Brick House is one of the most popular cigar brands across all humidors in the United States. It is a quintessentially American cigar with a flavor profile most American smokers can find agreeable with either as the Double Connecticut Shade wrapper blend, natural blend, or maduro blend. Indeed when J.C. Newman Cigar Co. *re-*introduced the cigar in 2010, the brand came with the slogan, “What this country needs is a good $5 cigar!” The phrase is a callback to the words of Vice President Thomas Marshall who famously declared the country needed a good nickel cigar during the turmoil of the Woodrow Wilson administration.
History
J.C. Newman Cigar Co. dates the brand back to founder Julius Caesar Newman’s childhood home in Stary Koronch, Austria-Hungary. Born in the 1870’s, J.C. Newman’s home village did not have much. It did, however, have the common hearth of his mother’s brick house, an inn for travelers. The comfort and hospitality of the Newman home is apparent in the delightful bouquet of the cigar as the Newman family invites you into their world. Currently, however, the Brick House cigar is manufactured in Esteli, Nicaragua. The comforting aroma of baking spices and raisins is complimented by the hearty, peppery sabor of Nicaragua. The rich, tropical soil of Nicaragua makes the Brick House cigar a brand beyond reproach and one to smoke and smoke abundantly.
Construct
The Brick House natural features a blend of aged Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The Brick House maduro features a richer, darker blend of Nicaraguan ligero with a spicy-sweet Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper. The Brick House double Connecticut, however, is the most authentically American of the brand’s lineup. An earthy, sweet Connecticut Broadleaf binder embraces the aromatic, bold Nicaraguan filler tobacco. Finally, the powerful blend is topped with a genuine Connecticut Shade wrapper. Connecticut Shade, known the world over for its exquisite nutty and grassy flavor, complements the blend well. Connecticut Shade is still grown in the Connecticut River Valley, a tradition which goes back 300 years! The tobacco is cultivated under large cheese clothes which block out the sunlight and create a smooth, nutty wrapper.
This cigar consistently wins praise from Cigar Aficionado and Halfwheel for its smooth to medium-bodied blend which conjures emanations of vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, honey, wheat, and hazelnuts. Even for the experienced cigar smoker, accustomed to the richer aromas of sungrown or maduro, the Brick House Double Connecticut is one for the books. It is the only industry cigar currently available with both an authentic Connecticut Shade wrapper and Connecticut Broadleaf binder. Other cigars in the Brick House Double Connecticut’s weight class boast Shade wrappers but often use Ecuadorian or Nicaraguan imitations of Connecticut’s unique Windsor soil and climate. Accept no substitute, true aficionado. To boot, the Brick House Double Connecticut is a value-oriented cigar. You get twenty-five cigars in a box for less than $250!
“Brick House Double Connecticut is rolled with the same highly-acclaimed Brick House filler blend with a genuine Connecticut Shade wrapper and Connecticut Broadleaf binder. Fewer and fewer cigars are being made with genuine Connecticut wrapper because many cigar manufacturers have found it to be more profitable to take Connecticut seeds and plant them elsewhere, like Ecuador or Honduras. J.C. Newman takes the use of genuine Connecticut tobacco by using it both in the wrapper and binder.
The result of this combination is a very spicy and peppery rich flavor- one not only unlike regular Brick House- but one unlike any other cigar on the market today. Using both Connecticut Shade wrapper and Connecticut Broadleaf Binder is what makes this new Brick House Double Connecticut such a truly unusual and unique cigar.”
Brick House Double Connecticut Toro Review
The Brick House Double Connecticut Toro is available as a box of twenty-five cigars. The cigars themselves are a typical toro shape, that being a Parejo/roundhead cigar 6.25”x52. The cigars take about an hour and forty-fives minutes to smoke. From the experience of the reviewer, these cigars burn evenly but take a good toasting in order to light up properly. Cigar smokers should be wary of having their torch flame turned up too high as the wrapper easily scorches. The cigar generates a nice aroma of caramel and marzipan, somewhat akin to J.C. Newman Cigar Co.’s chief Shade wrapper cigar the Diamond Crown Classic.
The cigar generates a nice, white ash usually able to hold to a length of two or three inches. The ash on this cigar is solid white with light gray veins running through it. Mirroring the ash, the wrapper is also aesthetically pleasing. As expected of Connecticut Shade wrappers, the cigar bears a honey wheat wrapper the color of peanut butter. It does not bear the same oil content as a natural or maduro wrapper and, as a result, lacks that sheen. Instead, the wrapper has a smooth, tan appeal. Regardless, these cigars are worth salivating over. The cigars bear the typical Brick House band with a secondary foot band guaranteeing the authenticity of each Connecticut Shade Wrapper. These cigars are the real deal!
The first thing to appreciate about the Brick House Double Connecticut is the pleasant aroma of cinnamon, wheat, and hazelnuts emanating from the cigar and strongly pronounced in the cold draw. I have encountered issues with the Brick House Double Connecticut where the color sorting of the cigars might be off or the band takes off a piece of the wrapper upon removal, but the cigars never have issues with burn or draw. The cold draw of the cigar is aromatic and enjoyable, allowing one’s anticipation and appetite to build prior to the first lighting of the cigar. As mentioned previously, the cigar takes a good toasting before it can produce its ember or “cherry.” Once lit, however, the cigar rarely burns out during the smoke.
The cigar generates a considerable amount of smoke and every puff illuminates the room with notes of cardamom, vanilla, and caramel. These flavors mingle with the existing notes of cinnamon, wheat, and hazelnuts and produces a one-of-a-kind smoking experience. The retrohale is smooth and even enjoyable, immanentizing the cigar’s extraordinary profile.
In the second third of the cigar, the earthiness of the Connecticut Broadleaf binder becomes more pronounced. This sweet, earthy flavor serves as an excellent backdrop for the cigar’s movements, now orchestrated into a full ensemble. Finally, the Nicaraguan becomes apparent in the final third of the cigar, causing an explosive and peppery finale to a phenomenal cigar. The cigar does build in heat and intensity towards the finish, but it is never enough to cause the cigar smoker to put it down.
Final Thoughts
Many cigar smokers, experienced with a wide variety of wrappers and blends, might assume this is your everyday Connecticut Shade cigar. It is not. This cigar has a profile in a league of its own. The quality of the smoking experience together with the quality of the tobacco, not to mention its value pricing and wide availability, make this one of the best cigars in J.C. Newman Cigar Co.’s portfolio.