lol hey, now, i don't see no halo on your head either, devilboy! 😃
here's the post for the review:
http://www.cigarbid.com/auction/forum/forum.cfm?action=list&forumID=1&messageDisplay=0000000019001
for those who hate to cut and paste, though, here 'tis again:
Solid As A Brick
by Tony Beltrisi
I wasn't quite sure what to think about this cigar, the Carlos Toraño premium bundle offering, The Brick.
The description on the Toraño site noted only that it was a box-pressed Honduran-filled cigar with a Sumatra wrapper. And it was a bundle cigar. How decent could it be, especially when compared to the elegance of those double-banded beauties in boxes? How could grafitti stand up to fine art?
For starters, for a cigar named after the humble brick, it really is beautifully made. The "square press" torpedo is slightly rounded at the corners giving this cigar a more natural feel than some other box-pressed smokes I've enjoyed in the past. Solidly constructed, it felt and looked perfect. The supple chocolate-brown Sumatra skin wrapped tidily around a solid, well-filled cigar. There wasn't a bit of mushiness to it. The Brick had an interesting savory aroma, and it clipped easily and neatly with a simple flick of a single-blade guillotine.
Like every other Toraño I've tried, The Brick really starts smoking from the very beginning. Something that's impressed me about their line of cigars is that you never have to wait for the flavor and smoke to kick in. From the first puff, The Brick offered copious, tasty smoke and an easy draw. I barely snipped this one -- took off less than 1/4 inch -- so I was really surprised at how much smoke I got from it and how easily it drew. That comely Sumatra wrapper didn't disappoint either; it added a nice bit of tanginess to the cool, rich, mild smoke. The "bang for your buck" starts immediately with this cigar.
This was a tasty smoke of the "hard to put it down" variety. The lip-smacking wrapper dances a nice little soft shoe with the mild but flavorful Honduran binder and filler. You'd think it would be a plain, ordinary smoke, this cigar they dubbed "The Brick." But while it does have a straightforward tobacco taste to it, The Brick is not boring. In this torpedo, notes of earthiness and leather glide right alongside creamy, slightly nutty and chocolate flavors. Then, just when I thought I had this one figured out, a little spice comes whispering along at the finish.
The Brick doesn't disappoint in the aesthetics department either. The chocolate brown wrapper hosts a sharp looking silvery-gray ash -- and that ash is about as sturdy as the cigar's name implies, too. After at least an inch and a half, forget about "helping" the ash; I had to arm wrestle it. Thick, gorgeous plumes of soft blue smoke just billow out with each draw and add an aroma that's as pleasing to the nose as its taste is to the mouth. Yet another thing I can count on in a Toraño cigar is that my wife will never complain about the way they smell.
Towards the end of my time with The Brick (nearly an hour and a half!), I thought again about its name. Maybe "The Brick" suits it well after all: it's a solidly constructed cigar with heft and substance. It has a job to do, and it does it very well. And it definitely makes a choice building material for shoring up the interior of my humidor.
