Vitola: Corona- 5.5” x 44 ring gauge
- MSRP $6.00
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
I’ve stated before that we in the South have a tendency to absolutely butcher many Spanish words used in the cigar industry. When one of my co-workers talked about the CAO “Pylon,” though, I did burst out in laughter…I really tried not to, but I couldn’t help it. It does look like that if you use the rough English pronunciation rules and it makes it more memorable to me.
The actual name is “Pilón” (pee-LONE), which refers to the piles of tobacco leaves made for the purpose of fermenting those leaves. Basically it’s a compost heap with the weight and pressure of the matter causing heat in the interior of the pile, which causes the structure and chemistry of the matter to change. Most modern pilónes are square or rectangular structures, 10 or more feet on each side and 3 or more feet in height. This CAO release’s name refers to an older Cuban pilón method that stacks the leaves in a roughly circular shape with less height. The fermentation then takes place at a lower temperature and slower speed, which makes for a difference in the way the final leaf tastes. The practice was abandoned long ago because of the extra time (and therefore, extra money) required.
The CAO Pilón showed up at stores in August in 3 sizes: Corona, Robusto and Churchill. It uses Nicaraguan filler and binder, along with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. I’ve smoked both show samples and a stick or two I purchased once they made it to my store’s shelves; I bought this review sample from Burns Tobacconist.
Prelight
Pilón continues the improvement of the CAO packaging and marketing since the early days when General Cigar took over. The box features a 2-piece hinged lid that allows for vivid display of the tobacco pilón graphic on a small section, while the larger section is open for easy access to the cigars. The band is a 3-color (black brown and light brown) design that is functional and attractive. Each band is keyed to a specific size, with the dimensions printed right about “Rick Rodriguez,” the driving force behind the CAO brand at this time. Other verbiage denotes that this is “Loté Pequeño”…small batch, basically…and I do wonder exactly how “small,” since this is General Cigar and I haven’t heard of any shortages of the cigars yet. Finally the band overlap and glue point uses the round pilón graphic.
The wrapper leaf was a medium brown with a good amount of oiliness to the touch and a moderate amount of veins. It had a sweet, almost caramel-like aroma to it, along with touches of earth and hay. The foot had more earth and a bit of cedar aroma. Once clipped, the draw was excellent and tasted mostly of earth and wood, with a little bell pepper mixed in.
Flavor
I lit up the CAO Pilón with my regular single-flame torch and it fired easily. It started of with lots of hay and cedar notes, with earth playing a lesser role on the palate. There was a bit of white pepper on the tongue at the finish and a hotter pepper burn on the nose. After a few minutes, there was a subtly sweet dried fruit note that came through as well, along with some anise. The cigar was medium-plus in body at the outset.
As I continued into the second third, the sweetness grew in the mix and I started to get some bittersweet chocolate notes in there. The pepper continued on the same on the palate, along with decreased notes of cedar.
The sweetness diminished a bit in the last third while cedar notes came back very strongly. The retrohale had roasted nuts along with the continued pepper spice.
Construction
I’ve had very good experience with the construction of all the Pilón samples I’ve smoked. This one had a slightly tight draw, but that’s the exception. The ash held on for an inch or so and the burn line was very straight.
Value
Despite the “small batch” designation and limited yields from the different type of pilón used, the price is very good on these.
Conclusions
The CAO Pilón isn’t a game-changer for the company, and I felt like it didn’t really deliver on the advertised extra experience the different fermentation process is supposed to provide; but it was a good every day cigar with a pleasing flavor profile and a very good price tag. I would have to recommend it to fans of Nicaraguan blends with a medium-to-full body and a touch of sweetness throughout…just don’t get your hopes up that it’s something totally new and different.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
CAO Pilón is currently available in-store at Burns Tobacconist or online from Small Batch Cigar or Stogies World Class Cigars.
