King of the Cameroon: Part VI (God of Fire Carlito Churchhill 2006)

[Bull Moose]

Well it's been a long time coming for me but yesterday I presented my undergraduate research at a conference for my university and I told myself back in January that I would use such an accomplishment for smoking Carlito's version of the God of Fire.

First of all, I need to give MAJOR props to BrooksW a fellow photographer Brother who gifted me this stick as part of the first bomb anyone from BotL sent me. Thanks Brooks!!!

Construction: Well, as would be expected from a cigar that retails for around $25 the build of this cigar was flawless. While flawless construction on any cigar can be impressive it is even more so on cameroon cigars due to the super fragile nature of the leaf. Carlito's GoF was firm to the touch and had a beautiful dark brown wrapper leaf that showed some slight oily sheen. The draw was a little tight at first but I just did a second clip and it was perfect, allowing thick clouds of aromatic white smoke to be produced at my leisure.

Flavor: Here's where things got interesting for me. Though this is a $25 stick I detected nothing that I hadn't tasted before in much cheaper cameroon cigars. Sweet spice dominated most of the two hours I spent with the GoF with notes of hay, cocoa and earth making appearances throughout the smoke. While I very much enjoy these flavors, they are what I would expect as part of the normal cameroon flavor profile.

But lets face it Brothers, this is not a normal cammy cigar, this is the freakin' God of Fire, the supposed master of the Cameroon kingdom! Well I've got to tell you that even though I did enjoy the flavors I got, I found the LFD Cameroon Cabinet to be more exciting, with flavors that kept evolving throughout the smoke.

Overall: Put simply, I would not dare say that I was let down by this cigar, but I do not think it met the hype surrounding it. Granted, this cigar cost me nothing which of course is wonderful, but if I were slappin' down my own greenbacks for a cigar I would MUCH rather have three LDF cammy cabinets than one GoF. While this cigar is definitely good, would not go as far to proclaim it "Magnanimous" "Celestial" "Triumphant" or any fancy-sounding word I can think of. When factoring flavor vs. cost into the equation (remember I'm a college student) I give the God of Fire Carlito 2006 churchhill an 8.8 out of 10. Perhaps if I get some extra cash I'll try the Robusto size (my favorite vitola) but for now I'll keep on enjoying those LFD's. Thanks for reading guys!

 

[Bull Moose]

1. LFD Cameroon Cabinet Robusto (9.3)
2. La Aurora Pref. Robusto Ltd. Ed. 2006 (9.0)
3. God of Fire Carlito 2006 Churchill (8.8)
3. Arturo Fuente Hemingway 'Best Seller' (8.0)
4. Perdomo ESV 1991 'Maestro' (7.5)
5. Gurkha Royal Brigade (6.0)

 

[cigarguy71]

Thanks for the review.

 

[Donk]

Like the review. But I think your ranking might be off a bit. No way can you score the GOF and the Hemmingway below the LFD Cameroon cabinet and the la aurora. In fact even the ESV 91 is better.

Question how are you ranking and giving final judging?

Try this
GOF
Hemmingway
ESV 91'
La Aurora
LFD cameron cabinet.

never had the royal brigade

My 2 cents though.

 

[sauzatime]

Thanks for the review Moose!

 

[Bull Moose]

Like the review. But I think your ranking might be off a bit. No way can you score the GOF and the Hemmingway below the LFD Cameroon cabinet and the la aurora. In fact even the ESV 91 is better.

Question how are you ranking and giving final judging?

Try this
GOF
Hemmingway
ESV 91'
La Aurora
LFD cameron cabinet.

never had the royal brigade

My 2 cents though.

The only reason I had the ESV so low was because it had MAJOR construction issues and it pretty much ruined the smoke for me. I definitely plan on having another go at it though. I do plan on re-evaluating the Aurora because I agree that it may not be as good as I originally though now that I've smoked others. I do and will stand by my LFD ranking. Remember I'm taking cost into account here and the fact that those cost 1/3 the price of a GoF, there is absolutely no way I could rank the GoF #1. I thought the hemmingway was great but it just didn't wow me like the LFD. I remember actually being bummed that the LFD was over so soon and for me that's huge in terms of giving it a high ranking.

