SweepstakesRibbon SupportTheTroops ShippingTruck RetailStores RequestCatalog HoltsClubhouse GuaranteeOfSatisfaction CustomerTestimonials ContactUs CigarMugs CigarEvents Facebook Icon Share on Facebook Twitter Icon Share on Twitter Cart Icon Visit your shopping cart Search Icon Search for a product Free Ship Truck Icon Free shipping on qualifying orders My Account Icon View your account details Customer Service Icon Contact us for customer service Sign In / Register Icon Sign in or register Information Symbol Click me for more information Empty Rating Star Filled Rating Star E-Mail Icon Sign up for e-mail specials Facebook Holt's Cigar Company Facebook Twitter Holt's Cigar Company Twitter YouTube Holt's Cigar Company YouTube Instagram Holt's Cigar Company Instagram

Call to Order: 1-800-523-1641

Free Shipping on orders over $150

CAO Cigars
Average Customer Rating:
4.50
225 reviews

CAO Cigars

CAO cigars offer a sound variety of 90+ rated blends that cigar connoisseurs have purchased several times over throughout the years. While a handful of core lines originally established the brand, CAO has developed many new selections around innovative marketing strategies that highlight a blend’s regional influences. CAO cigars are additionally offered in a popular collection of flavored selections for those who like to satisfy their sweet tooth with the smooth and creamy aroma of fine tobaccos.

CIGARS

  • CAO America

    CAO America

    Price Per Cigar:
    $6.79 - $10.49
    6 options available
    Strength: Medium
    Country: Honduras
    Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
    8 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Arcana

    CAO Arcana

    Price Per Cigar:
    $8.49 - $11.99
    2 options available
    Strength: Full
    Country: Nicaragua
    Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
    1 Review
    read more
  • CAO Brazilia

    CAO Brazilia

    Price Per Cigar:
    $6.42 - $10.49
    10 options available
    Strength: Medium
    Country: Honduras
    Wrapper: Brazilian
    27 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Cameroon

    CAO Cameroon

    Price Per Cigar:
    $6.74 - $10.89
    8 options available
    Strength: Medium
    Country: Nicaragua
    Wrapper: Cameroon
    5 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Colombia

    CAO Colombia

    Price Per Cigar:
    $6.42 - $10.49
    8 options available
    Strength: Medium
    Country: Nicaragua
    Wrapper: Nicaraguan
    27 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Flathead

    CAO Flathead

    Price Per Cigar:
    $6.79 - $13.19
    8 options available
    Strength: Full
    Country: Nicaragua
    Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
    50 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Flavours

    CAO Flavours

    Price Per Cigar:
    $1.56 - $8.99
    14 options available
    Strength: Mild-Medium
    Country: Dominican Republic
    Wrapper: Cameroon
    12 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Gold

    CAO Gold

    Price Per Cigar:
    $6.06 - $10.49
    10 options available
    Strength: Medium
    Country: Nicaragua
    Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut
    15 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Italia

    CAO Italia

    Price Per Cigar:
    $6.99 - $9.79
    2 options available
    Strength: Full
    Country: Honduras
    Wrapper: Honduran
    6 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Maduro

    CAO Maduro

    Price Per Cigar:
    $6.79 - $10.89
    6 options available
    Strength: Medium-Full
    Country: Nicaragua
    Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
    14 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO MX2

    CAO MX2

    Price Per Cigar:
    $7.13 - $11.79
    6 options available
    Strength: Medium-Full
    Country: Nicaragua
    Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
    7 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Nicaragua

    CAO Nicaragua

    Price Per Cigar:
    $6.74 - $8.99
    4 options available
    Strength: Full
    Country: Nicaragua
    Wrapper: Honduran
    1 Review
    read more
  • CAO Pilón

    CAO Pilón

    Price Per Cigar:
    $6.93 - $9.99
    4 options available
    Strength: Medium
    Country: Nicaragua
    Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
    8 Reviews
    read more

SAMPLERS

  • CAO 5-Star Sampler

    CAO 5-Star Sampler

    5 Cigars
    Only: $44.99
    17 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Champions III Sampler

    CAO Champions III Sampler

    Box of 10 + Travel Humidor
    Only: $89.95
    7 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Flavours II Sampler

    CAO Flavours II Sampler

    Pack of 4
    Only: $19.99
    11 Reviews
    read more

ACCESSORIES

  • CAO Flathead Triple Torch Table Lighter

    CAO Flathead Triple Torch Table Lighter

    Only:
    $29.99
    6 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO LED Ashtray

    CAO LED Ashtray

    Only:
    $29.95
    1 Review
    read more
  • CAO Lighter

    CAO Lighter

    Only:
    $39.95
    2 Reviews
    read more
  • CAO Spark Torch Lighter

    CAO Spark Torch Lighter

    Only:
    $9.95
    read more

CAO BRAND HISTORY

The CAO name is derived from the initials of brand founder Cano A. Ozgener who began his career in the tobacco business in 1968 by modifying and improving the designs of meerschaum pipes. An engineer by trade, Ozgener expanded his pipe business at the urging of a handful of tobacco shop proprietors who were impressed with the quality of his work. He later transitioned into the manufacture of humidors and parlayed the newly established CAO name into creating his own cigar brand during the cigar boom of the 1990s. Demand for cigars was at its height as the Nashville-based CAO Cigars debuted. Despite early manufacturing and supply-chain challenges, the brand eventually achieved a foothold in the premium market thanks to the efforts of Cano and his children, Tim and Alyin, who were on board to launch and manage the new cigar company.

CAO BRAND OVERVIEW

The first line to produce steady sales figures was CAO Maduro, rolled by the makers of Bahia cigars. The cigar featured a deep red band, reminiscent of Cuba’s Partagas Serie D No. 4, over a jet-black Maduro wrapper. Following this early success, production shifted to Nick Perdomo’s factory in Nicaragua, where the popular CAO Cameroon was created; while a successful flavored line, CAO Flavours, was developed at the La Aurora factory in the Dominican Republic. A handful of robust and edgy advertising campaigns garnered the brand attention from a more extensive consumer audience in conjunction with bestselling releases like the mild CAO Gold and hearty, double Maduro, MX2.

Eventually the bulk of CAO production would rest in the hands of the Torano family with whom the Ozgeners would jointly manage factories in both Danlí, Honduras and Estelí, Nicaragua. The Torano family’s primary initial contribution to the brand’s portfolio was CAO Brazilia, a full-bodied, earthy blend rolled with an oily Brazilian wrapper marketed with an eye-catching band rendered in bright yellow, green and navy, the colors of Brazil’s national flag. Positive reception to the 91-rated Brazilia prompted a handful of successive national-themed releases, including CAO America and CAO Italia.

Following a string of prosperous years, global conglomerate Scandinavian Tobacco acquired CAO from the Ozgener family in 2007 and subsequently folded the brand into the portfolio of General Cigar Company in a merger with Swedish Match AB. The company continued its market reach in 2009 with the launch of CAO La Traviata, a value-priced Cuban-heritage brand with origins that date back more than a century. The line also includes the notable La Traviata Maduro. The first official CAO releases under the management of General Cigar included CAO OSA Sol and CAO Concert which enjoyed moderate consumer appeal. The brand continues to innovate with contemporary lines such as CAO Flathead, a hefty box-pressed blend themed after pin-up girls and hot rods. Flathead achieved reputable status as a ‘Top 10’ blend in Cigar Aficionado’s rankings for 2015.

Jump To: