I found this to be a strong smoke that I could enjoy all day, but I can see how it might be best reserved for later in the day for many.Summary: a rich Perique blend without becoming off-putting, "The Beast" enwraps Perique in a sweet, spicy and smoky background.
The "rum soaked Perique" of Aleister Crowley is unfit for regular smoking, but this blend adapts it with sweet and smoky flavors to create a final taste that blends the different ingredients together like a chord. An initial light gives rise to the rum and Perique, but this quickly fades into the background as the vinegar-sweet Red Virginia Cavendish and molasses-y Black Cavendish meld with the smoky Dark Fired Kentucky Burley, which gives off a woodsy and meaty flavor. The result tastes at first like a barbecue, but then takes on a flavor all of its own in which the Perique becomes more sweet 'n' sour spicy than fruity, and the dark fired absorbs the other blends as dimensions of its own flavor. The result both keeps the power of Crowley's blend -- I smoke straight rum-soaked Perique on occasion and enjoy it, but it is not an everyday lunt -- and gives it the context to shine as a full blend. The result has all of the intensity that Perique can provided without going overboard on Nicotine or allowing the Perique to crowd out other flavors, instead giving us a smoky sweetness with a spicy core that makes the perfect nocturnal smoke.
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/10497#review86825
I am impressed with this blend. It's strong but flavorful all the way through. The mix of leaf carefully conditions Perique into a more complex but internally complementary flavor, making it even more enjoyable.The wisdom of the blenders comes through in how little the top flavor obstructs the natural flavor of tobacco underneath, and how well these different leaf types meld together into a single flavor that is all their own. Some will taste notes of ketchup, leather and perhaps a hint of a fine stout beer; others will note the smoky tempest of the dark leaf alone. But really, these are fragmentary descriptions. The whole comes together into a mulled, smoky flavor with the fruity/peppery flavor of the Perique channeled into a sweet and spicy mixture. It burns evenly, down to fine grey ash, and while it pops out of the tin relatively moist, requires little if any drying. I left these samples in the pipe for only a few minutes before setting them gratefully ablaze.
Now, a bit of warning. This is a Crowley-inspired blend, and it probably is not for the newly-minted pipesmoker or those who look for the word “mild” on the shelves of their local brick & mortar tobacconist. In intensity of Nicotine strength, The Beast is probably medium to strong or slightly stronger, with the mysterious effect of the Perique which brings out additional dimensions to the Nicotine effect. You may find yourself making goat horns on the side of your head with your fingers, or perhaps chanting in mixed Hebrew and Enochian toward the stars… it is not a knock-yourself-flat blend, but this leaf has a potency that will satisfy even the most hard-driven pipe smokers while not damaging the rest.
http://www.deathmetal.org/lifestyle/cornell-diehl-small-batch-the-beast-2016/