BRICK HOUSE ROBUSTO

SCORE

points

LENGTH

GAUGE

STRENGTH

Medium

Tasting Note

The J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has been in business since 1895. It still makes a few cigars in Tampa, Florida, using time-weathered machines, but most of its cigars are rolled in the Dominican Republic by the Fuente Family. In 2009, the company began working with the little-known Fabrica de Tabacos San Rafael S.A. in Estelí, Nicaragua to make bargain-priced smokes, which the Newmans thought would be well-received in these difficult economic times. The cigars are fabulous, with none finer than the Brick House Robusto, which takes its name from an earlier brand that was named for the brick house in Hungary in which the company founder was raised. It's hard to beat the bang-for-the-buck factor of the cigar, a $5 Nicaraguan puro with copious amounts of flavor. It smacks of sweet wood and tea with a toasty aftertaste.