Many cigar smokers have humidors full of fine cigars. Many that I know save those cigars, and keep others around as "everyday smokes". C'mon, you know what I mean. It's the cigar you smoke while you're puttering around the garage or mowing the lawn. You might not smoke it at a guys night out to on the links with your friends, but hey, it scratches an itch occasionally and it does so on the cheap. It's usually inexpensive and not very memorable, but every now and then you find a diamond in the rough that's worth buying in bulk and hanging onto.
The Flor Fina 8-5-8 is designed to be that kind of cigar. This particular cigar is a 61/4x47 ring gauge with a Cameroon wrapper. I grabbed one to smoke at a bar on a lazy Friday afternoon and decided to take a few notes.
The construction left quite a bit to be desired. It was rumpled on the outside and toothy, with a fair amount of veins present. I thought what the hell, it didn't cost much, and sometimes appearances can be deceiving, so I went ahead and gave it the whiff test. It smelled like, well, tobacco. There was no hint of spice of pepper. Just sweet tobacco. Huh, ok, well I fired it up to see what was hidden inside.
The initial draw was easy enough and there were some notes of cedar in the first puff. The first third was mild and the flavors were cedar and sweet tobacco. There wasn't a lot of mystery or surprise in the first third of this stick.
The medium gray ash held on well enough. There was a little flaking and some correction was required. The second third had a nutty flavor and produced a great deal of thick blue smoke. It was better than the first third, but still, not much to write home about.
The final third was peppery, which was good. Any flavor at that point would be a welcomed distraction. It ended up burning hot, and I put the cigar down early. I know it must sound like I'm just teeing off on this cigar, and I don't want to give you the impression that I am picking on it. As I said earlier I was looking for a diamond in the rough, and sadly, this cigar was just another lump of coal.
This cigar is designed to be a value, but value is a tricky thing. I would rather pay $10.00 for one good cigar than $1.00 for ten lousy ones. Was this cigar lousy? No it wasn't, but it could have been much, much better. You can find these things in every shop, but you can also find better cigars at the same $5.00 price point in most shops.
Construction. 3.0/5
Draw. 4.0/5
Flavor. 3.0/5
Burn/Ash. 4.0/5
Smoke. 4.0/5
Value. 3.5/5
Overall. 3.5/5
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The other cigar in this matchup is the Brickhouse Toro by J.C. Newman. The Brickhouse was an old Cuban line that has been resurrected of late. The Toro sports a Subido wrapper that looks like dark chocolate with a splash of red. There were some veins present, and the wrapper had a gorgeous oily sheen.
The predraw raw aroma was sweet, and once I fired it up i found the draw to be even, if not exceptional. The smoke output was fair, and the first couple of inches were sweet and spicy. The sweet flavor reminded me of brown sugar or maple syrup.
About an inch in smoked wood came to the top, and within another half inch cedar notes came through. At this point there was some canoeing that didn't return after I corrected it. The ash was light grey and held on very well with no flaking. When the ash finally gave way it left a nice cone, which showed that the Nicaraguan binder held well and the fillers were packed just right.
The midpoint delivered rich flavor with slightly more fullness from the cedar notes. I really liked this portion of the stick. The final third faded over to spice and pepper. The smoke output became heavier and hung lightly in the air. The cigar finished hot, and I had to put it down sooner than I would have liked. Still I found this cigar very enjoyable.
The bottom line is this, the 8-5-8 is a waste of time at any price, but the Brickhouse is a real value at $5 a stick. The Brickhouse Toro is one Helluva cigar!
Draw. 4.4/5
Burn/ash. 4.0/5
Flavor. 4.25/5
Value 4.75/5
Construction 4.2/5
Smoke 4.4/5
Overall 4.3/5
