Review of CAO Arcana Stokk Cigars

CAO Arcana Stokk is a limited edition cigar made in collaboration with the Peter Stokkebye brand of pipe tobacco. These cigars are produced in Nicaragua with a US Broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a blend of Domnican Andullo, Cyprian Latakia and Honduran filler tobaccos. CAO Stock is the most experimental blend of nontraditional tobaccos ever used by the CAO brand. The cigar was announced in July 2025, and is now available in one 6½* x 52 Belicoso size priced at $12.99 per stick. For more information about this cigar, please see the press release.

Before lighting the sample CAO Stokk cigar, I could not help but notice a strong smoky aroma with a smell of burnt wood, and that the length of the cigar was only 6 inches (not the 6½” indicated in the press release*). I also removed the large band that covered most of the cigar's body.

After finally firing it up, the initial flavor of the CAO Stokk cigar was very earthy, along with some notes of a natural tobacco sweetness. Within a couple of minutes, a smoky taste joined the mix that increased in intensity during the next 15 minutes. At the 20-minute mark, I ashed the cigar for the first time. By this point, a smoky woodsy flavor had become predominant, as the earthy taste receded and the sweetness faded. The body was medium-plus during these first 20 minutes.

At the 35-minute mark, I ashed the cigar for a second time and then applied a minor touch-up to keep the burn even. At this point, the body had moved up to medium-full and a stronger earthy flavor returned with a vengeance. Although the flavor transformation (due to the pipe tobacco in the blend) was noticeable, it was not as dramatic as it was with another cigar that also happens to be made with some Dominican Andullo filler tobacco (Punch Wiener).

I retired the sample CAO Stokk cigar with 1½ inches remaining, after a total smoking time of 60 minutes. CAO Stokk cigars are made with some nontraditional tobaccos that provide an interesting smoking experience, worthy of a decent and good rating of 3.75 points on a 5-point scale.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer.