去年通用雪茄公司推出旗下CAO雪茄品牌的一个皮隆陈年（CAO Pilón ）系列的限量版，如今，公司将这个系列变成常规产品线，在美国PCA贸易展之前就已经向零售商配货。
这个系列的雪茄是在洪都拉斯的单利地区的HATSA雪茄厂卷制的，这个雪茄厂属于通用雪茄公司。茄衣是厄瓜多尔苏门答腊烟叶，茄套是洪都拉斯烟叶，茄芯是多米尼加、尼加拉瓜的混合烟叶。根据通用公司的介绍，今年发售的雪茄是卷制好之后已经发酵了一年。而去年发售的限量版在卷制好之后发酵了两年。
Pilón是一个术语，指为了发酵而精心堆放的大摞烟叶，烟草的重量有助于产生热量，加上烟叶中合适的水分，激发发酵过程，形成生产雪茄需要的烟叶特性。将大捆烟叶堆放起来发酵是高级雪茄行业的通用做法。
这个系列的雪茄口味是中等到浓郁强度。有三个尺寸。罗布图，54环径，5.5英寸，在美国的售价是每支8.89美元。公牛，52环径，6英寸，每支售价8.99美元。吉甘特（Gigante），60环径，5.875英寸，每支售价9.29美元。所有尺寸都是每盒20支的包装。
皮隆陈年是CAO雪茄皮隆系列的一个分支，陈年系列是2015年推出的，和皮隆系列的烟叶混合成分不一样。
What was released last year as a line of limited-edition cigars has now become a full-time brand, albeit in limited quantities. Last week, General Cigar Co. began shipping CAO Pilón Añejo to retailers in advance of the PCA trade show.
Rolled in Danlí, Honduras, at the HATSA factory, CAO Pilón Añejo consists of a Sumatra wrapper grown in Ecuador with a Honduran binder and mix of Dominican and Nicaraguan filler. According to General, the cigars have been aged for a full year before release (añejo translates to “old” in Spanish). The previous release was aged for two years.
Pilón is a term referring to the large piles of tobacco leaves carefully stacked for fermentation. The combined weight of the tobacco and moisture generate heat, activating the fermentation process required to develop the tobacco’s desirable properties. While this is a standard practice in the premium cigar industry, this particular tobacco was arranged in circular piles, which is an alternate method.
Billed as medium-to-full in body, the cigars are available in the following vitolas: Robusto, measuring 5 1/2 inches by 54 ring gauge ($8.89); Toro, 6 by 52 ($8.99); and Gigante, 5 7/8 by 60 ($9.29). All sizes come in boxes of 20 cigars.
CAO Pilón Añejo is an offshoot of the CAO Pílon line, which was introduced in 2015 and has a different blend.
For a vertical brand tasting of CAO Pilón Añejo, see a future issue of Cigar Insider.
