Many cigar manufactures put some of their better selling brands into what is called a ‘mini cigar’ or cigarillo. My most recent foray into this realm of cigar smoking had me staring at a box of C.A.O. Brazilia Mini Cigars. I was intrigued by this because the C.A.O. Brazilia is one of my favorite cigars and I thought I just had to try them. If you remember a while back I wrote a review of the C.A.O. Criollo and all of the different sizes that it comes in. The Brazilia goes one step further and now is available in a ‘mini’. They come 20 to a pack and are 3 1/2 “ in length. It hard to imagine that cigars are measured in a ring gauge down this small but the diameter of the cigar is about 20 ring.
Flavor
This is a medium little cigar and to my surprise carried with it much of the flavor of it’s larger counterparts. The flavor, albeit faint, had a hint of wood and coffee. The aroma was pretty much as nice the full size cigars with a mild floral undertone. There is really not much else to say because the smoking experience only lasts for about 15 minutes.
Draw and Construction
The wrapper is a dark brown Brazilian tobacco and a bit of a rough look to it. It burns perfectly even and actually held an ash for 1 ½”. This mini cigar also had a Nicaraguan binder, which surrounded some short fill tobacco. Unlike the larger cigars in the C.A.O. Brazilia line, these mini cigars are made in Denmark.
Value
I have to say that for around $10 to $12 for a box of 20 of these little smokes it is a nice value and offers you the taste of a big cigar when you really don’t have the time to smoke one.
