Brick House

Natural

Not a great cigar. Unremarkable. Spicy

Punch Cut, paired with a Stranahan’s neat. Limited flavor development, very earthy. Draw was good, sub-par burn. Cigar was underwhelming.

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the Brickhouse series. The Double Connecticut is very good, and the Maduro is no slouch either, so I wondered where the natural would fall. Mine was aged 3 months before smoking, so the flavors should meld well. The appearance was decent. Seams were definitely apparent, but didn’t look like they’d be an issue. The layered cap was neatly and nicely placed. The band is attractive and an adequate place to hold the stick. Foot was neat and trimmed as well. The cigar gave scents of just a touch of barnyard, cinnamon, and hay off the unlit wrapper, while the foot added a little milk chocolate to the aroma. Double sided cut from scissors was clean and the cap held up well. Cold draw gave wheat, dried fruit, and creamed coffee. Light up immediately offered the same flavors of wheat bread, dried fruit, a touch of saltiness on the palate, and some white pepper on the retrohale. Draw was good if not somewhat on the loose side. In the first third, a very SLIGHT touch of creaminess seemed to come through along with some toasty woods. The burn line was slightly wavy, but gradually corrected itself. Aroma in the air was pleasant and non-offensive. The ash held on through the end of the first third and into the second; a testament to its construction. The ash was light gray, but a little flaky. The second third brought the same flavor notes and a couple new ones, that all seemed to blend well. There was a hint of a floral taste, but I found it to go in and out. Pepper came out onto the palate as well, not just in the retrohale. The creaminess morphed into a milkiness that I hadn’t experienced before. It was present, but seemed to thin out in a way. Interestingly enough, the value of this cigar showed up in the fact that I had to puff a little more often than I wanted to in order to keep it from going out. Undoubtedly, this was what contributed to a lower smoking time than I expected from my toro. Towards the end of the second third the wrapper sweetness really started to come out, and the finish started to linger longer; both pluses in my book. The final third was ushered in with the band removal. Most of it came off easily, but it did take some of the wrapper with it. Flavor changes included a pronounced nuttiness like that of cashews and walnuts. Tobacco flavor started taking over with about 1 - 1.5” left, but it didn’t get too bitter. Smoked down to a half inch nub. Overall the flavors were a good medium, and strength was a little on the lighter side; I smoked my stick on an empty stomach with no adverse effects. Not a bad stick by any means, it’s actually a decent cigar for the price, but I prefer the Maduro more, and the Connecticut is probably the best of the three.

The draw was bit strange. Seemed a bit too open and i would have expected „more smoke“. In general a really good cigar that for the price could be an easy daily. I have to reevaluate it sometimes.

Que de l’air. Bcp trop vide et aéré. Trop léger. Pas intéressant. Brule mal.

The rubusto is the one to get in this line. I’ve tried others in this line that were just average at best. What is insane is that this cigar with such a flavor complexity and incredible burn and draw only cost 6$ I enjoyed every bit of it from first light to the last bit of the nub. Will be in standard rotation.

Excellent value smoke. Very woody with a bit of tea and sweet leather on the finish. Not much of that Nicaraguan pepper

Not a fan. Started out stronger than I expected, mellowed a bit, but seemed to remain bitter.

A good tasting cigar.

Burns like shit but tastes good