Hello Novice here again,
Seeing all the baccy that has been talked about in the forum i decided to try Hearth and Homes White-knight. The thought was a little daunting, a remix of a classic well loved blend.
A little back ground first on this blend. White Knight is a newer blend from Hearth and Home and it has been getting alot of attention namely because its a remix of the fan favorite Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture. One of the first blends of Balkan Sobranie came out in the 1920s, it had a nice mix of Latakia, orientals, and Virginias. This blend became a legend all its own with its one of a kind taste, and has been copied and remade dozens of times over.
Ok so my review is just that my own personal experience written down to help those who haven't tried this blend yet. To help clarify my thoughts i looked for 6 categories and rated them in 1-5 format. Dive on in and join my ride of one of the pipe worlds new blend.
Im looking at this tin and thinking,"How on earth to start...." The pop and hiss as i open the tin and the scent that poked out and said heya, one of the best tobacco smells i have every had to date. I peel back the white wrapper and see this plastic disk on top and its Christmas time. I look at this hockey puck of tobacco and start poking and its as solid as can be expected from a vacuum sealed tin. I started setting up a little paper towel and my work space so i can really get into this baccy. It is very firmly packed not cheap or chintzy in the lest.
The tobacco it self is full or color and had an almost bittersweet and smokey scent. I pulled the baccy from its block and folded my paper over and let it air out for ten mins before the first smoke.
Boy was i surprised by that first smoke, almost knocked me over. I packed my pipe like its described in the forum, dryer then you think and looser then you think. My draw was nice but a little to loose so i put in a little more baccy and did the daddy press and then baby press into the pipe. the draw was nice and the char light went off without any issues. Now while i am holding the smoke in i got a nice first hit of sweet and then a warm smokiness started taking over. Now i proceeded to give this blend ten rounds to get the fullest picture i could giving my limit experience with pipe tobacco.
My first five bowls was at work, thanks you night shift haha!! By the third bowl i was really getting a good idea of how this blend tasted to me. I have smoked cigs and love my dark cigars so i have no issues going five rounds with Sir knight. The nic hit for me was minimal. This baccy you have to give at lest two good bowls if not more before you get that click, for those who are not explores and are looking for the grail of baccy you might want to hold off on this one if you don't have much experience. But for those looking to try new things or with more exp dive in and be ready for a great journey. By bowl number five i was really sad my time was up with this blend. It has a nice complex of tastes that really get going once you've given it a fair shot. To me it has a sweet, mellow smokiness. Like an aged steak its beauty comes to you once you let it melt in your mouth for a bit. Savor the smoke, this smoke was a nice clear white for me and i enjoyed every bit of it.
Now my next five bowls i tried different drying times and packing and found that if i wanted a stronger taste to just take from tin and pack firm but not to tight in my pipe. For a lighter and slightly sweeter taste i found to let it dry for an hour and doubly pack it in my pipe. By double i mean fill the pipe and press down and then refill and just push it below rim with very little pressure. For me this tobacco has so many great qualities it was very hard to nail them all down. But here are my six, complexity, sweetness, smoothness, tin/room note and level of difficulty.
I give this a perfect score of 5 for complexity. Every time i thought i had this baccy nailed down it changed and a new sneaky flavor would come out of hiding. Not just from bowl to bowl but from sip to sip i found a new thing i liked about this baccy.
Sweetness i only gave a 2 outa 5. This would be a good blend for those that love the baccy to speak for its self with no extras. Nice sweetness much like a bitter sweetness that didnt over power the other characteristics.
Smoothness was a 4, this smoke never bit me and every sip every puff went down nice and easy. I even blow this out my nose and there was no burn. Just a nice relaxing smoke.
Tin note was mind blowing for me but i am trying to be objective here so its a 3 because while i loved the tin note it is rather strong on that first opening.
Room note was a 5, this smell will stick with you all day. SO if you are in an enclosed room or in your car be warned. I came to work tonight and can still smell this in my office. Its a nice smell to me but its strong enough to stick around and not let go.
Now for difficulty level. My relights did happen alot my first five bowls but on the next set i found i only needed one re light a bowl. Thats mostly because i would write and forget to sip for a min. This baccy will play well with a new comer or an old pro of the pipe. I give it a 3 for it is easy once you get used to how it plays around with your taste buds and find how you like it to go down. Id give this one a good char light and then one long draw and it was good to go for the rest of the bowl.
So my wrap up thoughts, this baccy will be welcomed into any pipes rotation whether you are new like my self or a vet. Id recommend anyone looking for something new to try this blend, you like lats or va give this a go. I myself didnt seem to get that oriental taste i thought i would but its there and its more like a ninja and comes out and gets you when your not pay attention.
Complex:5
Sweet:2
Smooth:4
Tin Note: 3
Room Note:5
Difficulty:3
I hope everyone enjoys the review and finds it helpful when you are making up your mind on getting this blend. To me ill be holding onto my two tins for now and keeping one sealed for a year and give it another review once its aged a little. My open tin will be gone shortly...-starts puffing away on his next bowl- See you all around the forum. Thank you and Gnight pipers.
Seeing all the baccy that has been talked about in the forum i decided to try Hearth and Homes White-knight. The thought was a little daunting, a remix of a classic well loved blend.
A little back ground first on this blend. White Knight is a newer blend from Hearth and Home and it has been getting alot of attention namely because its a remix of the fan favorite Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture. One of the first blends of Balkan Sobranie came out in the 1920s, it had a nice mix of Latakia, orientals, and Virginias. This blend became a legend all its own with its one of a kind taste, and has been copied and remade dozens of times over.
Ok so my review is just that my own personal experience written down to help those who haven't tried this blend yet. To help clarify my thoughts i looked for 6 categories and rated them in 1-5 format. Dive on in and join my ride of one of the pipe worlds new blend.
Im looking at this tin and thinking,"How on earth to start...." The pop and hiss as i open the tin and the scent that poked out and said heya, one of the best tobacco smells i have every had to date. I peel back the white wrapper and see this plastic disk on top and its Christmas time. I look at this hockey puck of tobacco and start poking and its as solid as can be expected from a vacuum sealed tin. I started setting up a little paper towel and my work space so i can really get into this baccy. It is very firmly packed not cheap or chintzy in the lest.
The tobacco it self is full or color and had an almost bittersweet and smokey scent. I pulled the baccy from its block and folded my paper over and let it air out for ten mins before the first smoke.
Boy was i surprised by that first smoke, almost knocked me over. I packed my pipe like its described in the forum, dryer then you think and looser then you think. My draw was nice but a little to loose so i put in a little more baccy and did the daddy press and then baby press into the pipe. the draw was nice and the char light went off without any issues. Now while i am holding the smoke in i got a nice first hit of sweet and then a warm smokiness started taking over. Now i proceeded to give this blend ten rounds to get the fullest picture i could giving my limit experience with pipe tobacco.
My first five bowls was at work, thanks you night shift haha!! By the third bowl i was really getting a good idea of how this blend tasted to me. I have smoked cigs and love my dark cigars so i have no issues going five rounds with Sir knight. The nic hit for me was minimal. This baccy you have to give at lest two good bowls if not more before you get that click, for those who are not explores and are looking for the grail of baccy you might want to hold off on this one if you don't have much experience. But for those looking to try new things or with more exp dive in and be ready for a great journey. By bowl number five i was really sad my time was up with this blend. It has a nice complex of tastes that really get going once you've given it a fair shot. To me it has a sweet, mellow smokiness. Like an aged steak its beauty comes to you once you let it melt in your mouth for a bit. Savor the smoke, this smoke was a nice clear white for me and i enjoyed every bit of it.
Now my next five bowls i tried different drying times and packing and found that if i wanted a stronger taste to just take from tin and pack firm but not to tight in my pipe. For a lighter and slightly sweeter taste i found to let it dry for an hour and doubly pack it in my pipe. By double i mean fill the pipe and press down and then refill and just push it below rim with very little pressure. For me this tobacco has so many great qualities it was very hard to nail them all down. But here are my six, complexity, sweetness, smoothness, tin/room note and level of difficulty.
I give this a perfect score of 5 for complexity. Every time i thought i had this baccy nailed down it changed and a new sneaky flavor would come out of hiding. Not just from bowl to bowl but from sip to sip i found a new thing i liked about this baccy.
Sweetness i only gave a 2 outa 5. This would be a good blend for those that love the baccy to speak for its self with no extras. Nice sweetness much like a bitter sweetness that didnt over power the other characteristics.
Smoothness was a 4, this smoke never bit me and every sip every puff went down nice and easy. I even blow this out my nose and there was no burn. Just a nice relaxing smoke.
Tin note was mind blowing for me but i am trying to be objective here so its a 3 because while i loved the tin note it is rather strong on that first opening.
Room note was a 5, this smell will stick with you all day. SO if you are in an enclosed room or in your car be warned. I came to work tonight and can still smell this in my office. Its a nice smell to me but its strong enough to stick around and not let go.
Now for difficulty level. My relights did happen alot my first five bowls but on the next set i found i only needed one re light a bowl. Thats mostly because i would write and forget to sip for a min. This baccy will play well with a new comer or an old pro of the pipe. I give it a 3 for it is easy once you get used to how it plays around with your taste buds and find how you like it to go down. Id give this one a good char light and then one long draw and it was good to go for the rest of the bowl.
So my wrap up thoughts, this baccy will be welcomed into any pipes rotation whether you are new like my self or a vet. Id recommend anyone looking for something new to try this blend, you like lats or va give this a go. I myself didnt seem to get that oriental taste i thought i would but its there and its more like a ninja and comes out and gets you when your not pay attention.
Complex:5
Sweet:2
Smooth:4
Tin Note: 3
Room Note:5
Difficulty:3
I hope everyone enjoys the review and finds it helpful when you are making up your mind on getting this blend. To me ill be holding onto my two tins for now and keeping one sealed for a year and give it another review once its aged a little. My open tin will be gone shortly...-starts puffing away on his next bowl- See you all around the forum. Thank you and Gnight pipers.
