Well, it’s time now to go.  We’ve had a great run, but I’m giving up gars for a while, and Brother Dicksbain is focusing on his new beer website.   Time to focus on my health in the new year.

It’s been a blast, and thanks for reading.  If you had 1/10th of the fun we did, it was well worth it.

We’ll continue to be online, but no new posting.  Not for a while.

I want to thank our loyal readers, my brother, and the great cigar makers of the world.

Thanks.

Uncle Moneybags.

PS:  The best cigars ever are the Padron 1964s.  My secret favorite.  I will miss them dearly.  Everything else is second place at best.

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I’ve been fermenting up a 5 gallon batch of Apfelwein (Hard Apple Cider). It’s well on it’s way. The cloudyness will subside over the next few weeks and this sucker should be ready for kegging on January 15, 2009. I can’t wait to try this stuff.

I followed this classic recipe from EdWort over at homebrewtalk.com.  Super easy and relatively cheap to assemble.

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Ok, ok, I haven’t written for a while.  But there is a new CAO out, and I have to tell you about it.  As always, the packaging is clever and the bands are pretty–similar to the Cx2, but with gothic grey smoke.  The box is clad in velvet and is attractive.  (But who really cares about packaging, aside from than the Gurkha Titans of course?)

Also similar to the Cx2 is the name “Lx2,” which stands for Ligero “times 2″.  The Cx2 featured two cameroon wrappers; the Mx2 featured two maduro wrappers.  This cigar features to Ligero wrappers.  Think of it as a La Flor Dominica Double Ligero with less flowery after taste (which is a good thing in my book).

CAO seems to release a new cigar every year.  Last year, it was the America–which I loved.  The year before that, it was the Cx2, and before that, the Soprano Edition.  All unique.  All great smokes.  CAOs used to be somewhat inconsistent, but I believe they have improved the quality of their production in the last year or two.  Today, while some still smoke better than others, I rarely have a CAO that is unsmokeable.

OK, so how is the Lx2?  In a word, “STRONG.”  By far the strongest CAO ever.  It smokes well and has a clean draw and burn.  Lots of puffy, pure white smoke with a equally white ash that seems to go on for miles.  Normally, I rave about anything new from CAO, and there’s lots to rave about here.  For me, however, it’s almost TOO strong.  Often times, it’s hard to smoke like a regular cigar.  I keep wanting to put it down (like I am supposed to) and give my mouth a rest.  For many, that will be a good thing.   For me, it’s good, but kind of a draw back (no pun intended) because the cigar almost forces a new style of smoking on you.

Bottom line: Another fine addition from CAO that’s definitely worth trying for yourself.  I recommend starting with the Robusto size, if only because I can’t imagine anyone has the time these days to smoke one of the big Belicosos or Toros (also available).  If you’re a patient smoker who loves a big bold taste, this is a dream come true–although it does take a little while to warm up and gets a little bitter toward the end.

LT Rating: 7.0

By the way, the second band contains the words “Fortaleza Tres.”  I suspect many people will wonder what that means, so I did a little research.  Basically, it means “three strength.”  In Cuban terms, there are “Seco,” “Viso,” and “Ligero” strength cigars (classified as uno, dos, and tres, respectively).  So, the second band is basically a declaration that the cigar is as strong as it gets.  And it is.  Times two.

Another take from CigarJack: “When the CAO America was released many felt it didn’t live up to the hype; this cigar is a different story. I was expecting something along the lines of a stronger CAO Brazilia, and expecting something that was all spice. Instead it kind of reminds me of a mix between the CAO Mx2 and CAO Brazilia. Even after all the cigars I smoked in Las Vegas the CAO Lx2 stands out. When they hit the shelves at my local shop I’m picking up a box.”

Yet another take from Cigar Smokers Journal: “I used a punch cut on this cigar to limit the smoke intake because of how strong everyone said these cigars are. I believe due to the fact I used to hole punch the cigar appeared to be more medium bodied to me. As I said in my preface this cigar is highly anticipated and should live up to the hype for most people. It is to date the best CAO I have ever smoked, and I consider myself a big fan of their smokes. If the appearance was better it would of scored 2-3 points higher.”

A video of the box from Stogie Review:

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