Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are rescoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we are looking at in a different size. Today we look at the Brick House Beginnings Mighty Mighty Maduro, a special aged version of the Brick House Mighty Mighty Maduro. This cigar was a part of the 2021 TAA Exclusive Series. The regular production Mighty Mighty Maduro was a cigar previously assessed in the Perfecto size back in November 2019.

Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: J.C. Newman Puros de Estelí Nicaragua, S.A. (JC Newman PENSA)
Mighty Mighty: 6 1/4 x 60

When it comes to manufacturers releasing exclusive cigars to the Tobacconists Association of America, there are several approaches that are taken. Some will produce a new blend, some will produce a variation of an existing blend, and some will produce a new size. In the case of J.C. Newman Cigar Company’s 2021 TAA release, the company instead decided to release some extra aged cigars from their Brick House and Brick House Maduro line. According to J.C. Newman, a stash of ten-year-old Brick House Natural and Maduro Cigars was uncovered in the basement last year while the company was working on renovations to its El Reloj Cigar Factory in Tampa, Florida. The decision was made to share them with the retailers of the TAA and they were dubbed “Brick House Beginnings.” Today we take a look at the Brick House Beginnings Maduro in the Mighty Mighty (Gordo) size.

TAA Exclusive Series consists of cigars made by leading manufacturers that are exclusively sold at TAA member retailers. The TAA is a small group of retailers. At press time the number of retailers is approximately 80. The TAA has defined itself as:

The Tobacconists’ Association of America, Ltd. is a trade organization established in 1968 by visionary retail tobacconists. By providing education, communication, research, advocacy, and member discount programs, The TAA works with our members and the industry they support to offer the tools and relationship building opportunities needed to maximize professionalism and success.

There are 15 cigars released for 2021 as a part of the TAA Exclusive Series:

CLE Signature THT-EKE 03/17
Crowned Heads- The Lost Angel TAA Exclusive 2021
JC Newman Brick House Beginnings Natural
JC Newman Brick House Beginnings Maduro
Diesel Disciple (Scandinavian Tobacco Group)
E.P. Carrillo TAA 2021
Gurkha Nicaragua Series TAA Exclusive
Illusione TAA Exclusive 2021
Joya de Nicaragua Cuatro Cinco Edición Americana
Kristoff 685 Woodlawn Box Press
La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Natural
La Flor Dominicana TAA 50 Oro Tercera Edicion Maduro
La Palina White Label Toro
Rocky Patel Vintage 2006 Bala
Villiger TAA Exclusive 2021

The following have been JC Newman Cigar Company’s TAA Exclusive Cigar Offerings:

2019: Brick House Ciento Por Ciento TAA Exclusive
2020: Brick House Ciento Por Ciento TAA Exclusive
2021: Brick House Beginnings (Natural and Maduro)

The Brick House Beginnings Maduro is highlighted by a Brazilian Arapiraca Wrapper over a blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos. The cigar is produced out of J.C. Newman’s PENSA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. The Mighty Mighty is a bulky 6 1/4 x 60 vitola and was actually the first size released in the Brick House Maduro. The Beginnings edition is denoted by a special TAA footer band.

The Brick House Beginnings Mighty Mighty Maduro started out with notes of earth, coffee, chocolate, cedar, and a mix of black and red pepper. The pepper was also present on the retro-hale throughout the smoking experience Early on the coffee and chocolate notes went primary. As the cigar progressed through the first third, the coffee notes took over as the sole primary note. The coffee had a slight amount of bitterness to it, but it was not overpowering. During the second third, the earth notes increased and joined the coffee notes in the forefront. The chocolate notes slowly diminished and were gone toward the end of the second third. There was also a slight increase in the pepper notes and toward the end of the cigar these notes came close to moving into the forefront. The Brick House Beginnings Mighty Mighty Maduro finished with a soft, cool nub.

The Brick House Beginnings Mighty Mighty Maduro started out as a mild to medium-strength, medium-bodied cigar. Both attributes increased in intensity and by the final third, this was a cigar that was medium-strength and medium to full-bodied. The burn did require touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line. The draw was on the open side – more open than I prefer.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

I have always enjoyed the Brick House Mighty Mighty Maduro. It was a cigar that seems to blend very well for a 60 ring gauge. I had high hopes to see how this extra-aged Brick House Beginnings Mighty Mighty Maduro would perform. Some cigars improve with age, and some do not. While it’s still a good cigar, I don’t think the extra aged Brick House Beginnings Mighty Mighty Maduro performed better than the standard Mighty Mighty Maduro offering. In fact, I prefer the standard version. You can also get the standard Mighty Mighty Maduro for about $2.50 less. However, there is a difference with these cigars and if you want to see how these cigars responded to longer term aging, this may be one you want to try a sample of.

Summary

Key Flavors: Earth, Coffee, Chocolate, Cedar Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st 2/3), Medium (Last Third)
Body: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Last Third)
Finish: Very Good