My system of ranking is far from scientific but that's what makes it more fun for me. Since I'm a student, cost is the MOST important factor. Feel free to say what you will about that but if I can get a cigar that, IMO, is as good as a $25 stick at $7 it will always rank higher. Of course, I need to try each cigar again to form a more solid final opinion, which I plan to do, but for now this is just how I see things. That's what makes sites like this so great since everyone brings their own palate to the table.

 

[jwintosh]

solid review Bull. rank them how you see fit! you may try another ESV later that's better constructed.

i was slightly disappointed with the first GOF i smoked. primarily because i was thinking it was going to be like an opus - top of the line fuente! that's not to say i didn't like it. in fact, i love them. they are in a leauge all to themselves!!

 

[njstone]

So, if you did NOT factor price into the equation, what rating would you have given the GoF? I'm curious because I would never consider this a casual smoke anyway, but for times when I want something really special and might be willing to spend/trade for such a nice cigar...how nice is it, really?

 

[Moro]

Thanks for the review, mate! And I like the fact that I can see ye're ranking as they feel for ye. To see that they got that score because that was truly how they felt for ye. :thumbsup:

 

[Bull Moose]

That's a very fair question, and one that I actually struggled with last night. Do I rank a cigar based on taste ONLY or do I factor cost into it?

I nubbed the GoF until my lips burned so it was definitely a great cigar. If cost was not a factor I'd probably have ranked it slightly above the LFD, but only slightly. It's just really hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that there are people out there that do spend 20-25 bucks on this stick, but if cost was no factor it would probably be my number one because it was really really good, just not $25 good.

I remember smoking my first Padron 1926 40th and I was just floored. It tasted like mocha chocolate and smoked PERFECTLY. To me, that cigar was, and still is, worth it's price tag. Hope this answers your question! And please remember, my reviews may be slightly skewed according to others since they're being written by a student who want's the biggest value out of his smokes. :eyebrow:

p.s. I must also confess that I'm not normally a churchill smoker, I'm quite fond of robustos. I realize this may be a noob thing since longer and thinner cigars usually benefit the smoker more since you get more wrapper, but its just a preference thing for me. I may one day try the GoF carlito robusto and change my mind...you just never know.

 

[Moro]

p.s. I must also confess that I'm not normally a churchill smoker, I'm quite fond of robustos. I realize this may be a noob thing since longer and thinner cigars usually benefit the smoker more since you get more wrapper, but its just a preference thing for me. I may one day try the GoF carlito robusto and change my mind...you just never know.

It's not a noob thing; just a matter of prefference. Robustos are Pepin's favorite vitola (yes, Pepin Garcia).

 

[joshbenesh]

Good review Moose - if you can, try the Carlito Double Robusto and the Piramide before the Robusto.

 

[Bull Moose]

I shall do my best! :smokingbo

 

[uncelnino]

Nice review and ratings. It is your palate and your dime, rate the cigars however you want to. For what it's worth, I basically agree with your rankings with one change. I would have the La Aurora much lower and the GOF above the Hemmingway. When are you reviewing the LFD Cammy Lancero I sent you, I am anxious to see if it reaches the top of the list.

 

[dpmrpa]

Well it's been a long time coming for me but yesterday I presented my undergraduate research at a conference for my university and I told myself back in January that I would use such an accomplishment for smoking Carlito's version of the God of Fire.

First of all, I need to give MAJOR props to BrooksW a fellow photographer Brother who gifted me this stick as part of the first bomb anyone from BotL sent me. Thanks Brooks!!!

Construction: Well, as would be expected from a cigar that retails for around $25 the build of this cigar was flawless. While flawless construction on any cigar can be impressive it is even more so on cameroon cigars due to the super fragile nature of the leaf. Carlito's GoF was firm to the touch and had a beautiful dark brown wrapper leaf that showed some slight oily sheen. The draw was a little tight at first but I just did a second clip and it was perfect, allowing thick clouds of aromatic white smoke to be produced at my leisure.

