I haven’t even smoked a standard Brick House in so long I can’t remember, much less featured one on these pages. I figured I would change that up with the 2025 TAA Exclusive release for the J.C. Newman Cigar Company…Brick House Is On Fire. The cigar uses the standard Nicaraguan filler and binder blend along with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The only different thing here is that they cut the wrapper short, leaving a shaggy foot, allegedly to look like flames. The shaggy foot also allows you to taste what the filler and binder (the bunch) tastes like without the wrapper’s influence.
The Brick House Is On Fire has an almost oval shape to it, bringing to mind the AJ Fernandez San Lotano Oval that used to be on the wider market (now relegated to just one online seller, from what I’ve heard). The wrapper was a milk chocolate color with a good amount of oiliness and aromas of earth and leather. The shaggy foot had a powerful aroma, much more than many fully wrapped cigars. I picked up hay, cedar, earth, and (of course) natural tobacco.
Firing up the shaggy foot, I got notes of peanut butter, hay, cedar, and earth. It was more complex and flavorful than I guessed it would be, but still fell a little flat in terms of overall “roundness” of the blend, which is indicative of what the wrapper leaf does to the whole cigar. Once the whole blend was alight, the Brick House Is On Fire did show up with a lot of leather and a subtle sweetness to go along with the nuttiness and earthiness. In this size, the classic Brick House blend is much better than I remember it being. Nothing super-exciting, but a solid Nicaraguan cigar with earth, spice, and a little sweetness. I may have to revisit this brand more often.
