CAO Arcana Series Stokk Belicoso (Box of 20 Cigars)

• Length: 165mm
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Strength: Medium to Full
• Nicaraguan
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf (Natural)
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Cyprian Latakia (fire-cured pipe tobacco), Dominican Andullo, and Honduran tobacco

CAO Arcana Series Stokk Belicoso – Box of 20 Cigars

There are cigars that follow established traditions, and there are cigars that take those traditions apart to see what else might be possible. The CAO Arcana Stokk Belicoso belongs firmly to the latter category.

Developed in collaboration with Danish pipe tobacco specialists Peter Stokkebye, Stokk explores the relationship between cigar making and pipe tobacco blending. The result is a remarkable limited-edition cigar built around two particularly distinctive tobaccos: Dominican Andullo and Cyprian Latakia.

Andullo undergoes an unusual fermentation process in which tobacco is tightly compressed into palm-wrapped bundles. The resulting leaf develops a concentrated, earthy character, bringing richness, leather and spice to the opening stages of the cigar.

Latakia, meanwhile, will be familiar to experienced pipe smokers. Traditionally fire-cured over aromatic woods and herbs, this tobacco develops a distinctive smoky fragrance that has made it an essential component of many classic English pipe mixtures.

The Stokk brings these two traditions together through a carefully arranged filler blend. As the cigar burns, the balance changes, with the earthy Andullo character giving way to the deeper, smoky influence of the Latakia.

Completing the blend are Nicaraguan Estelí and Honduran tobaccos, an American Broadleaf binder and an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper.

The 6½-inch, 52-ring-gauge Belicoso is handmade in Nicaragua and finished with a striking oversized gold-and-black band. Its tapered head adds a traditional touch to an otherwise thoroughly unconventional cigar.

The presentation is particularly impressive. The wooden box of 20 features a dark timber finish, prominent gold Stokk lettering and understated decorative artwork. Inside, the cigars are individually protected in cellophane, with the blend's unusual ingredients explained on a printed insert.

CAO's Arcana series was created to investigate unusual tobacco processes and historical techniques. Stokk is a fitting addition, drawing upon the knowledge of both cigar makers and pipe tobacco blenders.

For anyone with an appreciation of Latakia, the prospect of encountering its smoky character in a premium handmade cigar is intriguing. For those unfamiliar with the leaf, Stokk offers an introduction to one of tobacco's most distinctive traditions.

A box of twenty also makes an attractive proposition for the collector. This is a limited release with a genuinely unusual construction, presented in packaging that reflects the ambition of the project.

It's a cigar that asks an interesting question: what happens when two very different branches of the tobacco trade start comparing notes?

In this case, something rather memorable.