CAO releases domino inspired cigars

CAO releases domino inspired cigars. The new upcoming brand is called CAO Bones. Bones is a reference to dominoes and dice. Just like with the CAO Sessions, blender Rick Rodriguez takes inspiration from kicking back with friends, relaxing, with a cold beer in your hand. Where the Session line is inspired just by hanging out with cigars in your garage, CAO Bones focusses more on the game you play with your friends when you hang out.

The blend 

The cigars are made at STG Esteli. That’s the large cigar factory from Scandinavian Tobacco Group in Nicaragua. STG is the parent of General Cigars, Cigars International, Thompson, Cigar.com, and cigar bid. Brands such as CAO, Macanudo, Cohiba, Partagas, and many more are part of their portfolio as well. STG is the largest producer of machine-made cigars in the world. And they are the world-leading manufacturer of pipe tobacco.

The CAO Bones is made with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. The binder is Connecticut Shade. For the filler, Rodriguez went to Honduras where he selected tobacco from Jamastran and La Entrada. He added Dominican Piloto Cubano. And to finish the blend, some Nicaraguan filler was added.

The names

Bones is a name used for both dominoes and dice. That’s because early versions were made out of animal bones. The Greeks and Romans made dice from the anklebones of sheep. The name stuck. But the ‘bones’ name is not the only reference to dominoes or dice. The four different cigars are named after specific games as well. Dominoes is a very popular game in Latin America, although it’s not played a lot in Europe and Asia.

The smallest of the four sizes is called Chicken Foot. This cigar measures 5×54. Chicken Foot is a domino game. The slightly bigger 6×54 Blind Hughie is also named after a variant of dominoes. The Matador isn’t inspired by bullfighting, but again by dominoes. The Matador measures 7¼x54. The last size to be released is the Maltese cross. This is a 6×60 Gordo.

Funny detail, all four of the cigars are named after domino games. Yet included in each and every box of CAO Bones, you will find two dice.