I am in the same boat, was my first real tobacco and now a every day 7-8 bowl delight for me. I too dipped skoal whiskey fine cut and do not find Nightcap overpowering. I LOVE IT!!!! :D
Dunhill Nightcap
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I am in the same boat, was my first real tobacco and now a every day 7-8 bowl delight for me. I too dipped skoal whiskey fine cut and do not find Nightcap overpowering. I LOVE IT!!!! :D
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I'm no latakia connoisseur but I find Nightcap very impressive, as a latakia blend and as a blend. As for the latakia, there's plenty to enjoy, and although I would classify it as latakia-forward, there is much else to enjoy. Not really knowing, I would say that there is some high-quality, matured VA in it. At any rate there's something that cries out "I am incredibly good," in this blend. Also the orientals are understated in a fine way; I taste their addition but am not knocked up by the side of the head with a boatload, say of Izmir. There are the standard tobaccos that we're used to tasting--latakia, VA, burley, perique, and then there are orientals whose addition can be quite arresting. Not so with Nightcap. Finally I love love love the nicotine. For me a blend needs to be tasty, complex and strong. Nightcap is all three. It calls out to be massively cellared.
First time I had Nightcap, I opened the tin and made up a bowl, smoked it and was very unimpressed. Tried it again the next day, same result. I did not lose faith though and put the can away. Found it again about a month later, gave it another try and really enjoyed it.
So, from now on, I pop the tin, then I put it away for 4-6 weeks to "age", then come back to it and really enjoy the flavour.
So, from now on, I pop the tin, then I put it away for 4-6 weeks to "age", then come back to it and really enjoy the flavour.
Though I've heard before of keeping the top of a tin/jar on loosely for a period of weeks before smoking it, I've not done it for fear of losing the volatile compounds; not that I, nor anyone else for that matter, know what they are. I'm going to try this.
I've only smoked two bowls of it (Frank-packed) and it was a freshly opened tin, but I really find it a blend of highs and lows. (As a caveat, I'm fairly new to pipe smoking and almost entirely new to English blends, so my lack of technique and/or experience probably taints my opinion).
The first third of the bowl was bliss, to a degree I hadn't met with in the aromatics and Va's I'd been working off before. The smoke had a richness of mouthfeel and a complexity of flavour that blew my mind - every puff was captivating. After about 20 mins things declined pretty steeply, with the bowl growing uncomfortably hot in my hand and a sour, ashy note creeping in, particularly with every relight, which became frequent. I don't seem to be susceptible to tongue bite and didn't get any here - though I wasn't sure if the pepperiness in my mouth was due to heat or the influence of the perique, of which I've had no other experience - but the degradation of the flavour was enough to make me grimace. The second bowl was more consistent, hitting neither the peaks nor the troughs of the first.
I'm certainly going to persevere with Nightcap as its quality is indisputable. No doubt that with improved technique I'll do it better justice.
The first third of the bowl was bliss, to a degree I hadn't met with in the aromatics and Va's I'd been working off before. The smoke had a richness of mouthfeel and a complexity of flavour that blew my mind - every puff was captivating. After about 20 mins things declined pretty steeply, with the bowl growing uncomfortably hot in my hand and a sour, ashy note creeping in, particularly with every relight, which became frequent. I don't seem to be susceptible to tongue bite and didn't get any here - though I wasn't sure if the pepperiness in my mouth was due to heat or the influence of the perique, of which I've had no other experience - but the degradation of the flavour was enough to make me grimace. The second bowl was more consistent, hitting neither the peaks nor the troughs of the first.
I'm certainly going to persevere with Nightcap as its quality is indisputable. No doubt that with improved technique I'll do it better justice.
Got third time lucky with a bowl last night. I take back what I said - it's a mature, intelligently blended mixture, and certainly the finest I've tried so far. It might just be me but I find it, for all its robustness, surprising delicate: if not treated gently it is inclined to burn hot and go sour. That might be why it's thought of as better suited to the experienced smoker. Obviously an element of that is the big nic hit, but it does also need refined technique (of all aspects from packing to puffing) to coax out its nuances, not to mention its "difficulty", if that makes any sense. It's like Joyce's "Ulysses" in a bowl: complicated and elusive, with the "voices" of the different tobaccos tangling deliciously around each other, modifying each other, occasionally unknotting long enough to lift a clear latakia smokiness or virginia sweetness above the general clamour. It's not an "easy" smoke. It's also inclined, I've noticed, to turn reviewer's prose purple as plums, as here. Sorry everyone.
I like lat-forward blends (MM965 my favorite) but had forgotten how stout Nightcap can be. After a few bowls, it was just too much for me, so I jarred it. A while later, I smoked a few bowls of EMP and remembered it was too light. I decided to mix them at a 50% ratio and viola, a new favorite blend. It's very 965 like but minus the Cavendish.
Perhaps that was just the nicotine high talking :P Top tip: I chased it with a glass of Founder's Porter, paired really well.
Just tried Nightcap today for the first time. I was very pleased! The only othe Dunhill I had tried was EMP, and I was not impressed. EMP was just too Va forward for my taste. Nightcap on the other hand, is rich with Latakia! Just the way I like it!
She is my main mistress. I have never done anything beyond popping the tin methodically working my way through it.
Hmmm great reviews all. I have smoked Nightcap as part of my regular rotation and I have to agree with everything said about this amazing blend. I have never tried 965 but I based on the Cavendish description I might have to give it a try too.
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