Oliva / Studio Tobac Cain Daytona 550

I have been keeping myself extremely busy since I have gotten back from my Dominican Republic trip. Expect a coverage post about that just as soon as I can find enough time to put it all together. Until then I decided to keep you updated with this week’s review, Oliva’s Cain Daytona.

The Good Stuff: These were actually sent to me by a long time twitter buddy “@revjava”. Big thanks bro! The Cain Daytona is the fourth release from Oliva and Studio Tobac’s “Strait Ligero” Cain line. The first ones being the Habano and Maduro, followed by the ball busting Cain “F” which carried even more ligero content then the previous two. While the three previous blends where crazy strong, the Daytona was created to satisfy the portion of cigar smokers who wanted the premium Cain experience, without all the strength. Here is how they describe the blend:

“The CAIN DAYTONA is a medium bodied offering blended using only Jalapa Ligeros. Jalapa Valley is Nicaragua’s northern most tobacco area. It is well known for producing the country’s most medium and smooth fillers. CAIN DAYTONA takes its flavor profile from this distinct area. The DAYTONA offers a solid medium taste with an abundance of natural smoothness. The result, a creamy cigar with true Nicaraguan taste.”

The Cain Daytona is available in 5 sizes: 646 – 6 x 46, 660 – 6 x 60, No. 4 – 5 x 43, 550 – 5 x 50, and the 654T – 6 x 54. I am reviewing the 550 Robusto format which runs about $5 to $6 a stick.

Size: 5 x 50  –  Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano  –  Binder: Nicaraguan Habano  –  Filler: Nicaraguan  –  Body: Medium

Prelight: The Cain Daytona is a beautiful looking cigar. The first thing that caught my attention is how absolutely perfect, and consistent the medium brown wrapper is. Seriously, this is about as consistent as you get in a wrapper without dye. There are a few slightly darker areas on the wrapper, but I really had to examine the cigar is hard light to see them. The wrapper carries a few medium veins, but other than that the only noticeable characteristic is the shine that comes off this thing. The body of the cigar is very tight and hard and has no soft spots. The thick body leads up to a very round double cap. Orange is an interesting color choice for this band considering the last few have been white/black/red mix ups. I guess it goes along with the whole “Daytona” theme.

The wrapper of the cigar gives off a very strong, powerful tobacco scent while the foot has more of a spicy, earthy aroma. The Cain Daytona cut clean and easy using my Colibri double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces much of the same. A really earthy, natural tobacco flavor with some soft spice undertones.

First Smoke: The Cain Daytona surprised me by starting off with a mild little pepper kick. After that quickly subsided I was left with a semi-sweet, natural tobacco flavor with hints of cinnamon and leather. It’s a smooth smoke, but didn’t start out with as much flavor as I was expecting. The draw is extremely hard. I have to hit the cigar about three or four times every minute just to keep it lit. Hopefully that doesn’t remain a trend. Once I do get some smoke in my mouth it quickly diminishes leaving me longing for another hit. The burnline is pretty thick, but dead even. The ash held on for just under an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: With the exception of some slight cedar flavors coming in, the Daytona really hasn’t changed much from the first third. The main flavor is still this really natural, earthy tobacco flavor. The pepper seems to keep showing up randomly throughout the smoke, but then quickly fades away. The retrohale is real nice coating with a very strong cedar that I wish came out more in the actual smoking experience. The burnline is still very thick, and has started to develop some smaller, non-concerning waves.  Not only that, but the wrapper started to crack from the burline back. Nothing too crazy though, and it doesn’t seem to really be affecting the smoke. Maybe the cigar is just packed too tight and the filler is trying to make it’s way out cause the draw is still ridiculously tight.

Finish: The final third of this Cain Daytona finished with the exact same flavors as the second, with one difference. There was some massive harshness built up into the final inch. This was more than likely due to all the puffing I had to do to get a good draw out of this cigar. The harshness was so bad that I actually gave up on the cigar a lot earlier then I normally would. It just started tasting like char and actually got hard to smoke. I only had to relight the cigar once though which is shocking compared to how often I felt I had to take draw in order to keep the cigar lit. All in all it took a little over an hour to smoke and unlike the rest of the Cain blends, didn’t leave me with much of a nicotine kick at all.

Overview: So the story is, I smoked 2 of these at my local shop, both were plugged and had to be chucked. I ended up picking 2 more up from a different shop, one was plugged, and one completely fell apart on me. Revjava sent me three of these. One was plugged, one was this review which was also plugged, and the other is still sitting in my humidor. I think I gave it enough of an attempt don’t you? The flavors weren’t all there, the cigar fell flat, the construction is good (except on the one that fell apart on me) and the draw is just terrible. The crazy part is, so many people loved this cigar and raved about it. That was the only reason why I was willing to give it so many chances, but I should have quit while I was ahead. Despite being loved by the masses I just didn’t like this cigar. Even if it wasn’t plugged, the flavors just weren’t enough to keep my attention and I missed the strength that you got from smoking the other Cain blends, such as the “F”. Subjectivity at it’s best eh? Anyone that reads my reviews knows how fond I am of Oliva, but either way, I don’t think I’ll be picking anymore of these up anytime soon. Due to the overwhelming amount of people who enjoyed this cigar, I may revisit it at some point, if I feel daring. But this review shouldn’t necessarily keep you away from it. Try it for yourself and let me know your thoughts. If you have already smoked it I would love to hear what you thought about it. I am almost positive at least 95% of the response I will get is positive. I just lie in the thin line of people that this cigar didn’t do anything for.

Pairing: I paired this cigar with my go to port, Fonseca’s Bin 27. Fonseca is one of the oldest, and trusted names in the port business. The Bin 27 was created over a century ago for the family’s consumption. Blended from reserve wines selected for their intense fruit character and depth of color, Fonseca Bin No. 27 spends four years in large wood vats prior to bottling. Coming in at 20% ABV and under $20 a bottle, this extremely fruity wine pairs perfectly with any cigar. The Fruit, black cherry, clove, and spice went very well with the Daytona. In fact, it was the driving force behind the cigar. It’s interesting just how much of a difference a good pairing such as this can make.