Review CAO Arcana Thunder Smoke Cigar

CAO Arcana Thunder Smoke liimited-edition cigars are made in the Dominican Republic entirely with filler tobaccos grown in Africa, namely South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Cameroon. This is a first for CAO. The filler is bound by a Mexican San Andreas binder and then wrapped in an Olancho San Augustin Honduran wrapper. Thunder Smoke became available in September 2024, in one Toro Grande size (6.5" × 52) priced at $12.99 per cigar. For more information about CAO Thunder Smoke cigars, please see the press release.

Before firing up a CAO Arcana Thunder Smoke Toro Grande, I removed the large band that covers most of the body of the cigar. The sample began with a modest naturally sweet tobacco flavor,which faded during the first five minutes. During the next 5 to 10 minutes, the flavor transitioned into a leathery smoke along with notes of citrus and hints of earth. It was during this transition when the overall flavor of the smoke was just a bit unusual compared to a more typical cigar made entirely with traditional tobaccos. The smoke started becoming smoother during the next 10 minutes, when I ashed the cigar for the first time at the 25-minute mark. Beyond this point, the notes of citrus became less noticeable and more intermittent, with leather being the predominate flavor. The smoke was medium-bodied throughout, and the taste stayed pretty much consistent after the first 25 minutes.

After 50 minutes into the smoking session, I ashed the cigar for the second time and applied the first minor touch-up, to keep the burn even. After an additional 15 minutes, a second minor touch-up was needed before the cigar went out by itself about 10 minutes later, with 1½ inches remaining. During the 75 minutes that it took me to smoke the CAO Arcana Thunder Smoke from start to finish, the cigar had a very good draw, mostly even burn, and held a long ash. No relights were needed, but two touch-ups were applied at the times previously indicated.

The CAO Arcana Thunder Smoke cigar was enjoyable throughout, and is not at all overpowering as its name may suggest. This is a cigar that can be enjoyed by virtually all levels of cigar smokers. However, seasoned cigar connoisseurs may appreciate experiencing the nontraditional African filler tobaccos in the filler blend of this limited-edition cigar, more so than would a beginner. I rate it with a very good 4 points on a 5-point scale.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer.