CAO America

CAO America is a line from the house of CAO, presented in 2007 at the retailers’ trade show (RTDA) in Houston. According to the trade press (September 2007), it was rolled at the C.A.O. factory in Honduras, with two wrappers grown in the United States: a golden-brown Connecticut Shade and a chocolate-brown broadleaf.

The blend is not entirely American: the binder is Brazilian and the filler combines American tobacco with leaves from Nicaragua, Italy and the Dominican Republic (same source, 2007). A tasting sheet from 2021-2022 gives the same construction, with Nicaragua as the country of origin; the entry keeps both versions. The pinstripe effect comes from the Shade wrapper left visible beneath the broadleaf leaves (retailer cigarsdirect.com, October 2026).

Retailers describe it as medium to full in strength (cigarsdirect.com, October 2026). The original vitolas are the Potomac (5 × 56), the Landmark (6 × 60) and the Monument, a torpedo of 6 ¼ inches.

CAO has belonged since 2007 to the Scandinavian Tobacco group (Henri Wintermans), then was integrated into General Cigar, based in Richmond (Virginia), around 2010-2011.

Range Depth

• CAO America

  Wrapper Connecticut Shade + Broadleaf · Strength Medium

  A single line with two wrappers grown in the United States, Connecticut Shade and broadleaf (pinstripe effect), with a Brazilian binder. Vitolas: Potomac, Landmark, Monument (torpedo); the retailer cigarsdirect.com adds Constitution and 250th Anniversary (October 2026).

  Potomac · Gettysburg · Monument