CAO Moontrance

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.

Of the CAO aromatics, this is my favorite (not including the Bella Vanilla, which is really a different thing altogether, and very unlike the other mixtures in their aro line). Frankly I put off cracking this tin open for a long time because the others were so nasty. I got a good deal and ended up buying one tin of each. I made the mistake of smoking the Cherrybomb and Eileen's Dream first, and they were both very dissapointing. I am going to be giving each of those another smoke and then will post reviews, so I will not belabor the issue here.

Moontrance is another animal however, for a couple of reasons. First, it is a more well -balanced and less cavendish heavy blend. I like cavendish, and some of my favorite blends use it as the primary condiment leaf. The CAO cavendish, however, strikes me as similar to the goopy drugstore variety, and that I do not care for at all. This, however, has less of that effect (although it is still there, alas), and has evident virginias which are absent in the two aforementioned blends. This smells nice from the tin, but it is a lot less fruity than the description might lead you to believe, and less so than other fruit-topped or cased aromatics. With that said, the tin aroma is very pleasant with a nice sweet heaviness to it, some fruit overtones, and even a little lakeland type floral odor. The room note while smoking has even less fruit, but is a rich sweet mixtures of tobacco and honey. I really do not detect the bourbon, but for me this flavor rarely stands out, so perhaps that is just how my palate works.

Second, the burning characteristics are pleasant, and that is what pushed this into 3 star category. It is not overly damp in the tin and dries nicely. That is always a good sign, as it means that they have not used a heavy hand with the humectants. I personally try to avoid smoking those types of additives, and stay away from blends which have clearly been coated in the stuff. it takes a char nicely, and with one or two relights burns readily, and not too hot if you do not puff wildly. While it never reaches any serious level of flavor, strength, or complexity, I agree with some of the other reviewers who have noted that it improves and becomes richer (not rich, but richer than where it started from) throughout the bowl. It burns with a nice clean ash and does not seem to funk the pipe. Tongue bite is minimal to nonexistent with proper pacing.

This is nice aromatic. I do not think that it rises to the level of the truly great aros (if you are looking for this type of aromatic, Boswell does it better, and I personally like the English style aromatics which are usually less casing-forward, and offer a richer tobacco experience), but it is a tasty change of pace. It seems that a little age will do it good. This would be a good blend for smoking if you are planning on a multiple bowl day, as it is easy on the tongue and palate.

This blend is pretty awesome. I really love the tin note that it has: dark dried fruits and cream. Like the other CAO blends I have tried, this one is not overly moist or gunky. It packs well and it hasn't ghosted any pipes. Upon the first light, the fruit flavor is definitely persistent. The bourbon vanilla doesn't come in until about mid bowl and it creates a wonderful, mild, thick smoke. I love smoking aromatics, and this is definitely one to keep around. It would be good for just about anyone. No bite, mild but delicious flavor, and no mess: just how I like 'em!

Picked up a tin in a recent order.

It's a nice combination of bright and dark Virginas.

The tin note is fruity with a bit of bourbon noticeable. It smells similar to Peterson's Connoisseur's Choice.

The blend does come a bit moist, but is smoke able straight from the tin. For a better experience though a bit of drying time will help.

It takes a lighting well and burns nice and evenly to a fine white ash. Definitely a quality leaf.

The casing/top dressing, in my opinion, was done well. It's noticeable in the background but not over powering. I got just hints of vanilla and fruit with a bit of bourbon flavor here and there.

As long as you sip on it like most aromatics it shouldn't bite you much.

The room note is pleasant and even piqued my friend's interest enough to ask if he could have a bowl. He seemed to have similar feelings about the blend as I did.

Overall it's an aromatic that's worth trying out if you're into aromatics.

My first tinned tobacco. I was interested in CAO after smoking a Gold Honey robusto cigar of theirs. I'm not much a cigar fan, but that was one spectacular smoke. So I picked this up to venture away from bulk aromatics and into better, less-flavored blends. I was blown away opening this up. The packaging (as are all of CAOs) was beautiful, and the tin note, which smelled of passionfruit, honey, and (what I can now discern from my learned knowledge of tobacco) some virginas. The flavoring is fairly faint while smoking but can be picked up through very gentle sips and nose-exhales. As the smoke progresses, the topping burns off and the smoke becomes buttery. Very close to Blue Note but more subdued.

I didn't take many notes on this one about specifics other than that it is a light, smooth smoke. The bourbon flavor is much more present on the retrohale.

You can view my video review of this blend here:

https://youtu.be/Gd1GsXzzzXg

Where to begin? Although this is a heavily cased aromatic, it's not a goopy kid's/starter blend. I should not that I prefer English blends but enjoy an aromatic now and then. This mixture hits the sweet spot while still being satisfying for the person who likes tobacco and not candy-blends. Vanilla flavored blends are pretty standard but Moon is notable for having a touch of bourbon with the vanilla. I enjoyed this more than Blue Note because there was ZERO tongue sting and it was more flavorful. Smoked cool. Very nice quality tobacco. I was pleasantly surprised because I didn't think CAO would get pipe tobacco right. I like matthieuduquette's and Pipe guy's review for really getting into detail much better than I. I was close to giving it 4 star but I reserve that rating for the blends that really hit my subjective, personal sweet spot. Definitely will buy it again.

I also must defer to matthieuduquette's review...nailed the tin note and tasting notes perfectly. The CAO description matches the experience. Fruity citrus, vanilla and bourbon. Although I'm not a heavy partaker of aromatics, I always keep some of this around for the originality, as well as for the wife. She loves the aroma of moontrance, and I find the flavor combination very pleasant, very unique. Toppings are judiciously applied, so the tobacco burns well with plenty of flavor without being a goopy, soggy mess. Very well done for an aromatic. No burn issues here...packs and lights effortlessly right from the tin. If you enjoy bourbon vanilla aros and would like to try one much more original than most, this is a must try.

This was my first pipe tobacco after transitioning from cigars. Overall a nice smoke. It was a little wet but dried out quickly and burned smooth. The taste is primarily vanilla with a hint of fruit almost as an afterthought. It was a good beginner tobacco for me.