Review of CAO Pilón Anejo Cigar

CAO Pilon Anejo is a limited edition cigar that became available in April 2022 [and later became a full-time line in July 2023]. The cigar is made in Honduras with a Cuban-seed Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Honduran Habano binder, and a blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican filler tobaccos. These cigars are available in three sizes, including a Robusto (5½ x 54) priced at $ 8.89 per stick, which is the subject of this review. CAO Pilon Anejo is made with the same pilon fermentation technique as the original CAO Pilon Cigar that is made in Nicaragua and released in 2015, but the Anejo has a different blend of tobaccos and additional aging. For more information, please check out the original press release.

The sample CAO Pilon Anejo cigars began with a deep rich and full earthy flavor along with some sweetness, and then also hints of spice and wood after the first few puffs. One of the samples was a bit bolder at the beginning, but after about 15 minutes or so, it tamed down a little to the same level of earthy fullness as the others (which made a flavor transition more noticeable). These cigars were medium-to-full bodied, and very enjoyable until the end. Although the Anejo blend was tweaked subsequent to the original CAO Pilon, both use the same fermentation process, giving both versions a somewhat similar (but not the same) flavor profile. I detected more earth and less wood and spice in the latest Anejo version, but the flavors were noticeably fuller than the original.

The CAO Pilon Anejo Robusto cigar held a long ash, had a good draw, and mostly an even burn. Only one minor touch-up was applied to one of the samples during the final 10 minutes of the smoking session. No relights were required. It took me 45 to 50 minutes to smoke the cigars down to two inches remaining.

The CAO Pilon Anejo is a very good cigar worthy of a 4 point rating on a 5-point scale. For comparison, I rated the original with 4.25 points, and enjoyed it just a bit more than the Anejo. The one that you might like better depends on your own personal preference, and perhaps even your level of experience. More experienced smokers may gravitate to the fuller Anejo, but both versions are cigars with full flavors (just a matter of degree) without being power bombs, and require some level of sophistication to fully appreciate.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer.