CAO Italia Gondola

I like it. Definitely distinctly different and a good value, especially with 2 years of age. Draw was overly loose, very surprising for a CAO. Aroma very nice. Flavors are sweet and slightly floral. I'll try all the sizes.

While the Italia line is not my favorite, this nice looking cigar is a good value.

This was one of those cigars I chucked into the woods after about 10 minutes. Somebody at CAO needs to learn how to roll cigars! The draw was crazy tight - I'm talking 5 puffs to get ANY smoke. When I actually got some smoke it didn't even taste that good. I know a tight draw isn't everyone's experience with this cigar, but crap, the draw was ridiculous. Big waste of money. I've had several CAO's, and I'm sorry, but I don't get it. A very uninspiring brand to me. People think they like CAO crap only because they don't know any better. The owners of CAO understand marketing, not quality, and that's how they sell their garbage. Ever notice the 50 square feet of marketing junk covering their boxes?

It is definitely a unique cigar with an unusual but pleasant flavor - which is probably attributed to the Italian wrapper. I thought it was refreshing change.

When I took the cigar out of the wrapper, there was an unfamiliar yet pleasant amora emitting from the wrapper. After the cut, I could tell it would be a tighter draw then most, which turned out to be mostly true. Roasting the cigar produced another unique scent, although not as pleasant as I would expected. However, once I got it puffing away, the flavors were uniquely pleasant. Overall, a pleasant smoke, although the burn got pretty bad towards the end.

Not one of the better smokes I've had, the burn wasn't even and couldn't be corrected. Big canyons. To me it was a little bitter and dry, maybe the shop where I bought it didn't have the humidity right, or I should have put it in my humi for a while. Overall I would not recommend it for the price, there are better options out there.

Finished one of these about an hour ago. Smooth wrapper with a few veins and a well made cap. Impressive looking cigar that had some heft to it as well. Coffee and leather up front with a creamy sweetness on the finish. Burn needed some help and did require a re-light after only letting it sit for five minutes. Draw was just right. Overall, a pretty tasty cigar but the burn issues hurt my scoring of it.

good aroma, something different in the smell and taste, perhaps its the italian tobacco in it, which was pleasant, but it didnt really knock my socks off with flavor. more medium to me than full, but was good- something i wouldnt get all the time- MX2 is way better

I am surprised to see that others have not experienced the same burn problems that I have. I enjoy this spoke, but have to say that I have tried them on two separate occasions and experienced the same canoe (or maybe in this case gondola) problem.
This is an enjoyable medium bodied smoke. It is smooth, lacking some of the spice that some prefer. Leans more to the coffee undertones.
There are simply too many great cigars out there at this price point for me to recomend this cigar. It is certainly not a bad cigar, just not one that I would go out of my way for.
Again, maybe just bad luck on the burn problems, so other than that average (6s) across the board.

In my opinion this is the best CAO has to offer and it is excellent. Beefy, medium to full bodied and smooth with a great draw and construction. I like the Brazilia but love the Italia.

this is one of the best sticks ive ever had.
great pre light smell, good burn, outstanding flavour (chocolate with a sort of undertone of coffee) i almost burnt my fingers i couldn't put it down...it a must try...

Suprised with all the bad reviews. I really like these as they have a good sweet leather taste. I couldn't place the sweet but Travis hit the nail on the head with burnt caramel. You have to put some age on these at least 6 months to a year before they get good. Would be great if they were a few bucks cheaper.

while this is no cuban, it's no slouch either. the CAO Italias mellow with age and the acrid taste many are referring to disapears. it has notes of cocoa and bitter chocolate. it is also nutty and has some spice on the finish. it is on the full side of medium and the burn is outstanding. the wrapper has a nice dark oily sheen. i've been through about 2 boxes and have 2 more that have aged 2 years. it has become my go to cigar. you can find them for $93/box plus shipping online. that's about $5.00/stick, an average price for a premium brand smoke. i urge everyone to let these sit for a while and re-evaluate. not everyone will like the Italias, this i admit, but a dog rocket they are not.

I'm pretty surprised by all the poor reviews on this cigar. It didn't blow me away or anything, but I thought it was enjoyable. I guess I either I lucked out and got a good one or there was a bad batch in circulation recently that everyone else got a hold of. The flavors were nice. Licorice and tea were noticeable at times and some mild burnt caramel notes. The draw and burn were fine. Overall, pretty good. I'm not going to run out and buy a bunch to keep around, but I wouldn't hesitate to try one again.

This one lit nice and burned even. The taste was nothing to die for. Cigar looks nice, and built well. It had a nice draw, but left an acidic aftertaste on the tongue. It would make a good $3.00 daily smoke.

What an experience. It looked very nice, and I had high hopes. The draw was really tight so I had to keep cutting until I took nearly an inch off of this thing before I could smoke it without feeling like my jaw would dislocate every time I took a puff. The flavor was very reminiscent of tea with milk. Extremely mild, with a hint of a floral undertones. About halfway through, the burn became very uneven, and I had to start puffing like mad to keep this from going out. After the second relight, I threw this away with about a third of the stick left. Worth almost seven dollars? Hardly. I was disappointed with this one.

I am not a big CAO fan, this is a good smoke. I have not had much luck the Brazilla. The construction was descent and full of creamy, medium bodied floral smoke. It got real hot at the end (last two inches) and I had to put it out. I would consider buying more and aging them for a while.

I like most CAO's. I have a box of Brazilians aging in a humi, nice even as a younger smoke. I've also enjoyed 4-5 others (although the Sopranos cost an arm and a leg...pun intended). These Italias, however, are one of the worst dog rockets I've ever had. Bitter, acrid, nasty...kinda like my ex wife. I'd sooner spend time with her than smoke another one of these.

CAO makes great products and this is no exception. Beautifully rolled and constructed. Great burn. Medium flavor with somewhat earthy undertones. If you are a CAO fan, or a Torano fan (most CAOs are made by Torano as I understand it) then you might give these a try. Not exactly my favorite flavor profile but it might be yours.

Pretty full, but not overpowering. Not very sweet, it was hard to put a finger on it, but coffee+pepper+something_sweet, excellent deep falvor. Smoke's aroma was also great, burn was very even, slow, and tight (not too much). Would very interesting to try again and see it all aspects are the same.

this is a great cigar at this price constuction, appearance, and burn all were great. the flavor on this line is much more consistent in my opinion than on any other CAO.

Read alot of reviews about this line of CAO cigars. Got to say im very disapointed, the thing just would not burn properly, one half was slow to light, the other burned at a rapid pace! And I was indoors with no fan are breeze! Flavor? Couldnt tell you I was so pissed trying to get it to burn evenly! Got fed up and threw it away. This is the second CAO disapointment the other being the CX2 's which also had poor construction and burned like it was treated with flame retardant chemical.

Very much like the Ciao in the same line but burn was much better on the Ciao, and I like the slightly shorter length and larger RG. Very good smoke though. The two Gondola were gifts that were much appreciated. Thanks gorillas.

I enjoy this cigar as I already smoked 3 of them. They burn and draw good. It has a unique tast of coffee and moacha.

This cigar was a most unique and interesting experience. Burn and draw were very good. Flavors of spicy cedar and red peppers delivered w/ some notes of anise. Finish was a little bitter at start, but then mellowed into a very balanced smoke.

Med-Full flavor, Very nice construction with even burn. I smoke 3 of these cigars so far and I really enjoyed them. All tasted like complex flavors of Chocalate and coffee. My other fav's are The Edge, Brasilia, and Hoy de Nicaragua.

This had a nice sheen and great looks. I expected it to be a bit more robust however, it smoked very smooth.

Nice looking stick, excellent construction, but it scores pretty low on taste-- not BAD flavor, just not very interesting. Mild to medium body. After the Punch Gran Puro I had last night, this is a powder puff. Not very inspiring for a premium smoke with a CAO price tag.

I was very excited to try this new line. I love the Brazilia and had very high hopes of the Italia. I was expecting something even more than the Gol! Suprisingly the Italia is not as smooth as you would expect from CAO. I found that this cigar never mellowed out and remained very spicy and harsh. Very nice draw, but it also had burn problems half way through. Another note, is that this cigar is very strong. Call me a light weight, but I never had a problem with the Brazilia and this one put me on the floor, literally. Will not smoke again.

Thick torpedo- incredible oily sheen to this dense, dark wrapper. Hit me strong and first- stayed strong but not overpowering. Italian tobacco? I really do believe there is an "other" taste here... not nica, not honduras or DM. Perhaps it is the Italian stuff that makes a difference. Its worth the try. Be prepared for the strength however...

Med-Full Bodied. Harsh taste. Ash kept falling off. Good draw good volume of smoke. Expected to smooth out, never did!

Attractive, well made smoke. Very unique fragrance unlit; wrapper smells like basil and oregano (go figure!). Flavors of Espresso, anise, and straw. Big flavor in the start but the finish is a little short and dry. Respectable but not an earth-shaking smoke.

I agree with Frank, the Brazilia line (as well as the Black, MX2 and Maduro) is much more flavorful. This had "lack of burn" problems, "lack of taste" problems, and "lack of smoke" problems. When I think of CAO, I usually begin the Pavlovian drool, but not this time. When I think of Italia, I think of pepperoni and marinara and I think I'll stick with that.

This is one of the best cigars I've had in a year. Complex, tasty, perfect draw and huge volumes of smoke. I look forward to another.

First of all, where did CAO dream those awful "Italian" names from? It's the trade fair of banality and stereotypes. What's next, a cigar named Pizza or Mafioso or Spaghetti? More, the anilla is appalingly tasteless, with all those Italian flags looking like the walls of Italy after the victory in the Football World Cup in 1982! Have the people of CAO been in Italy lately? In some of Milan's high streets? Looked at Italian design and fashion? CAO Italia deserves a much more stylish anilla...Enough said of that, let's go to the cigar. Which is very good, with strong flavours (coffee, leather) not totally unlike the ones you can find in Italian Toscani cigars, which isn't faint praise. A spicy final didn't change my opinion. Construction was just average, as the cigar started unraveling after a while. DRaw was OK, though. A friend of mine was smoking a Toro (oddly named Piazza) and it was a real construction disaster, with the wrapper at the end totally unraveled. Value is good, given the quality of the smoke. CAO should change the anillas and get the construction quality right, and they will have an absolute winner, at par with some cubans.

The first one I smoked was good but the second was bad. I've smoked about 10 more since and they have been hit or miss. I like the Brazilia much more

This is a great line of cigars. Complex, rich flavors, but not overpowering. Smooth, even burn and solid construction. Very nice.

This was the best cigar I have had in quite a while. It was smooth and delicious from start to finish. After I tried one, I went and bought a box the next day. They are superb.