CAO L’Anniversaire “eXtreme” Belicoso

Loved this cigar

Wow! This is a brute, even after at least six years in my humidified closet. Full body, all sorts of pepper, and a nice dose of wood. Well rolled, slight uneven burning, but not enough to cause problems. A reddish brown, shiny wrapper. If you "like 'em" strong, this is a must try. Not for beginners. Avoid smoking these on an empty stomach. In fact, should those with young children ever catch their kids smoking, a good punishment would be to make them smoke one of these CAO eXtreme cigars down to the nub. Should be enough to stop them from ever even thinking about smoking for the rest of their life. LOL

I was a little disappointed at first that I even had this one. I dashed into my local tobacco humidor to buy a couple of things and wasn't paying enough attention and meant to grab a CAO Cameroon, but got this one instead. . . sorta like accidentally grabbing the box of low-fat Pop Tarts. But in then end it turned out OK. This thing looks fantastic and severe, the edges were so sharpt you could almost cut yourself, and the cap came to such and extreme point, it looked downright painful. It was nicely spicy and robust if a little one dimensional. The draw was great and the burn just OK.

A good tasting, nutty flavored, med/full bodied cigar with great aroma. But like others have said, the draw is tight at the beginning, you can't put it down or it goes out, and it has uneven burn characteristics. Acquired a bit of harshness at the end that stopped me from taking it down to the label, but up until that point it was a good smoke.

I went into my shop looking to try a CAO gold and found they were all out. Saw this, and decided to try this one. Went to the park and lit it up. Got an even burn, or at least the best i could with a square cigar. After 2 minutes, the bottom wouldn't burn and I had to relit this cigar at least 5 times before I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. The wrapper gave it a bit of spicy nutty taste but the smoke itself when drawn had no substance. Add to that the frustration of constant relighting and slightly bitter and hot taste every time and I tossed it after smoking a little more than halfway. Not worth the money.

Appearance - interesting, but nothing special.
Construction - not bad
flavor - lacked
value - not worth it

I dunno, spent so much time trying to get the cigar to burn, its hard to say much about the flavor. I think it was a good cigar. Based upon other reviews regarding burn issues, CAO has a real problem with the construction of this gar-far to big a problem to be asking $6 bucks a stick.

Read many reviews that mentioned uneven burning. Mine burned very evenly. Tasted great and smelled great too. Reminded me of the Padron 1964 Anniversario I had once. It was one of the 3 best cigar experiences I ever had. Can't wait to have another!

Strength and flavor between maduro and sun grown. My first was young so I waited to review because I knew I had something special. Smoked one last night at the local watering hole and loved it.

I was excited about trying this cigar given some reviews that I have read. The wrapper is somewhat spicy but not too much. It had a very nice aroma, but the taste was the most mild I have ever tasted. The square shape was a little awkward to smoke. The major problem is with the construction. In short it was the worst cigar experience I've ever had. There was a twig like piece of the filler that resisted lighting and made it very difficult to obtain an even burn. Eventually I got it burning evenly but that didn't last long. The first inch went smooth enough, forming a nice ash. Then the burn became very erratic and I found myself constantly trying to control one side or the other. I actually had to relight twice because half the wrapper stopped burning. This caused it to burn hot and taste bitter. After almost an hour worth of frustration I gave up about half way through. I'll probably try it again to see if mine was a lemon, but even if it burned correctly, it would probably still be too mild for my taste.

Worst burning cigar I have ever smoked. From other reviews I've read I am not the only one that had this problem. That aside, the flavor and complexity were so good it had me buying a box the next day. Here;s hoping they all don't burn poorly

Well i've smoke a dozen of these now and fine them to a very flavorful smoke. The burn on a mabe 9 of them was not what I've come to expect from CAO. Very uneven and a pain in the butt to keep burning straight, which need I say really distracted for the experience. But the flavor made up for it. The draw on all or them was very good though. This is a delicious smoke though. Well you take you chances with hand rolled. I will still by more, there that good.

Decent looking, medium bodied cigar. Not super-memorable but wood.spice.tobacco come to mind. Purging took care of the metallic tones that crept in. No construction problems that have sometimes plagued this line. It's not bad.

this cigar was pretty good overall, the flavor was more complex than the other L'Anniversaire series cigars

bit of a tough draw and uneven burn, about half way though it started burning good and tasted great

This is a excellent smoke to say the least. Very rich and smooth. Outstanding flavor the draw was perfect and the ash heald on for an 1". I've had 5 of these and all of em were constructed perfectly and smoking great. Recommended!!

If you get a good one it's a great Smoke, but unfortunatly it's Hit or Miss, which is Very disappointing!! When good, great burn, draw, and a pleasure to smoke. If bad, get red in the face from drawing and there is an uneven burn.

My favorite of their line. Rich dense full-flavored smoke. Easy draw. Attractive smooth dark wrap, well made with fairly even burn.

The first two were okay but the last three were great. I would certainly buy them again

Your going to want to suck hard on this one; very tight draw. Good flavor, good value.

Good burn, even draw, great creamy smoke, excelent medium bodied smoke. Cannot complain in the least

great cigar with plenty of spice in its flavor. original ones packed more of the eXtreme kick than later editions. Still a great cigar that can at times burn up one side, but not too bad.

Ya gotta sit down when you smoke one of these...I've tried all of the C.A.O. L'Anniversaire Cigars and this one is the most potent...thus the name. Kick back with a pint of Guiness or some Mad Dog 20/20 and prepare yourself. You won't want to stand for at least an hr. Great cigar.

Great cigar but terrible burn. This is a great tasting cigar especially after it is aged six months. Smooth, rich, creamy, and spicy. But, burn was just terrible. Tunneled very badly. I have come to expect bad burn out of boutique box pressed cigars but this was ridiculous. But for this one blaring flaw, a great cigar.

The Cameroon Belicoso was better.

Okay first of all this review is for the "EQUADOR" Wrapper. Don't know why the last guy posted the cameroon here. constructed very well, nice white ash, It didn't burn to hot, however it did burn uneven. The draw was rough at first but then opened up. Taste started about 1/5 of the way down to kick in, cocoa bean, some wood, spice. I have always liked Nick cigars. This is a strong medium bodied cigar.

Ahhh, started my new year off with this baby, and what a great begining to a new year it was. This line of CAO has quickley become one of my favorite cigars. Let me start by saying I prefer the maduro Belicosco over the Cameroon. But I only had the Cmeroon in hand to bring in the new year, still pretty damn good. This is a great cigar, it is just beautiful to look at. They are perfectly constructed from head to toe. I am positve I could become a cooler person carrying one of these around all day, they are that attractive. After cutting this cigar, unlit, I had a little trouble with the draw, had to make two more cuts, this was a bit disappointing lopping off so much of this wonderful creature. When I lit up I forgot all about it, very smooth and light bodied. The Belicosco had a perfect burn, completely even. This one burned nice and cool right to the end. I am prepared to throw away some of the cigars in my humidor to make more room for more of these. I am always finding good deals on the internet for cigars, this one was a steal. I got a 5 pack of the Cameroons for $22.00, if I could of bought more I would of. These typically run about $8.00 each on the internet and about $9.00 in the cigar shops. At any price I will buy these, simply I love them. Try them if you haven't yet.

Nice looking medium flavored cigar good wood and spice flavors. Draw backs had bad burn.

One word sums up this cigar smooth! The Cigar has a dark oily wrapper and appears to be constructed as good as any other. What I like best is its subtle spicy taste and almost nonexistent aftertaste. So far it is my favorite cigar.

A very good smoke overall, although I prefer the CAO's with the Cameroon wrapper.

Not as good as the toro, but still pretty good. Good construction.

The poorest burn of any cigar I can remember smoking. Tunneled the entire cigar and finally dying with one third left... thank goodness, I was running out of butane! A real disappointment for such a good looking and aromatic cigar.

THE BEST SMOKE EVER. STARTS OUT SMOOTH AND ENDS UP THAT WAY. A CREAMY AND VERY ENJOYABLE CIGAR. A MAIN STAY IN MY HUMIDOR.

Oh my God!