CAO Cx2 Cigars

CAO CX2 cigars (Cameroon times two) present a rich-tasting, medium-bodied cigar brimming with velvety-smooth flavor and a seductive aroma. Now sold exclusively at Famous Smoke Shop, these fine CAO cigars have a perfectly-balanced blend of robust Nicaraguan and Colombian longfiller tobaccos doubly encased in a "Grade-1" African Cameroon binder and wrapper. The smoke is laden with earthy-woody flavors underscored by sweet tobacco notes. One of CAO's best-tasting cigars. Try a box, or start with a 5-pack now.

For a company that has enjoyed an outstanding reputation starting with meerschaum pipes, handcrafted cigar humidors, and later expanding into production of some of the world's most highly-acclaimed premium handmade cigars, it's hard to know where to begin. CAO cigars (CAO International Inc.) got their name from the company's founder and patriarch, Cano A. Ozgener, and until recently, was always a family owned and operated business.

It started in 1937 when Cano (pronounced JON-O), an Armenian, was born in Istanbul. He acquired a fondness for Turkish meerschaum pipes, but it wasn't until 1961 that he discovered premium cigars while attending Columbia University as a mechanical engineering graduate student. After receiving his masters in 1964, DuPont hired him to work in the textile division at their North Carolina plant. Cano continued to enjoy cigars and meerschaum pipes, and is credited for inventing the screw-in pipe stem, while also improving the quality of the meerschaum. In 1968 these improvements led him to a Delaware-based tobacconist who helped Cano get his foot in the tobacco business door by giving him his first order. Cano put his C.A.O. initials next to the stem, and a company was born. Helped by other tobacconists, his side business eventually grew big enough for Cano to quit his engineering job.

During the 1980's the tobacco business had weakened considerably, but the Ozgener family sat it out until 1992 when Cano began making custom humidors from antique boxes; he even invented his own humidification system. Later, the humidors were made by two highly skilled Nashville-based artisans, and between 1993 and 1997 CAO handcrafted humidors were a big hit with cigar smokers.

It was also during this period that CAO entered into the cigar business. The timing could not have been better. With the help of Nestor Plasencia in Honduras and Carlos Toraño in Nicaragua, the first CAO cigars debuted in 1995 at the Annual Retail Tobacco Dealers Association convention (now known as the IPCPR). Test-marketing different blends with cigar smokers between the ages of 25 and 40, the taste of Honduran tobacco had the most appeal. Cano gave the contract to Plasencia for their skill, production capability and "vision." A year later CAO introduced their CAO Gold edition, a Nicaraguan blend made by Plasencia in Estelí that received high marks from the trade.

By the turn of the 20th century, Cano's son, Tim Ozgener, became President of the company. With his natural marketing skills and the innovative vision of his father, Tim helped CAO cigars grow to even greater heights of popularity. The packaging was much edgier. New blends were introduced using tobaccos from Brazil, Italy, Colombia, and other countries not normally associated with premium cigars. CAO even entered the flavored cigars market by introducing Flavours by CAO. In recent years the company has also created a number of highly successful national promotions, giving away everything from electric guitars to motorcycles. All of this, combined with consistently high quality standards and a record number of "outstanding" ratings have made CAO cigars among the most recognized and respected cigar brand in the world.

Buy CAO cigars online at discount prices here at Famous Smoke Shop - your source for CAO cigars.