Arturo Fuente God of Fire by Carlito 2014

 

One of the most sought after cigars in the word are in the God of Fire line by Arturo Fuente. God of Fire has two variants, the Don Carlos and the more robust Carlito. Both come in several sizes ranging from the largest being a Churchill to the smallest being a Double Robusto. 

The Carlito is filled with Dominican tabacco and is wrapper by a Cameroon leaf while the Don Carlos is wrapped by a Ecuadorian Habano leaf. Regardless of size, these cigars will separate around $20 to $25 USD from your wallet in order to get one. These cigars are not easy to come by either. 

Each release is documented on the box and with an additional band on the cigar. The sample used for this review comes from the 2014 release.

Wrapper: Cameroon

Binder: The Dominican Republic

Filler: The Dominican Republic

Length: 5 3/4"

Ring Gauge: 50

Size: Double Robusto

The Smoke: I had this one late morning mid-week with an Americano. The Cameroon leaf is oily, toothy, and has some visible veins. The wrapper provides a nice tan that almost appears to be something along the lines of walnut hue. In typical Fuente fashion, the cigar feels solid and well made. There are no signs of loose wrapping and the foot shows dense packing.

The cold draw is good and offers some pepper along with some mild nut and cinnamon. The pepper becomes more pronounced after lighting. The nut and cinnamon remain faint while also being joined by some cedar and espresso notes. Leather comes about the midway point of the smoke and remains to the end. Mild sweetness also prevails. The smoke is light and creamy while the profile of the cigar is medium bodied.

The draw and construction of the cigar are good through the entire 1:50 minute life of the smoke. The burn rate is even, or even enough I should say. No corrective burns were required.

The Fuente God of Fire Carlito was an excellent cigar. The flavor profile was nice and the body of the cigar was not overwhelming. It was a nice smoke that I could see being enjoyable at any point in the day. It paired excellent with my Americano and provided an enjoyable smoking experience. I took this one as close to a nub as I could without the assistance of a toothpick. While the price point is high, it was worth the price. I would not recommend a box strictly because of the high price, however. I would pick up a few of these to have something on hand to celebrate a special event.

The Score: Buy a 5 pack

Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva Natural Rothchild

Arturo Fuente Cigars are some of the most sought out cigars in the world in the form of their high dollar Opus X line. I have had a few of them in my days, and they are fantastic cigars. one day I will smoke another one and post my thoughts here. Until then, I will continue to focus on their lower cost options and more commonly found cigars like this one and the Hemingway Short Story.

The Arturo Fuente Natural sports a Cameroon leaf wrapper and tabacco from its place of birth, The Dominican Republic, and can be found in many different shapes and sizes. These cigars are commonly found and can be had at any B&M stop or online retailers. Fuente claims these as "the most popular cigar in the United States" and I think that is possible given how commonly found they can be. These smokes are about $5 to $6 USD each and are very reasonable.

Buy Arturo Fuente Natural Rothchild

Wrapper: Africa

Binder: The Dominican Republic

Filler: The Dominican Republic

Length: 4 1/2"

Ring Gauge: 50

Size: Rothchild

The Smoke: The Cameroon leaf provides a nice brown exterior that has some toothiness, veins, and an oily touch. The cigar feels solid and well constructed. There is some slight give when the cigar is squeezed but it quickly regains its original form when the pressure is released.

I used my punch cutter for this one for no reason in particular other than it was the closest cutter I had nearby at the time. The cold draw was decent and allowed a strong cedar flavor to be pulled out of the cigar. Lighting was also supper easy. A good draw made it possible to quickly get the smoke going.

The first lit puff was an indication of what was to come. A medium bodied smoke that had a creamy mouthfeel. The smoke brought along more cedar flavor. There is some slight sweetness mixed with some black pepper too. The profile and flavors do not change much during the 45 minute smoke. It is one of the most consistent cigars I have smoked in some time. The burn rate was even and the cigar's construction remained intact. The draw also remained as consistent on the last puff as it was on the first puff. 

This cigar was very good. What I liked about it the most was that it was simple. Minimal flavor changes while remaining consistent and enjoyable in all phases of its lifespan. Filter that through the price point and this cigar represents a fantastic value. If you have room, I would recommend picking up a box if you are looking for a daily smoke; but, due to the relative ease to find these sticks, I would not recommended hoarding them like those who are hoarding toilet paper during a Covid-19 spike.

The Score: Buy a 10 pack

Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story

The interesting thing, to me, about the Hemingway line of cigars from Arturo Fuente is that all 5 sizes available are a shaped in a Perfecto. During the time the series came to fruition, the Perfecto vitola was largely out of favor. In the early 1980s, Carlos Fuente Sr found Perfecto molds in a warehouse in Florida and brought them back to the Dominican to teach their cigar rollers the technique to properly molding these cigars. Once the shape was selected, master blender Carlito Fuente blended the tobaccos and the line began its long-storied run shortly thereafter.

The size that is a focus of this review is the 4" x 49 Short Story. This handmade cigar is manufactured in the Dominican Republic at the Fuente factory which also features Dominican tobaccos that are wrapped by a beautiful deep tan hued Cameroon wrapper. The Hemingway Short Story cigars can be acquired for around $6 USD per stick with the larger sizes in the Hemingway series approaching $8 to $9 USD per stick.

Wrapper: Cameroon

Binder: Dominican Republic

Filler: Dominican Republic

Length: 4"

Ring Gauge: 49
Size: Perfecto

The Smoke: This is another in a series of cigars that I have reviewed that are smaller in size. This 4-inch-long cigar has a nice oily wrapper. The immediate thing I noticed, beyond the attractive color of the wrapper leaf, is that the cigar is firm and feels well-constructed when held. The Perfecto shape is tight, and it appears that the filler is tightly packed. 

I used a straight cut for this smoke and the cap, as usual, came off with ease. The pre-lit aromas had some sweetness. Toasting the cigar requires a very quick flash from the lighter. Anything more than a quick flash begins to burn the wrapper. Just like toasting, lighting the cigar is also a quick venture as it takes some skill to light and avoid burning the wrapper. 

The flavors from the cigar feature caramel, wood, and bread. The wood elements add some mild sweetness early in the session before the pepper profile arrives. The final third of this 40-minute smoke features black pepper that washes away the sweetness and wood.

The profile of the cigar is mild to medium while the draw was slightly tight on the first few puffs but opened nicely as the burn arrived at the full portion of the ring. The burn rate for the Perfecto shaped cigar needs continued attention as it is extremely easy to induce a non-uniform burn rate during the lighting of the cigar because of its unusual shape. 

I found this to be enjoyable and one that I could enjoy early in the day with some coffee or later in the mid afternoon when the heat outside is highest. 

The Score: Buy a 10 pack