CAO Brazilia Select Heading to TAA Stores Later This Year

General Cigar Co.’s exclusive release for members of the Tobacconists Association of America (TAA) this year is a CAO.

The CAO Brazilia Select is a 6 1/2 x 60 gordo extra that uses a Connecticut habano grueso wrapper over a Brazilian binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua. It is priced at $8.99 and limited to 1,000 boxes of 12 cigars.

“With a binder made from the original CAO Brazilia’s wrapper, the tobaccos create a smoke with sweet and nutty notes and a toasty finish,” says a statement from the company.

The TAA is a fairly small group of some of the country’s top tobacconists, about 80 retailers as well as 40 or so manufacturers. The association gathers annually to discuss issues facing the industry and retailers, as well as to have its annual trade show, a unique event that works on a group buying format in order to secure exclusive deals for these generally high-volume merchants.

It held its annual meeting this past week in Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic.

A.J. Fernández, CLE, Crowned Heads, E.P. Carrillo, J.C. Newman, La Flor Dominicana, La Palina, My Father, Nat Sherman and Tatuaje  also announced TAA 2019 exclusive releases.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.