Darin,
Thank you again for your homemade blends. Looks like about 4oz of your "Black Mamba" ...very generous. 2oz or so of your well made twist which I will review later since I'm in my car now smoking the Mamba. I really want to examine the twist more closely at home with good light, a fresh razor blade to blend well and no wind present.
Bear in mind this review was done using a brand new pipe with a carbon coated bowl. The pipe is a no name prince style briar I got at a local pipe shop for 45 bucks...its a good smoker, nice draw, has a vulcanite stem, smooth finish and med brown in color. No identifying marks whatsoever. I notice a couple fills on the bottom of the bowl...no big deal of course. Nice simple grain pattern. The bowl/pipe fits my hand well and I have been playing with it since getting it...spinning it in my fingers gently and enjoying the nice smooth feel of the finish. A perfect fit for my palm. The little prince accepts a pipe cleaner easily through its slightly bent stem to meet the heel of the bowl with no hang ups. A well made inexpensive pipe. I'm very pleased.
Black Mamba:
Darin's masterful creation is beautiful to look at. He sourced the tobacco online and its all good quality leaf. Darin told me this is a Latakia, Red Virginia, Perique and Green river Cav mixture. It looks mostly dark...many black pieces and dark browms, this smells nicely of latakia...me likey. The moisture content is perfect...loads easily and compressed well when readied for initial light. After first lighting the entire surface I gently tamp and set the pipe down to enjoy what will probably be my last cigarette...a PM menthol 100...I don't finish it since I'm excited to have my first bowl in months. The next light brings this blend to life and Latakia is the dominant flavor/aroma. The perique was very lightly incorporated and not greatly noticed...I can detect it in a subtle manner though. Well done. The Cav adds some good body to the smoke and a little sour character which works well since there are no orientals in this blend. So this would be considered more of an English than a Balkan...though we all know semantics in pipe Kant is sort of nebulous though growing more well defined. The Virginia is not noticed much either as being forwardly expressive but supports well. The flavor profile from beginning to end is that of good quality Latakia. This blend is mostly one dimensional with some occasional pepper/sourness and salty tones. The pipe did well to keep the tobacco cool as did the good moisture level...more on the dry side as it should be for these types of blends...imo. My palate was left mostly clean but with a light smoky aftertaste. For a homemade tobaccoc this is nicely done, well married...Im guessing at least 2 weeks. I have never constructed a mixture myself and its undertaking can definitely be daunting...Darin I think you did a fantastic job!
Ok...if I were to modify this I would increase the amount of perique slightly. Additionally, I would add more Red VA...the Cav level was perfect. The sweetness after increasing the Red VA content would really do much as a counter balance to the salty/sourness that is already nicely evident.
Thank you again, Darin...I really enjoyed your blend and its as fine of a medium bodied, low to medium nicotine imparting concoction as I've tried. I will most likely get a small amount of locally bought bulk VA, throw them together and revist it later...I'm sure it will be very good as it already is a very tasty, pleasing, calming mixture...Perfect on this sunny but cool day in southern Texas. Mostly perfect in the spirit of our friendship.
Enjoy your day folks.
Geoffry
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