CAO Italia Gondola

The Gondola is the toro in CAO's Italia line, a 6.25 x 54 that gives the blend a little more room to stretch out. Like the rest of the line, it's built around tobacco grown in Italy's Benevento region — a real rarity — blended with Nicaraguan and Peruvian leaf under a Honduran Colorado Maduro wrapper.

What it tastes like

Cedar and earth lead the way, with leather and a touch of cocoa filling in behind. There's a signature sweet-spiced quality that runs through the whole smoke and gives the Italia its identity. The longer toro format lets those notes evolve gradually, and the medium body makes it a comfortable hour-plus of smoking.

This is the kind of cigar I'd recommend to someone who wants flavor and a bit of a story without committing to a full-strength powerhouse. If you're curious how it sits relative to the rest of the world's wrappers, the maduro vs Connecticut comparison helps frame where a Colorado Maduro falls.

The Italia stands out simply because so few cigars use genuine Italian tobacco — it's a great conversation piece as much as a smoke. Save it to your humidor and log your impressions in the Casa DNC app, then compare it to the shorter, fatter Ciao.