Aaron Loomis

 John McTavish

Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Brick House Bricktoberfest 2025 is medium brown and has a network of lightly raised veins. The seams are smooth and the head is well finished with a twisted off stump. There are two bands, with the primary being the traditional design for the brand. The secondary band is red, gold and cream and denotes the line. The aroma from the wrapper is a cedar and earth forward barnyard funkiness while the foot brings a mix of cedar and bread. The pre-light draw brings cedar and some stone fruit sweetness, along with a mild spiciness on my lips.
John: The Brick House Bricktoberfest 2025 comes in cellophane and does not feature a UPC sticker. The cigar wears a Brick House primary band along with a Bricktoberfest Limited Edition secondary band, and it includes the artisanal complication of a fan-tail cap. The cigar weighed in at 19.4 grams, and I measured the humidity at 60.9% using the HumiditMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included sweet, tannic wood and tobacco. From the foot, I was getting more earthy tobacco, hay and wood.

Brick House Bricktoberfest 2025

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with a mellow mix of toasted cedar, leather, earth and mild black pepper. At a half inch in, some creamy mustiness joins the profile. At an inch in, the black pepper increases a bit. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth and some mustiness. At an inch and a half in, the black pepper has become very mellow. At an inch and three quarters, the leather increases a bit. At two inches in, the creamy mustiness increases. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is a bit ahead of the earth, with leather and creamy mustiness a bit further behind. The black pepper is in the back half of the profile. The strength was right at medium.
John: The first third opens with earthy tobacco leading the profile, while wood and black pepper combine through the finish. A delayed earthiness follows into the post draw. As the cigar settles in, the retrohale becomes wood-forward. Sweet tobacco begins pushing back on the wood as the first third progresses. Light-plus cinnamon joins the wood through the finish as the cigar moves toward the halfway point.

Brick House Bricktoberfest 2025

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the earth and black pepper both increase a bit. At a half inch in, the toast level increases. At an inch in, a light shortbread cookie note becomes present. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, earth and some mustiness. At an inch and a half in, the shortbread cookie note has departed. At two inches in, the leather is now even with the earth. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with earth and leather right behind. The creamy mustiness is just ahead of the middle of the profile with black pepper just behind the middle. The strength remained at medium.
John: The second third begins with sweet tobacco and wood, while dry wood defines the finish at light-plus strength. Mild tannins accent the wood as the cigar continues to develop toward the halfway point. Through the bottom half, earth joins the finish at light-plus strength, climbing to medium-minus.

Brick House Bricktoberfest 2025

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the black pepper becomes pretty mellow once again. At an inch in, the black pepper has departed from the profile. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, earth and some mustiness. At an inch and a half in, some light black pepper returns. At an inch and a half in, the earth becomes even with the toasted cedar up front. At two inches in, a vegetal bitterness joins the middle of the profile. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with the creamy mustiness just ahead of the middle of the profile. A vegetal bitterness is in the middle, with black pepper in the back half. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
John: The final third opens with earth and tannic wood taking the lead. The tannic wood rises from light-plus/medium-minus up to medium-full through the finish. Bitterness moves into the post draw as the final third progresses. By the halfway mark of the last third, the bitterness on the finish has increased to just over medium.

Brick House Bricktoberfest 2025

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times, but always self corrected. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.
John: The burn was straight through the first and second thirds. The cigar spontaneously went out at the halfway point, requiring a re-light. It then continued with a straight burn through the remainder of the final third.

Brick House Bricktoberfest 2025

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
John: I measured the draw at 72 inches of water with the Cigar Medics Draw Meter. Subjectively, I found the draw to be 2½–3 notches into the resistant spectrum, placing it firmly on the resistant side.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with a mellow mix of toasted cedar, leather, earth and mild black pepper. Some creamy mustiness joined in fairly quickly. The black pepper picked up and then became quite mellow. Later the leather and musty creaminess picked up. The second third saw the earth, black pepper and toast level increased. A shortbread cookie then joined in for about a half inch. The leather then increased a bit more. The final third saw the black pepper depart and then return again. The earth became even with the toasted cedar up front. Later, a vegetal bitterness joined in. The Brick House Bricktoberfest 2025 had an average flavor profile throughout. There was a fair amount of transitioning, but the overall profile never was all that exciting even though the flavor list was complex. This is a big cigar that gives a long smoking time at a good price point, but it isn’t something that has me eager to return to.
John: The Brick House Bricktoberfest 2025 presents a profile anchored in earthy tobacco and wood, occasionally nudged along by moments of sweetness or light spice, but ultimately never quite breaking free from its more rigid, tannic structure. The cigar showed some early promise, particularly as sweet tobacco began to emerge in the first third. But that interplay never developed enough complexity or balance to elevate the overall experience. Construction held up reasonably well outside of the unexpected mid-point re-light, but the draw’s resistance and the growing tannic intensity, especially in the last third, tended to narrow the flavor spectrum rather than open it up. By the time bitterness settled in and began to dominate the final stretch, the cigar had moved decisively out of its more approachable early profile. In the end, it’s a cigar with a sturdy foundation and flashes of enjoyable sweetness, but one whose linear flavor combinations and late-stage bitterness limit its broader appeal. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 46 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.65

Cost/Point

$2.12

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

4.90

Cost/Point

$2.45

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Brick House Bricktoberfest 2025