I've decided to start this review thread partly to share my opinions and experiences with these "drugstore"/OTC blends that I've tried in pouch form, and also to help document for my own benefit, as my memory can be 'touch and go'. As with any review, I admit, there has to be some bias and the ever-present variable of palate. Without further ado...
Let's begin with Captain Black White (CBW)... I've had this in pouch and tin forms, and they have not yielded the same result. The pouch gave a stronger aroma than the tin, and when fresh-packed, it gave a 'runny' smoke, goop in the bottom and the threat of bite at anything beyond a soft sip. After letting it breathe for 20 minutes prior to the second smoke, a lot of that wetness and bitey behavior went away, and it was closer to the sweet 'storebought vanilla cake' and wisp of ...is it spearmint? So far in the background, I swear, every time I smoke CBW, there's that distant tease of a weak almost-mint. The room note is pleasant (isn't it always?), but the flavor is akin to chewing cheap spearmint gum, taking a swig out of a bottle of vanilla extract and smoking a cheap cigar, not horrible, but almost not worth the effort. The aftertaste (to me) is always a haze of almost sick-sweet gas. If not for the aftertaste, this tobacco would stay higher with me...but as is, if the world of pipe tobacco were an art gallery, this would be "Dogs Playing Poker"...frequently seen, good in its own way, but surely no Sistine Chapel.
Next up, Half and Half aka Burley and Bright. I've heard so much malice toward this blend, and I understand it has changed ownership (and perhaps recipes?) a few times over the years. Well, I have a very specific place for this one, and it is for breaking in my new pipes(cobs especially). I find that it burns well, nice and even, and it must be coaxed into running hot. The anise and faint cherry make me think of Christmas baking (I've been a baker since I was a child, learning family recipes and styles)...like pizelles and cherry-nut rolls. The flavor of smoking differs slightly, but not unpleasantly...the cherry note is almost non-existent to me, but the nuttiness and anise flavors are present and welcome. This is a repeat purchase, but never found in abundance for me...going back to the art gallery, this is the velvet rope, where it all starts, important and appropriately elegant, but largely overlooked and easily forgotten once you're moved past it.
I had the pleasure of trying Skandinavik Full Aroma, as it was recommended to me a couple of times, and I am pleased with this "Now and then" blend...Opening the pouch, I thought "Mmm, fruit cake and licorice"..but that licorice scent seemed to disappear after a couple of openings. Once lit, however, I was amused by the rapid assertion of the tobacco as a primary flavor, with the fruitiness taking a quieter backseat. That is not to say there is no flavor...although mild, the tobacco flavor is what I notice first, with an aftertaste akin to a candied fruit salad...cherry and citrusy sweetness round out the natural tobacco taste, and it holds up all through the smoke, with the fruity flavor easing away the further the smoke goes. Again to the gallery; this is the oil painting of a newer artist: very well done, probably unnoticed by most people, appreciated by the ones who take their time with it.
To Be Continued, with Erin Go Bragh, Sail Green, Troost, and C'est La Vie.
Let's begin with Captain Black White (CBW)... I've had this in pouch and tin forms, and they have not yielded the same result. The pouch gave a stronger aroma than the tin, and when fresh-packed, it gave a 'runny' smoke, goop in the bottom and the threat of bite at anything beyond a soft sip. After letting it breathe for 20 minutes prior to the second smoke, a lot of that wetness and bitey behavior went away, and it was closer to the sweet 'storebought vanilla cake' and wisp of ...is it spearmint? So far in the background, I swear, every time I smoke CBW, there's that distant tease of a weak almost-mint. The room note is pleasant (isn't it always?), but the flavor is akin to chewing cheap spearmint gum, taking a swig out of a bottle of vanilla extract and smoking a cheap cigar, not horrible, but almost not worth the effort. The aftertaste (to me) is always a haze of almost sick-sweet gas. If not for the aftertaste, this tobacco would stay higher with me...but as is, if the world of pipe tobacco were an art gallery, this would be "Dogs Playing Poker"...frequently seen, good in its own way, but surely no Sistine Chapel.
Next up, Half and Half aka Burley and Bright. I've heard so much malice toward this blend, and I understand it has changed ownership (and perhaps recipes?) a few times over the years. Well, I have a very specific place for this one, and it is for breaking in my new pipes(cobs especially). I find that it burns well, nice and even, and it must be coaxed into running hot. The anise and faint cherry make me think of Christmas baking (I've been a baker since I was a child, learning family recipes and styles)...like pizelles and cherry-nut rolls. The flavor of smoking differs slightly, but not unpleasantly...the cherry note is almost non-existent to me, but the nuttiness and anise flavors are present and welcome. This is a repeat purchase, but never found in abundance for me...going back to the art gallery, this is the velvet rope, where it all starts, important and appropriately elegant, but largely overlooked and easily forgotten once you're moved past it.
I had the pleasure of trying Skandinavik Full Aroma, as it was recommended to me a couple of times, and I am pleased with this "Now and then" blend...Opening the pouch, I thought "Mmm, fruit cake and licorice"..but that licorice scent seemed to disappear after a couple of openings. Once lit, however, I was amused by the rapid assertion of the tobacco as a primary flavor, with the fruitiness taking a quieter backseat. That is not to say there is no flavor...although mild, the tobacco flavor is what I notice first, with an aftertaste akin to a candied fruit salad...cherry and citrusy sweetness round out the natural tobacco taste, and it holds up all through the smoke, with the fruity flavor easing away the further the smoke goes. Again to the gallery; this is the oil painting of a newer artist: very well done, probably unnoticed by most people, appreciated by the ones who take their time with it.
To Be Continued, with Erin Go Bragh, Sail Green, Troost, and C'est La Vie.