CAO Arcana Mortal Coil Returning Aug. 1

The CAO Arcana Mortal Coil, originally released in early 2021 as a limited edition, will return to stores next month.

General Cigar Co. has announced that the Arcana Mortal Coil will now be an annual limited release with the 2023 shipment scheduled for Aug. 1. The 2023 version is the same size and uses the same blend as the original. That means it’s a 6 1/8 x 50 toro extra that uses a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper over a shade-grown binder from Connecticut. The fillers include Dominican andullo and piloto cubano tobaccos as well as leaves from the Jamastran Valley in Honduras and Estelí, Nicaragua.

The 2023 version has an MSRP of $11.99, an increase of $1 compared to the original.

General highlights the use of andullo, a method of processing native to the Dominican Republic.

Andullo tobaccos are wrapped tightly in large pods known as yaguas, almost like 15-foot long burritos, and then wrapped in rope to help compress the tobacco even further. The end result is something that is more or less a large log of tobacco where slices are cut off, as seen in the video, and are more commonly chewed or smoked via pipes. Andullo is more of a process than a seed varietal, though it’s something that is typically only found in the Dominican Republic.

“The fans of CAO spoke, and we listened,” said Ed Lahmann, senior brand manager of CAO, in a press release. “We previously brought back Mortal Coil, yet the fans kept wanting more. So with this year’s release of the blend, we’re showing the fans of CAO that we’re willing to go the extra mile for them.”

The cigar is produced at STG Estelí in Nicaragua.

Update (July 27, 2023) — The original version of this story incorrectly stated the price as $10.99 per cigar; it is $11.99.