Flavor: Here's where things got interesting for me. Though this is a $25 stick I detected nothing that I hadn't tasted before in much cheaper cameroon cigars. Sweet spice dominated most of the two hours I spent with the GoF with notes of hay, cocoa and earth making appearances throughout the smoke. While I very much enjoy these flavors, they are what I would expect as part of the normal cameroon flavor profile.

But lets face it Brothers, this is not a normal cammy cigar, this is the freakin' God of Fire, the supposed master of the Cameroon kingdom! Well I've got to tell you that even though I did enjoy the flavors I got, I found the LFD Cameroon Cabinet to be more exciting, with flavors that kept evolving throughout the smoke.

Overall: Put simply, I would not dare say that I was let down by this cigar, but I do not think it met the hype surrounding it. Granted, this cigar cost me nothing which of course is wonderful, but if I were slappin' down my own greenbacks for a cigar I would MUCH rather have three LDF cammy cabinets than one GoF. While this cigar is definitely good, would not go as far to proclaim it "Magnanimous" "Celestial" "Triumphant" or any fancy-sounding word I can think of. When factoring flavor vs. cost into the equation (remember I'm a college student) I give the God of Fire Carlito 2006 churchhill an 8.8 out of 10. Perhaps if I get some extra cash I'll try the Robusto size (my favorite vitola) but for now I'll keep on enjoying those LFD's. Thanks for reading guys!

Thanks for the review Bull. I love the cammy stick. Torano 1916 is the best for me so far. I am new and still trying to get the palate thing down. Got thrown off by someone in another thread that said he tasted leather hmmmmmmm now you say notes of hay, and earth(do u mean dirt?) what does hay and dirt taste like? hmmmmmmmmmmm again. Right now I am still at good stick, bad stick. Thought I did taste chocolate one time though. Looking forward in developing the palate. Thanks again for the review.:dunno:

 

[uncelnino]

Often times when someone is referring to it being earthy, grassy, etc it is more like you are tasting what these things smell like if that makes any sense. I doubt that many of us have chewed on any leather or snacked on some Nicaraguan dirt recently, but you still have an innate idea of what types of flavors they would evoke. It is not meant as a negative descriptor but more as a way to categorize the flavor the best way possible. The more sticks you smoke as a relative rookie the better. You will notice with some time and experience that you will begin to detect flavors and even aromas that you were not able to sense before. Also, it is hard to really get a good idea of the qualities of a cigar without consciously thinking and analyzing the whole cigar. In other words, it is great to enjoy a good cigar amongst friends at your local shop. However, to truly discover the various intricacies of a cigar, at least in my experience, you need to be away from other cigar smoke, in a quiet peaceful environment and then relax and truly enjoy the cigar. Basically make the cigar your one and only focal point and you will be amazed at what you might be able to discover. (Disclaimer, obviously i don't do this every time I smoke. In fact, I rarely do this. This process is one that i go through when i want to review a stick or have obtained something really special. Also, not everyone is the same, what works for me may not work at all for you. This is just the best method for me and I wanted to share with you) Most importantly, enjoy the experience of smoking - the comraderie and introduction to new people, the comfort and inherent connection you experience as you enjoy a cigar with others who share your passion. The last thing I will say is the same thing/advice i tell/give all new smokers; don't let someone else tell you what a good stick is, certainly listen to recommendations from more experienced smokers but in the end if YOU think it is a good stick and enjoy smoking it, then it is a good stick.

Enjoy!

 

[dpmrpa]

Thanks uncelnino. Looking forward to the time I can give a review.

 

[Bull Moose]

I definitely agree with uncelnino on this one. I have never eaten dirt (maybe as a child) or leather, or hay but I know what those things smell like. Also, when I say a cigar has chocolate notes it doesn't mean that literally but rather it's more chocolately than another cigar. Hope this makes sense.


I plan on doing a review of those LFD lanceros with a buddy of mine as soon as the weather warms up in Asheville. Stay tuned!

 

[Poriggity]

Thanks for the review.. if the LFD cameroon was better than the GOF, then I guess its time to smoke the LFD. I loved the GOF, myself.
Scott

 

[Soundwave13]

Excellent points Dave!