cigar, cigars, quality cigarsThis week I had one of those little epiphanies that happen every so ofen. I've been going through this CAO 24 cigar sampler I bought about a month ago, It comes with six of the award-winning cigar manufacturer's finest line extensions in Robusto sizes: CAO Gold, Gold Maduro, CX2, CAO Maduro, Criollo, and Brazilia.

By now I've been through all six, but as I continue to smoke through the collection, there's one cigar in here I realized that I've overlooked since it's release, and it's really grown on me: the CAO Criollo Pato (shown). In the past I've smoked only a few CAO Criollos (in several sizes) and enjoyed them all, but now that I've been able to smoke several in succession I have a newfound appreciation for this particular blend.

This got me to thinking about other cigars that I've enjoyed, but only "toyed with," so to speak. As someone who works in the cigar business, there have been many excellent releases over the years that, as good as they were, just didn't "find an audience," as one colleague wrote to me during an email thread on this subject. As a result, I've been encouraged to try some 5-packs of these other "lost cigars" to rediscover them and see what I was missing.

Have you rediscovered any cigars you haven't smoked in a long time? If so, please leave a comment.

~ Gary Korb