Received an Italia Ciao today from a PIF trade 🙂
Smoking it now.
To say the least, I'm impressed, very much so.
Pre-burn, its appearance and aroma are amazing, even by CAO's standards. It has the same sturdy, robust feel and build of the Brazilia, with a slightly lighter wrapper. It's very thick. The wrapper has a waxy sheen to it, and it smelled fantastic, like fresh-ground coffee.
It lit easily and so far (1" from band) has burned more evenly than almost anything else I've smoked. The draw is surprisingly easy -- almost too much so -- but it firms up after a while. It's medium-bodied but almost mind-bendingly complex and delicate.
Given its origin, its theme, and the pre-burn aroma, I fully expected a heavy smoke with big, coffee-like flavors. What I've found is only subtle coffee undertones, with the main body having definite notes of nuts and anise.
I've also encountered nary a cigar with such indelible smoothness of character. The big mouthfuls of pearly-white smoke glide off the tongue, leaving just enough taste to hint at something more, prompting you to take another puff in order to explore its taste profiles deeper. At first, I puffed a bit too hard, and found that instead of becoming bitter, it becomes almost gamey, reminding me of strong licorice and lamb of all things.
Smoked with restraint, the Italia is thought-provoking, creamy, and relaxing. This necessitates a clean palate on the first smoke, but I figure that once you know what you are up against, a cup of coffee would complement it nicely the second time around, and the third, and the fourth...
The Italia is one of CAO's best to date, in my opinion. It's definitely something out of the ordinary, and may not be for everybody (most definitely not for novices!), but however you look at it, it's a very, very high quality stick and worth trying at least once.
