CAO Flathead V770 Big Block

What gets your motor running? There are certain masculine staples that are sure to really rev up any man’s day. Personally, I like my guns, my ’94 Vette, and a heaping stack of pulled pork. But no man-day will be complete without a good cigar. CAO is a brand that has this all figured out, and the new Flathead brand, brainchild of Rick Rodriguez, is a line drive toward the testosterone junkie in each of us. I decided on the Big Block because, hey, we all like to show off (and no, ladies, we aren’t trying to compensate for anything).

The numbers in the name of each Flathead vitola, similarly to the cubic inch designations given to engine displacements (i.e. 350ci, 454, etc.) are actually the measurements of the cigar itself. The 770 is a fat Churchill-sized cigar, at 7 inches long and with a thundering 70 ring gauge. I would never normally smoke a cigar this large, but I was willing to give it a try.

Between the oily Connecticut maduro wrapper, and the sheer size of this stogie, the Big Block is quite intimidating at first. However, after removing the cigar from the cello and sniffing the foot, I find the aroma to be mild and sweet, and not at all what I would have expected from something marketed in such a way as the Flathead brand. You will probably want to use a punch cutter on this cigar, which is made easy due to the fact that the head is actually flat, rather than rounded (as its name would suggest). I used a large sized punch on this cigar, but the loose draw made me wish that I had opted for a smaller cut to further restrict the airflow. Although it is not a densely rolled cigar, its construction seems to be of excellent quality. The only exception to this would be the long seam running the length of the cigar along one corner from the foot to the cap. This doesn’t hurt the burn in any way, though it does detract from the aesthetics.

As far as the flavor goes, this cigar is pretty standard. Mild bodied, and sweet, with notes of dark chocolate, this is a perfect cigar for sitting back and watching a baseball game. Go ahead, grab your lawn chair and extension cords, and get a buddy to help you haul your old TV out into the garage. Now all you have to do is prop up your feet on your beer cooler and watch the Big Red Machine roll over the competition.

Halfway through the burn, which for me was about an hour in, the ash began to become quite flaky, and kept falling onto my keyboard, which was annoying, causing me to remedy this by making sure that I ashed the cigar frequently. Keeping this cigar lit required considerably more maintenance than most, probably due to the loose construction. While the burn remained straight, I needed to puff often to keep it from going out. The flavor remained consistently mild and sweet throughout, with light spicy smoked barbecue notes on the retrohale. The aroma of the smoke was light and inoffensive, but didn’t add much to the flavor.

The band of this cigar is particularly interesting. The chrome stripes on the red background are no doubt designed to be reminiscent of the cooling fins on the head of a Ford flathead V8, an iconic American engine produced from 1932-1953 which can still be found in some hot rods where the owner wants a true retro build.

I would recommend this cigar to the casual smoker with an interest in engines who wants to impress his friends when they are herfing it up in the garage. If you are someone with a hankering for horsepower, you may be disappointed with this smoke. This isn’t a high octane dragster, but actually smokes much like the engine of its namesake. The flathead was an engine with a low horsepower to displacement ratio, but it is still coveted for its history as classic Americana. For this reason, I would say the Flathead brand is aptly named, because although it is not as strong (or fuerte as we say in the cigar world) as it may appear, it is a cigar that captures the essence of cigar smoking and appeals to our masculine need to impress our friends. You can smoke this cigar and reminisce over the history of the American man’s relationship with fine tobacco. A smaller vitola in this brand would be good for someone who may be short on time, or who prefers a sweeter flavor (the smaller ring gauges will better bring out the sweetness in the Connecticut maduro wrapper). All-in-all, this will be a great smoke for the casual gathering of friends, but perhaps not for the stuck up aficionados who will only smoke the most complex of cigars.

If you can get your hands around a Big Block, savor that sweet put-put-put as you intake and exhaust the smoke, all the while cruising though the warm afternoon sun down every backroad in the county. You’re sure to turn some heads with this stick, shifting slowly from hand to ash tray to clutch your drink, then revving back for another draw!

#CAO