I recently received some samples of the Brick House Maduro from J.C. Newman for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press. It has been quite some time since I smoked a Brick House, and even then it was not the maduro, so I can say this was going to be a new experience for me.
According to the J.C. Newman company:
“In 1937, J.C. Newman launched Brick House; a true Cuban puro cigar made with the finest Havana tobaccos. To honor his family and heritage, J.C. modeled the Brick House label after his childhood home – the only brick house in their small, Hungarian village. Locals and visitors would gather at the house nightly to eat, drink, smoke and enjoy each other’s company. But with the Cuban embargo came the end of Brick House.”
The company goes on to state:
“Over 70 years later, grandsons Eric and Bobby Newman re-launched Brick House using the most exquisite Nicaraguan tobaccos. Wrapped in a hearty Havana Subido™ leaf, every cigar features a rich blend of Nicaraguan puro tobaccos carefully hand-rolled by master artisans. Aged over a year in the mountains of Nicaragua, every Brick House cigar is a melding of flawless construction, superb quality and master blend.“
While the original Brick House came in 7 different vitolas, the maduro variety is only available in three:
- Toro (6 x 52) MSRP $8.89
- Robusto (5 x 54) MSRP $8.59
- Mighty Mighty (6 1/4 x 60) MSRP $9.59
Each vitola comes packaged in 25-count boxes and these can be found for a handsome discount on sites like Cigars International. For this review I sampled the Brick House Mighty Mighty maduro.
Pre-Light Examination
The Brick House Mighty Mighty maduro is just that. It is a bold looking, large ring gauge cigar. A dark brown toothy maduro leaf, with a nice oily sheen, wraps this nicely and it is finished with a triple cap. I will say there are noticeable seams in the wrapping and it feels a tad light for its large size.
The cigar is branded with two bands. The primary is the standard Brick House logo and the secondary is a thin band just under the primary that declares this as the “MADURO” variety.
As I ran the Brick House maduro under my nose, I detected a distinct curing barn aroma along the barrel. Shifting to the foot, I noted a light earth and fermented leaf aroma.
I sliced the cap using my double blade cutter to give it an even straight cut across the shoulder and proceeded to take some pre-light draws. It was nicely restricted and offered notes of earth and a sprinkle of pepper, which is much different from the standard brick house if I recall.
I was very intrigued to fire this monster up and see how it performed. I used a triple flame torch to warm the foot and prepare it to be burnt to ash, taking in the first puffs of spice and earth laden smoke. Read on, as I break down the house.
Cigar Review Notes
- Earth and spice hit the palate first
- Medium grey ash on a thick burn line
- Mild floral aroma
- Mineral notes add to the mix
- Saltiness and butter notes after an inch plus
- Spice pulls back to a gentle note
- Off burn develops near the end of first third
- Barrel gets squishy
- Cocoa aromas
- Ash falls revealing an off centered burn cone
- Aroma shifts to a nut midway
- A hint of fruit enters
- Burn eventually required a touch up
- Spice begins to increase
- Butter joins back in
- Aroma shifts to more of a buttered popcorn note (like walking into a movie theater)
- Slight inward burn entering final third
- Spice picks up again in final with added caramel notes
- Mild to medium in strength
- Burn runs off again requires second touch up
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 50 minutes
Overall, I found the J.C. Newman Brick House Mighty Mighty maduro to be a fair mild to medium cigar that had pronounced spice notes with plenty of undertones and shifting aromas that made it a fairly complex smoke. Unfortunately, the burn is where this cigar had issues. It had a couple of off burns during the journey that required multiple touch-ups and it developed an inward burn in the final third. This is one I might try again, perhaps in a toro vitola. I rate this a 89.
Point Deductions: (-1) Medium Grey Ash; (-2) Multiple Touch-ups; (-1) Off Burns; (-2) Inward Burn in final third; (-1) Might Buy one Again
