In 2017 J.C. Newman added a limited edition line to their iconic brand, Brick House, combining it with the world renowned celebration of Oktoberfest and naming it the Bricktoberfest. The Bricktoberfest 2022 is the fifth installment of the line and it is created with all Nicaraguan tobacco. The release of the Bricktoberfest also comes with a chance to pick up a promotional beer stein in the shape of a boot.
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Origin: Nicaragua
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Factory: J.C. Newman (PENSA)
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Wrapper: Nicaragua (Jalapa)
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Binder: Nicaragua
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Fillers: Nicaragua
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Vitola: 6 x 52 Toro
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MSRP: $10 (box of 10, $100)
The brickhouse comes covered in a reddish-brown wrapper that is smooth and has a matt surface. There is a slight mottling of the wrapper, and there are tight wrapper seams and relatively thin veins. The cap has a little pig tail with no visible issues. The aromas off the foot are a mixture of mild fig sweetness, and mild barnyard, which the wrapper also presents with. The cold draw is a touch of mild sweetness and hay
On light up the Bricktoberfest opens up with notes of baking spice, oak, earth, mild black pepper, mild leather. The profile is very nicely balanced and gives me lots of complexity through the first few inches. The black pepper comes forward a bit, and a mild dark fruit sweetness note comes into the profile in the background. As the first third comes to an end the profile holds on with nice complexity of Pepper, Oak, Earth, leather and Mild sweetness. The retrohale is spice, and mild earth with a hint of extra sweetness. It was medium across the board for strength, body, and flavor profile
The second third starts to show a bit more earth and leather causing a mild bitterness to linger. The overall profile starts to muddle together and the complexity drops off slightly. The distinguishing upfront notes are Spice, dank earth, and charred oak, the background sweetness drops off a bit. As the second third continues the profile stays in the realm of spice, dank earth, and charred oak and the finish is becoming more bitter as I continue to smoke, even after cleansing my palate with some water. The retrohale still presents with spice, and mild earth. Strength, body, and flavor profile are still medium across the board.
The last third really starts to muddle and the profile continues with spice and earth with a mild vegetal note. The bitter finish is still present but has not become any stronger. The retrohale continues to be consistent with spice and mild earth. Strength, body, and flavor profile have increased to slightly passed medium.
Construction wise the cigars needed no relights, but one sample required a few touch ups to keep the burn in line and it looked like there was a bit of tunneling happening possibly causing one side to burn quicker than the other. The draw on all samples was ideal with just that slight amount of resistance, but the sample with the tunneling issue was not producing as much smoke as the other two samples and required a few more puffs to produce that nice thick smoke.
Overall: The Brick House Bricktoberfest 2022 started out with some beautiful balanced complexity with notes of baking spice, oak, earth, and mild sweetness that was very enjoyable alongside the retrohale. The cigar slowly started to drop off during the second third, and really did not have too many redeeming features in terms of flavor by the last third. The Bricktoberfest lost a few points due to the minor construction issues as well as the slow decline of the flavor profile and complexity through the smoking experience. I would like to see how the cigar ages to see if some of that muddling of the profile during the middle to end of the cigar comes together.
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Average Smoking Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
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Samples Smoked: 3
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Score: 88
Mitchell Santaga started his journey into tobacco in 2010 by trying different flavored and machine-made cigars while enjoying a handle of Jack Daniels. Shortly after that he yearned for a more premium experience and dove headfirst into pipe tobacco that his local tobacconist blended. The tobacconist introduced Mitchell to Cuban cigars and for special occasions he would light up a Cuban cigar. Next, he stumbled into new world cigars and fell in love with the bold flavors and great consistency and construction. Ever since then he has been entrenched in exploring as much of the new world cigars and finding his favorites to keep in the humidor.
