Beer, Motorcycles and Cigars — Beer, Bikes and Butts

Hey Federal Trade Commission.  You’re telling me and all the other bloggers that if we get paid for an endorsement, we damn well better disclose that fact, or face a penalty of $11,000.  Well no one has ever paid me for an endorsement, and if they ever had I wouldn’t need you to tell me that I ought to disclose that fact to my readers. 

Let’s keep things in perspective.  I mean, seriously, when Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers turned to the camera after winning Super Bowl XLIII and said, “I’m going to Disney World!”, did anyone think that was an endorsement of the amusement park?  Of course not.  We all knew he was just showing a little love for the fine organization that had given him a very large stack of cash.

So, for example, if an outstanding cigar retailer like CigarsDirect.com gets really generous and sends me a free box of ten God of Fire cigars, by Carlito, aged two years and released only in limited numbers, you can bet I’m going to show them a little love.  It’s not going to “buy” a favorable review, but it would certainly be fair and appropriate to tell my readers that while I have not yet had the honor of ordering from CigarsDirect.com because all my humidors are already overflowing, from what I have seen CigarsDirect.com stocks some hard to find cigars at good prices, and they may want to visit the website and form their own opinions.  Heck, I’ll even show you some love if you too send me a box of good cigars, suggesting that my readers should check out your website the next time they need the services of a trade commission.

I hope this has made my position perfectly clear.  Now onto tonight’s reviews.

God of Fire Churchill by Carlito

God of Fire is one of the most limited production lines made by the Fuente family in the Dominican Republic.  It came about as a joint effort between the Fuentes and the Prometheus company, which makes cigar accessories.  The God of Fire cigars come in two blends, one designed by Carlos Fuente Jr. (“Carlito”) and the other by his father, Carlos Sr.  Carlos Sr.’s blend of the 2005 vintage, in the robusto size, received a rating of 93 by Cigar Aficionado. The God of Fire Churchill I am reviewing is the 2006 vintage, released in 2009 after more than two years of aging.

The cigar is the type that smells great even before you light it up, with a sweet caramel aroma.  The construction is impressive, and revealed no soft spots.  The burn was perfectly even with a long ash, yielding copious amounts of smoke.  The stick started a little slow in taste, but soon released a strong, complex blend of pepper and coffee.

For some reason this stick draws criticism from some quarters, claiming it is over-hyped., but I throughly enjoyed the God of Fire Carlito.  With that said, at $22 each, you’d better be sure you share my opinion before you commit to a box.  A strong 92 on The Morris Scale.

Hoegaarden White Beer

Named after the Belgian village where it was first discovered, Hoegaarden wheat beer has a rich history dating back to the middle ages.  It is the original Belgian wheat beer and part of a long brewing tradition in this agriculturally rich region.  Blended with malted barley, wheat, coriander and curaçao orange peel Hoegaarden has a distinctive, smooth flavour and subtle citrusy character.  When poured it has a soft, white creamy head and pale almost shimmering appearance. Today the Hoegaarden brewery is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev.  (Thanks to Wikipedia for the background.)

It pours with a thick head, and the beer itself is very pale and cloudy.  The nose is citrus, but the taste consists of bananas and grapefruit.  I’m not sure how this ended up in the ol’ beer fridge, and I selected it with no preconceived notions, but I was very pleasantly surprised.  This is a refreshing beer with excellent drinkability.

Posted on May 11th, 2010 by Aaron Morris
Filed under: Beer, Beer Facts, Beer History, Cigar Facts, Cigars, Reviews