’s begin with the Lars Tetens Teeshu Deluxe, a 7-inch by 44 ring gauge delight that I found at www.sk8nsmoke.com for only $38.40. Each. I’ve never smoked one but I think we can all stipulate that it would probably suck. The fact that Lars Tetens may have actually touched it does not bode well in terms of cleanliness. Advantage: CAO Vision.
Okay, granted, I threw a softball for the first pitch, so let’s move on to a more formidable challenge: the $3.50 Te-Amo robusto. This one I’ve actually smoked recently – on a dare. The unmistakable scent of manure hits you like a brick wall as you open the box, but this quickly recedes into a more palatable pre-light aroma that I might liken to a beagle taking a sh*t in the back of a musty old Jeep as you’re driving down the highway past a freshly fertilized farm with the windows down while your significant other farts vigorously in the passenger’s seat. The cigar itself looks like a piece of 54-ring tree branch, which in and of itself is not the kiss of death. The flavor was papery, earthy and gritty – distinctively Mexican and a good reminder why one leaf of Mexican tobacco can often do wonders for a blend (i.e., Dominican Partagas #10) but two leaves or more is enough to kill it (i.e., the Te-Amo Robusto). Yet the CAO Vision robusto sells for nearly four times the price of the Te-Amo. Is it four times as good (or bad)? Absolutely not. Would I pay money not to smoke a Te-Amo Robusto? Of course. How much? What’s the price of that Vision again….$12? Looks like we have another win for the CAO Vision.
My final test pitted the CAO Vision against one of cigardom’s most classic vitolas. Lovingly crafted in the fertile valleys of my own hometown…beautiful Scranton, Pennsylvania…is the Ram Rod Deputy. At 4” x 36, the Deputy might at first seem to be at a disadvantage, dwarfed as it is by the much thicker Vision. But appearances can be deceiving. The Ram Rod Deputy is as hard and unwieldy as PVC plumbing pipe and smokes extra-slow because of it. It’s also ideal for the traveling cigar aficionado by virtue of its exceptional durability. You can mash it, smash it, run it over with a Range Rover Sport and it’s still smokeable…well, as smokeable as it was before you ran it over, anyway. Like the classic Parodi, the Ram Rod is a dry-cured, Toscano-style cigar with an added infusion of burbon (eat your heart out, Jonathan Drew) to add a little extra dimension of complexity to the Ram Rod’s inherently …ummm … inherently ... well, words fail me when it comes to describing the taste of the Ram Rod though if you’ve ever smoked an Avanti, for example, just substitute an acrid bourbon top note for anisette and you’ve pretty much got the idea. The Ram Rod draws perfectly because it has been strategically under-filled and it burns like a dream – that is, if you dream about smoking a piece of half-dried-out rhubarb wrapped in a maple leaf. The Ram Rod Deputy is priced at about $1 a stick, meaning you could buy twelve for the price of one CAO Vision. But the CAO Vision has something the Ram Rod doesn’t: a cigar band. Which is all I need to give the advantage to CAO’s (suddenly appealing) Vision.
There you have it: three tough competitors, three clear victories for the CAO Vision. The Vision joins other classic CAO cigars like the Karma Sutra Splash in the pantheon of tobacco greatness, at least for the moment. In today’s competitive cigar marketplace, the next challenger is always waiting in the wings to trump the Vision and take its rightful place as goofiest-looking, most awkwardly conceived cigar to ever be packed into such a ludicrously tasteless box and sold for a king’s ransom.
Oh, I almost forgot…back to today’s business. Compared to the other good cigars in the $12 - $16 price range, the CAO Vision still sucks.
Check back tomorrow to find out if it still sucks on Tuesday.
Originally posted by Extensioncord: Monday, March 12, 2007
My final test pitted the CAO Vision against one of cigardom’s most classic vitolas. Lovingly crafted in the fertile valleys of my own hometown…beautiful Scranton, Pennsylvania…is the Ram Rod Deputy. At 4” x 36, the Deputy might at first seem to be at a disadvantage, dwarfed as it is by the much thicker Vision. But appearances can be deceiving. The Ram Rod Deputy is as hard and unwieldy as PVC plumbing pipe and smokes extra-slow because of it. It’s also ideal for the traveling cigar aficionado by virtue of its exceptional durability. You can mash it, smash it, run it over with a Range Rover Sport and it’s still smokeable…well, as smokeable as it was before you ran it over, anyway. Like the classic Parodi, the Ram Rod is a dry-cured, Toscano-style cigar with an added infusion of burbon (eat your heart out, Jonathan Drew) to add a little extra dimension of complexity to the Ram Rod’s inherently …ummm … inherently ... well, words fail me when it comes to describing the taste of the Ram Rod though if you’ve ever smoked an Avanti, for example, just substitute an acrid bourbon top note for anisette and you’ve pretty much got the idea. The Ram Rod draws perfectly because it has been strategically under-filled and it burns like a dream – that is, if you dream about smoking a piece of half-dried-out rhubarb wrapped in a maple leaf. The Ram Rod Deputy is priced at about $1 a stick, meaning you could buy twelve for the price of one CAO Vision. But the CAO Vision has something the Ram Rod doesn’t: a cigar band. Which is all I need to give the advantage to CAO’s (suddenly appealing) Vision.
Ahahaah that's great.
"Think for a moment about whether it is ethical to throw a living creature into boiling water before sucking it down with a cup of melted butter"
Thats a great bit of commentary... But I am also kind of hesitant to get a Vision... Don't want to waste money on something I dont like when I can get an Opus or a VSG
WEDNESDAY -- THE FUTURE OF CAO. Now that Henri Wintermans has purchased CAO, will the new infusion of cash allow the company to create even more insults to the cigar smoker's intelligence? Or does Gurkha still have the market cornered on ludicrously overpriced cigars?
And of course, I'll also let you know if the CAO Vision still sucks.
I was going to say something about how a good rating in a magazine would cause many to start buying it, even if boxes had been sitting for retail for months ignored by consumers....
Ecord, thanks for this service to the cigar community.
Having had the displeasure of smoking a CAO Vision and listening to the CAO rep speak endlessly regarding the "super premium" status that this product deserves, I have but one question:
With all the planning and engineering work that has gone into the design, development and marketing of the CAO Vision "packaging/box/humidor", why didn't one of the CAO Visionaries think of placing a mirror in the top of the box? In this way, each aficionado - while quilting the air with flavorless smoke - can see himself mouth the words "I spent a small fortune on this box of super premiums, and they really s*ck!"
