CAO Amazon Basin Daggers Return For 2026
Last year, General Cigar Co. introduced Daggers, a smaller version of its limited-edition, Toro-sized CAO Amazon Basin brand. The petit coronas were enough of a success to spark another production, and this year’s limited allotment of Daggers is now available.
Measuring 4 inches by 38 ring gauge, Daggers offer a smaller, more convenient alternative to the Toro for those who are short on time. The five-country blend for CAO Amazon Basin consists of a high-priming Ecuador Sumatra wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder. The mixed fillers are from Colombia and the Dominican Republic, but the defining tobacco is the Brazilian leaf called Bragança, which is purportedly grown in the Amazon rainforest.
A rare varietal, Bragança seedlings are planted a yard apart and harvested only once every three years, resulting in much smaller yields than typical tobacco crops. After harvesting, the leaves are then rolled into dense logs called carottes which undergo a six-month fermentation period before being loaded onto a canoe and paddled down the Amazon River.
“Amazon Basin fans are some of the most passionate in the cigar world, and we know how fast the larger sizes disappear,” says Cory Beardsley, brand manager for CAO. “Daggers are back for the people who missed the original drop or for those who want the Bragança profile but don’t have an hour and a half to commit to a Toro. It’s the same blend and the same intensity, just built to fit a shorter smoking window.”
Amazon Basin Daggers are made in Nicaragua at the STG Estelí factory and come in paper-wrapped packs of five that retail for $24.99.
