4.5/5 stars

The day is calm and so am I. It’s the last day of November, and the sky is clear. The weather vane atop the aged green roof in front of me is staind. I need only a thin sweater for warmth.

Total serenity gives way to a certain anticipation and then exhilaration as I pull a crinkly plastic wrapper from around what should be a short, easy smoke.

Everything about this says “handmade.” CAO Flavours Bella Vanilla cigar has an elegant band, as well as a thin wooden wrapper graced by a yellow ribbon. I can see the serration where the tape holding these outer pieces together must have been lifted off a dispenser. The slight offset of the ribbon’s cut edges actually shows care — I know warm human fingertips, not rubber-tipped steel, put this together. (For a nice video on how CAO makes some of its cigars, check out “Making an American Cigar,” from CAOINTERNATIONAL, on YouTube.)

The rounded tip of my smoke cuts off crisply. I feel like I should be using specialty matches instead of the plastic lighter I got, 12-for-$2, at the Grocery Outlet.

The leaves of this wrapper are delicate and smooth.

Though I’ve had my fair share of flavored cigarettes, this is one of only two flavored cigars I’ve wrapped my lips around; the other was of the Moontrance variety from this same box set. The set of six petit coronas is available for $10-15 online and comes with other such enchanting flavors as Gold Honey (with orange blossom honey), Eileen’s Dream (Irish creme and white truffle), Earth Nectar (almonds, cocoa and raisins) and Karma Sutra Splash (mango, mint chocolate chip).

The vanilla I taste as I light up is the same of fine confections, drawn from Madagascar vanilla beans. This smoke is as mild as a bottle of baby formula. Gentle pulls on it make me feel like a lady.

The temperature and temper of the weather almost suggest spring, but the candy flavor seems appropriate for the real, holiday season. The ash stays together in beautiful, tight, white cylinders. Smoking this 4x38 cigar in fact turns out to be a slow, solid 40-minute experience.

The air is still enough to allow smoke rings, and I make a few attempts before deciding to let the smoke slide up from my lips on its own in delicate, feathery wisps, tendrils snaking through the coniferous branches above me.

This is a fine cigar. The light tobacco taste is prevalent, but more importantly, the vanilla essence lingers long after it’s all come off my lips.

If you can imagine a vanilla latte made with white coffee beans and gentle crème, you understand the spirit of the CAO Bella Vanilla. If you’d like a better idea, I suggest ordering one of each of these sensual delights.

Reach A&E editor Maddie Hall at arts@dailyuw.com.