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Rick Rodriguez

Rick Rodriguez Launches West Tampa Tobacco Co.

The former CAO blender and ambassador now has his own cigar company.

New CAO Borealis Uses Canadian-Grown Tobacco, Heading to Canada as Regional Release

Canada is getting its own CAO release, and it uses Canadian-grown tobacco in the filler.

Rick Rodriguez Announces Departure from General Cigar Co.

Rick Rodriguez, blender and ambassador for the CAO brand, has announced that he will be leaving General Cigar Co. as of April 29. Rodriguez joined…

CAO Vision Slated to Return in November

General Cigar Co. has announced that it is bringing back the CAO Vision, a cigar dating back to 2007 and likely best remembered for its…

CAO Flathead V19 Camshaft

In 2013, General Cigar Co.’s CAO brand launched a line called Flathead that drew from the automotive and motorcycle worlds for its inspiration. The original…

CAO Flathead V19 Debuting at IPCPR 2019

CAO’s popular Flathead is getting a follow up this year. It’s called the CAO Flathead V19 and uses tobaccos from Connecticut for both the wrapper…

IPCPR 2018: General Cigar Co.

There are very few companies, if any, who will write the number of orders as General Cigar Co. The company’s brands include Macanudo, CAO, Diesel,…

CAO Nicaragua Debuts at IPCPR 2018

Earlier this year there was a CAO Estelí, now there’s a CAO Nicaragua. While the name is Nicaragua, the wrapper is actually from the Jamastran…

CAO Adds Mexico-Inspired Zócalo

For the first time in its history, CAO will be using Mexican wrapper on one of its cigars. It’s called the CAO Zócalo, a limited edition…

CAO Pilón Robusto

If you’ve dug into the process of making a cigar, you’ve undoubtedly heard the world pilón, the term for a pile of tobacco that is…

CAO Pilón Robusto

While researching tobaccos and techniques for the newest addition to the CAO Classic Series, the brand’s blending team—headed by Agustin Garcia and Rick Rodriguez—came across…