First Look: C.A.O. Italia

Widely heralded as the producer of some of the world's finest wines, olive oils, and truffles, Italy has been largely overlooked as a source for premium cigar tobacco. "Historically, there have been two types of tobacco seeds that thrive in Italy," said CAO Vice President, Tim Ozgener. "The Geudertheimer seed is grown and used primarily for machine made cigars. The seed grown for CAO Italia, however, is an Italian Habano seed originally brought to Italy from Cuba some forty-plus years ago. This seed is grown in the Benevento region of the southern portion of Italy, located between Rome and Naples. We've experimented a great deal with Italian tobacco and we believe it lends a very unique earthy-sweetness to the blend, one that rounds out the robust, full-bodied flavor profile that is CAO Italia."

The CAO Italia will be available in three shapes: Ciao (5 x 56), Gondola (6 ¼ x 54 figurado), and Piazza (6 x 60). The Italian Habano seed filler is complimented by filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and Peru, and finished with a Habano seed Honduran-grown wrapper and binder.

Find out more: CAO International website