CAO Moontrance

In the tin. CAO Moontrance is dominated by the bourbon vanilla casing. Yet it also has a similar oak and moss note to it that is reminiscent of most Peterson blends.

As far as the mechanics. Moontrance is easy to pack and light. Smokes cool and dry. Has little tongue bite. And smokes for a good 40-50 minutes with maybe one relight.

In the pipe. Moontrance is one of the best examples of how you can case a quality tobacco successfully. The tobacco flavor in this blend is fairly pronounced. I would liken it to Dunhill Early Morning Pipe or Mississippi River. While the casing only serves to enhance the experience. Not to steal the show. The bourbon vanilla remains the dominant casing but is much more subdued than the tin note.

The room note is very nice as well. Here the oak-like note I detected in the tin comes through. It's a sweet and woody aroma that reminds me of a used wine barrel. Very nice indeed.

CAO Moontrance is a wonderful melding of good quality tobacco and a light complementary casing. It would do well for pipe smokers who smoke several times a day. Personally I smoke only once or twice a day so I would favor bolder flavored aromatics over Moontrance. Yet I will not let that personal preference effect my opinion of this blend. One that well deserves a four star rating.

I may have just had the best full bowl smoke with Moontrance. Like those coffee commercials "good to the last drop", which is why I have to give it 4 stars. Only a little moist, no bitterness, almost perfect burn. For me, the flavor is super tasty and it leaves a teasing flavor in my mouth that says let's have one more before bedtime. I will definitely keep a regular supply of it.

My shop was out of Blue Note, so I decided to give Moontrance a try instead. I'm glad I did because this is one of the best aromatics I've ever tried. I find Moontrance to be of exceptional quality.

Moisture level: Just about perfect. I can load this tobacco right into my pipe without having to dry it. Smokes dry to the bottom of the bowl. No bite for me.

Tin aroma: Pungently fruity with a hint of vanilla.

Flavor: As with pretty much all aromatics I've smoked, there's not much flavor on the tongue. When I exhale through my nose, however, I do readily detect fruit, bourbon and vanilla as advertised.

Room note: Very nice vanilla scent with a hint of bourbon. I also get occasional hints of an earthy, cigar-like note. I don't know if this blend has any cigar leaf in it, so maybe I'm mistaken, but there's definitely some real tobacco notes mixed in with the vanilla and bourbon.

Though I'm smoking mostly English and VA blends these days, I'm considering buying more of this blend for when I want something sweet.

Well shoot, matthieuduquette described this blend perfectly and word for word what I experienced as well. He seemed to grab my own thoughts, no need to repeat. This is a great aromatic blend and I'm throughly impressed. I CAN add that Moontrance is not boring... Bourbon Vanilla? A nice, tasty, unusal twist that stays with a quality tobacco smoke. Best aromatic I've smoked yet. Highly recommended.

Having cut my teeth on English blends, I occasionally find myself searching for an enjoyable aromatic. That search brought me to a sampler pack containing CAO's Moontrance, Black, and Eileen's Dream. In the tin, this stuff smells great, no two ways about it. The rich, sticky-sweet smell of honey paired with sweet fruits was the first and only thing to really impress me about this blend. A lot of this bouquet hits you hard on the charring light, then fades out for the most part. Throughout the whole bowl, it remains a sweet smoke with just the slightest hint of tropical fruit, and it leaves a pleasant trace of fruit and honey on the palate. Like the other CAO blends I've tried, you have to dance an especially delicate dance with this stuff, because the casing only comes through when sipped. It won't bite you, even if you rush it, but if you aren't sipping, you'll just taste the decent tobacco underneath.

The best way to summarize Moontrance is that it's a blend that lights easily, stays lit, and produces a ton of light, pleasant-smelling smoke. I could probably smoke this all day. However, I could say the same things about plenty of stuff that tastes better and doesn't cost as much. Moontrance is admittedly a nice little smoke, but for the money this stuff usually costs, it's not difficult to do better.

This is kind of a tough one for me to review as I really liked the second two thirds of the bowl, but the first third was dominated by a topping that I did not really like. I think it is the combination of the tropical fruit and bourbon that I just did not enjoy, but the flavoring does lighten up a bit after the first third and the remaining ride is incredible.

The underlying tobacco taste is prevalent and screams quality leaf which is something that I look for in aromatics. If the remaining flavors by CAO series share this dynamic than I will certainly look forward to trying some of the other offerings in said series.

Overall, I recommend this blend and would probably bump to four stars if I enjoyed the topping more, but it is highly likely that you may enjoy this flavor. So with that said I do recommend at least trying it if you enjoy a good tobacco taste with your aromatics.

I didn't like this at first, but a little drying time made the difference. A flavor that is unique in the "whiskey-vanilla" blends. The bourbon and vanilla really work well together in this blend. A mild yet satisfying experience

This tobacco was a fun one to try as I smoke a pipe regularly but will occasionally smoke a cigar as well. Being as I have had these in cigar form and enjoyed them very much I was eager to try this in my pipe. The tin note is amazing, and smells identical to the cigars that I so enjoy, smelling heavily of vanilla, raisins, and honey. Taste however, is a completely different experience altogether. I am glad that I tried this one in both forms as they are completely different experiences for me at least. I did not think that this one tasted anything like a cigar which was surprising to me as that is what I had expected. The tobacco was easy to pack, light, and burned well through to the end of the bowl. The taste was much milder than expected especially for those that have had the cigar and after smelling such a strong tin note. Upon lighting this tobacco one is greeted with the mild taste of vanilla with hints of sweet honey and a faint fruit-like taste which stay with you through to the end of the smoke. The room note was not as strong as I would have believed that it was going to be after smelling the tin note, and according to the wife, had a mild smell but definitely had the aroma of honey and vanilla. Overall, I was surprised at how mild this blend is after having the cigar, but was pleasantly surprised at how well this worked for me in my pipe. Definitely a good aromatic to keep around for those days when you just crave something slightly sweet.

My first aromatic, recommended by the grumpy dude at the store who pretty much threw at me saying ‘This is what most people start with, ‘ without even making eye contact.

I bought it.

Intense smell of cake, bourbon vanilla and whatever “exotic fruit” means.

RECOMMENDED FOR... It’s a nice start and a cool and mellow smoke.

OTHER: PS this is very very well with plenty of sticky syrup and PG

Im not sure if I want to love, or hate this blend. First off ill start by saying this blend is excellent unto itself. The room note is good, and the taste is somewhat mild and sweet. Here lies my problem, I bought this blend because I have tasted and smelled the Moontrance cigarillos (which by the way are awesome!), and im not too sure that this is a blend that was "translated" from the cigarillo, to the pipe..........and this my friends is the problem. The cigars have a more coconutty smell, which i dont detect in the pipe tobacco. Overall though pretty good, but not what I was hoping for.