Cigar Review CAO Flathead V660
When Smoked: February 2024
Obtained from: Loosie purchase from local shop
Size: “V660” Gordo (6 inches x 60)
Approximate cost: US$9
See ratings below
I decided to take a trip down memory lane and review the CAO V660, which has been on the market for about 10 years. When it was first released, it was quite revolutionary as there were very few 60 gauge cigars being made. Now that the Gordo size has proliferated into one of the top selling cigar sizes, I wanted to see if the CAO V660 held up today compared to the many excellent 6 x 60 cigars being sold.
The marketing story behind the CAO V660 is that it harkens back to the days of “Hot rods and pin up girls.” That certainly takes me back to my childhood days - just about every gas station had one or two service bays with a “grease monkey” mechanic on duty. A very common sight in the service bays were “pin up girl” calendars - typically not real pictures (that would have been too much for youngster Jim to handle - they were usually colorful drawings.
The CAO V660 kicked off the “Flathead” line, which now has several vitolas. But the Flathead V660 is the size usually associated with the Flathead line.
Specs are: Wrapper is Maduro Connecticut Broadleaf, binder is Habano, and filler is unspecified Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos. Many reviews say the V660 is very bold - maybe when it came out initially that was the case, but I gave it an 8.5/10, bold but not even close to the bold cigars of today. It did have a pretty strong spice component, but there’s more to “bold” than just spice.
Flavor profile was disappointing to me - pretty one dimensional with coffee being the prominent flavor. Not complex at all, and frankly not very interesting.
Burn was not good, I lost count of the touchups needed for uneven burn. Draw was okay. The big negative was in construction - loose packed and mushy with a weird dark spot that almost appeared soggy, which was immediately below the ash but moved down with the ash for about the first two-thirds.
All said, the overall smoking enjoyment is a 7.5/10 -not a good cigar. Part of that rating is expectations - I’ve probably smoked a half-dozen or so of these over the years and had pleasant memories. But this stick didn’t