Initial Thoughts
Well we’re rounding out #JCNewmanReviewWeek I thought, what a better way to end the week than with a maduro! A Brick House Maduro Mighty Mighty to be exact. I was pretty excited to smoke this cigar given how much I love the original Brick House. I’ve always loved maduro cigars as well, so I thought it was a good idea when they brought a maduro to this line.
Not a ton of backstory behind this cigar, you already know the story behind the brand name. The only difference is that this stogie has a gorgeous Brazilian Arapiraca maduro wrapper on it. It should definitely bring some interesting flavors into the realm. This cigar was released at the 2012 IPCPR show. It later found itself on shelves around the country. Unfortunately it only comes in 1 size that I know of, or can find. That’s the Might Mighty which I’m smoking for review. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Looks
This Brick House Maduro Mighty Mighty is a large cigar. No ways around it. 6 1/4″ x 60. That’s a cannon compared to what I usually smoke. So I’m going to have to pace myself with this one. That’s for sure. The top band is identical to the Brick House. They’ve added a secondary band that has a very similar design but is labeled across the front to simply say ‘Maduro’. Pretty straight forward right?
The Brazilian wrapper is absolutely gorgeous. The coloring is a dark rich brown. Full of oily looking veins running up and down. There a few specks of lighter colors going on as well. I wouldn’t call it tooth per se, but I think specks works better. The cap looks a little rugged, in one picture it looks like it’s split, but it’s actually just a wrinkle in the cap. It looks like it wasn’t applied perfectly. Not too worried we’re going to clip that off anyway.
Function
Squeezing up and down the barrel, the filler leaf is very stiff. Which leads me to believe we’re going to get a stiff draw with this Brick House Maduro Mighty Mighty. Taking a look at the foot there are some unique colorings of the tobacco. There is some very dark thick leaves right there in the middle. All in all, the foot appears to be well packed.
I nipped the cap and test the dry draw, it is a little stiff as I suspected it might. I think they do that on purpose especially on these larger ring gauges. You don’t want to be flooded with smoke when you’re drawing on it. So I get that.
I can see a few seams up and down the wrapper, with this thick of a wrapper I can imagine it’s hard to get it to really lay down perfectly flush. No big deal anyway, it’s strictly cosmetic at this point. I do believe it’s about time to put some fire to it though and see what we’re up against.
Smoking
As I’m lighting it the foot begins to really take off and produce a nice cloud of smoke. With this large of a cigar I’m not surprised it’s producing so much. The draw comes out and opens up quite a bit. The first third just breezes by, the burn is perfect and the draw is great. I ended up holding onto the ash for just around an inch. Snapped a picture and then lost it.
The 2nd third was great as well, just burned right through it. Even though this Brick House Maduro Mighty Mighty is large it’s burning pretty quick. I did end up purging it towards the end of the 2nd third. The tar was starting to build up and get bitter, so I figured it was time. I smoked this pretty much down to the nub. However, by the end I was pretty worn out from smoking it. I’m just not a huge fan of the larger ring gauges.
Flavor
I was pretty excited to see what sort of flavors were in store for this stogie. I’m a big fan of Brazilian wrappers I think they offer some incredible flavors that are pretty rare. On the pre light nosing I got a lot of earth, primarily dirt coming from the foot. There was a slight barnyard note as well. Moving up the barrel I picked up on a nice cocoa scent that let me know it was a maduro.
Once I got the Brick House Maduro Mighty Mighty lit it was cocoa and earthy notes for days! A dark black pepper note was coming through on the retrohale. There was a tasty sweet note that appeared as soon as that pepper flavor dissipated.
The second third brought on more of the sweet notes. The spice wasn’t as prominent and the hints of cocoa and molasses started to appear. The final third brought in an interesting floral aroma. The cocoa was still there, but the floral note brought a nice change of pace to the cigar overall. I would put this cigar right in the medium-full range. It’s tasty and has quite a few of different flavors it brings to the table. The balance is what really makes this cigar great.
Would I Buy It Again?
Yep.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Ehh, not in this size.
Would I Buy a Box?
Possibly, not a big fan of the size, but it’s worth consideration of a box for sure.
Conclusion
Overall, I really enjoyed the Brick House Maduro Mighty Mighty. To me it’s a solid 9/10. I love maduros so there might be some biased there. It’s delicious, consistent, and affordable so you can’t go wrong!
