I found a tin of this in a ends basket at a B&M in Victoria BC when I was there with my family a couple of months ago. I have been waiting to pick up a tin of Artisan Blend but it was not to be found so I decided to give this a try. Given the price sticker this tin had been well aged in the shop as there have been several tax increases since tobacco was this price.
On returning home I discovered the vacuum seal had long left the tin as it was easy to open with my hands. The tobacco inside seemed a little on the dry side and it started me thinking I need to learn about rehydration and what a pain in the arse this tin might end up being. Thankfully some small part of me said "just shut up and smoke it". What great advice.
I am halfway done the tin now (which I moved into two tiny mason jars to avoid any more moisture loss) and wanted to write a little review as this blend has almost never been mentioned on here and I think it has something interesting to offer.
The tobacco is described as
"
."
I have to say it is a pretty big pinch when it comes to Latakia but it is no way a Lat powerhouse.
On lighting up I get flavours of toasted oats and well matured hay along with an earthiness and a subtle sweetness of dried fruit.
Mid bowl the sweetness intensifies a little and gets darker in nature. If anyone has ever tried Turkish dried apricots they will know what I mean. They taste like a sweet tea, tannic and rich and nothing like standard dried apricots.
The last third of the bowl looses some sweetness but maintains a pleasant nutty earthiness.
What is amazing to me is how the flavours meld so well from one to the next throughout the whole bowl. Nothing is harsh, it is all well rounded. This is the only blend I have ever tried with Maryland tobacco as one of the ingredients. I am not sure if this could be contributing to this feel or if the tin is aged enough to bring all the components together.
I am currently sitting on my deck smoking this blend in a reasonable breeze so my pipe is going at a fair rate with billows of smoke but I still get no bite from this blend. It is very forgiving.
A would certainly recommend this blend to anyone who enjoys English blends. I plan on getting a few more tins myself and I am certainly excited to try Artisan Blend which is now waiting in my cellar.
