CAO Escaparate MX3
Wrapper: Secret
Binder: Secret
Filler: Secret
Made In: Honduras
Size: 5×50 Robusto
Price: $50 per 5 pack at W. Curtis Drappers
Cigar Background: Another cigar from the Escaparate over at CAO. This one is the MX3 which is Maduro times three. That’s right, wrapper, binder and filler are all Maduro tobaccos. As with all the other Escaparate Collections, this one too, is an exclusive to W. Curtis Drappers in Maryland. This cigar was previously reviewed by Jerry at Stogie Review and he gave it an outstanding review. Let’s see if it’s worth the hype.
Appearance & Construction: I got to tell you, for an expensive smoke like this, the construction looks terrible. The cigar is lumpy; there is color variation in the wrapper where some spots are lighter than the rest of the wrapper and the cap is sloppy. Usually I’m not that picky about construction and appearance but I was expecting much more.
Smoking Characteristics: The draw is great on these cigars but the burn line is way off, however I am going to attribute that to the “newness” of the cigar. The ash is nice and compact with no flaking. Usually I don’t make mention of the smoke but holy shit this thing put out some thick dense smoke and I found myself blowing nice thick smoke rings.
Flavors: The cigar starts off with nice rich flavors of earth, pepper, and a sweet briny fruit flavor almost like a red wine. Also present are charcoal, coffee and mocha. The flavors of this cigar are very complex and alter back and forth between thirds.
Final Thoughts: There is no doubt this is an awesome cigar but there isn’t much difference between this cigar and a Camacho Triple Maduro, for me at least. Also if the price deters you from the MX3’s I would recommend trying the CAO MX2 in the box press format. Sure the MX3 has more complex rich flavors but I think both are great cigars for the price. The construction on the Mx3 was disappointing to say the least, a $10+ cigar should be constructed much better than that, but I can get over that. The other downside to this cigar is if you want to purchase a box, you have to purchase a shit load of them, a “rueda” of 50, so make sure you like them before you throw down $500+ on a box of these.
Worth a Shot: Yes
Buy Again: Yes
Enjoyablity: High
Similar Cigars: Camacho Triple Maduro, CAO MX2, Camacho SLR Maduro
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I concur. I definitely prefer the Camacho triple maduro over the CAO MX3. I even enjoy smoking the CAO MX2 box press over the MX3 as it takes less effort and pain to smoke and I think it has equal if not better flavors.
Thanks for the great review!