Brickhouse by J.C. Newman - Maduro Robusto Review

Brickhouse is just one household name amongst other well-known New World cigars belonging to the J.C Newman dynasty.  The family business founded in 1895 is the U.S’s oldest cigar manufacturer, the company’s considerable cigar arsenal presently featuring the finest tobacco from two key Caribbean nations.  In addition to the company headquarters in the century-old iconic “El Reloj” (clocktower) factory in Ybor city Tampa, are production facilities in Nicaragua (PENSA cigar factory) and in the Dominican Republic (Tabacalera A. Fuente).  Amongst the core portfolio featuring 10 major New World brands (Diamond Crown, Julius Caesar, Cuesta Rey), Brickhouse is one that cuts to the core of the 4-generation deep cigar lineage.  Originally launched in 1937 as a Cuban Puro, the name Brickhouse came as an homage to J.C Newman’s ancestral home in rural Hungary, a site of congregation in the community long before the family became pioneers of the cigar industry.  With the Brickhouse name imbued in the Newman family heritage, inevitably a higher level of care would be reserved for the line.  The Brickhouse Habano was among the company’s first premium hand-rolled brands, in a time when production was mostly machine made to meet the finances of smokers during the economically turbulent 30s and 40s. According to records Brickhouse remained fairly popular until the embargo.  The name reserved for a 100% Cuban puro, founder Julius Caesar Newman just like his namesake, came (Veni), saw (Vidi) and conquered (Vici) his spot as one of the premier cigar producers of the early 20^th century.

Four generations later J.C’s grandsons Bobby and Eric resuscitated the Brickhouse line for the 21^st century in 2009, paying tribute to the patriarch.  The selected Nicaraguan leaves used to approximate the bold flavours extracted from the famous dark Cuban soil, an homage to the Cuban heritage of the lost inhouse brand.  An immediate hit upon release, these Nicaraguan puros quickly garnered favour by reconciling economy with premium quality, bold, highly decadent smokes.  The winning combo of a bargain price with no quality compromise has sky-rocketed the success of their vitolas, across the board in cigar publications, scoring regularly in the 90-point range.  The first release of the revamped Brickhouse brand was the Maduro Robusto, one that features a novel Brazilian Araparica that imparts a spicy backbone for a fuller bodied smoking experience.  As the line’s inaugural release, there is no doubting the Maduro Robusto as a forerunning blend, offering a good introduction to the full spectrum of character exhibited by the Brickhouse line.

Measuring in it 54 X 127mm, the Brickhouse Maduro Robusto is decisively wider than a traditional Cuban robusto, with the especially dark Brazilian Arparica wrapper maintaining an enticing shine to the heavy gauge cigar.  Just from its look, it seemed certain the smoke will provide very rich satiating experience.  The cigar’s aroma is pleasant and pastoral revealing hay and a barnyard sweetness.  The cold draw delivers ample hints of peppercorn, dark chocolate, with heavy notes of salt and caramel.

First Third

Before the area of foot is even completely eclipsed by flame, the Maduro Robusto hits the ground running.  A pepper bomb is unleashed into my mouth, blindsiding me, the pleasant sting finds notes of charred cedar combining to deliver a thick smoke.  This profile reminded me of depth of flavour I’ve tasted with Bolivar’s Belicoso Fino, and the peppery assault of the Partagas D6.  With each subsequent puff the pepper intensity incrementally subsides revealing some of the sweet elements detected in the cold draw.  Toffee, salt and caramel notes stick to your palette forming a pleasant base to appreciate the fuller bodied, mordant heat, and charred wood character.  In this first portion the construction of the Maduro Robusto becomes apparent, a perfectly packed amount of leaves that seems to burn at a steady rate no matter how frequently you puff.

Second Third

Now well in to the cigar, the dominating pepper has taken a backseat to the predominant charred wood notes.  The mineral character becomes more pronounced, while the sweetness becomes a lot more subtle revealing itself through the Robusto’s cedarwood aftertaste.  A nice salt and bitter balance is a defining characteristic of the smoke midway through.   Fine alternations between earthy bitterness and salt mineral, produces an elegant aroma, reminiscent of fresh ocean air.  Despite having mellowed out from the start, the heady character of the cigar remains, that I find often accompanies cigars with this depth of flavour.

Last Third

The charred cedar backbone, gives way to a “greener” flavour, damp earth, notes akin to eucalyptus and fennel herbs arising from an increasingly bitter aftertaste.  The pepper notes return into the fold at this point, the cigar’s gauge very gradually reintroducing the strength from the beginning.  With this slow burning cigar, a degassing of the maduro was very necessary.  A subsequent retro-hale dives hints of chestnut in the charred wood character. As the cigar reaches its conclusion, the cigar loses its careful vacillation between salt and pepper notes, with some overly green astringent notes, of damp wood, tannin and moss, overpowering the end.

Final Thoughts

Perhaps it was the foreknowledge of Brickhouse’s previous Cuban past, but I found this cigar to be reminiscent of the depth of flavour and intensity of some fuller bodied Habanos. There is a great sense of dynamism to this cigar’s evolution, one gets the impression that this puro was blended very deliberately to reflect its finest details, and its change of intensity from full-bodied to medium.  It is truly remarkable that this generous hefty smoke retails at about $7 a stick in the US market, and roughly $20 CAD in the Canadian market, making it truly versatile. For lovers of strong cigars, the Maduro Robusto is an easy choice, paired with an espresso it may provide one of the boldest sensorial starts to your day. For me, the Maduro Robusto rubs shoulders with premium cigars 3 times it’s price point.  A cigar that should not just be viewed through the lens of a “good value cigar”, the Brickhouse Maduro Robusto can be judged independently of this fact, and score quite well.

To purchase Brickhouse cigars, visit Whisky Cafe & Cigar Shop in Montreal.  Browse Cigar Menu here

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Two of the photographs used were from the J.C. Newman official website.