Perhaps the most anticipated cigar of 2011, the CAO OSA Sol. After a lot of changes at CAO, the world awaited for what the company would do under ownership of General Cigar Co. The answer was in 2008 tobacco from Honduras' Olancho San Agustin, the crop that Rick Rodriguez would use for the wrapper of OSA Sol. Joining the sun grown aged Honduran wrapper is a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers, creating a rather unique combination given the wrapper/binder combination. This cigar is made in Nicaragua alongside the rest of the Nicaraguan-made CAOs at General's STG Estelí.

While the tobaccos are nice, the real question was how the smooth and colorful Honduran wrapper was going to perform with the rest of the tobaccos. The result is one of CAO's most flavorful creations. It's core is an earthy cedar with floral, fruity, herbs, cinnamon and spices joining a medium-full flavor profile. Construction from the CAO OSA Sol is quite good with a solid thick white ash and the smoke production is wonderful. As far as most are concerned, the jury returned a unanimous verdict on the CAO OSA Sol: it's a refreshing cigar with tons of flavor and a great price point — a phenomenal way to usher in the new era of CAO.