OK, so upon the suggestions of several members of this forum, I opened a (what looks to be somewhat old) tin of Bjarne - The Gentle One (there is a sticker covering up "The Mild One" which is due to some restrictions or some such) yesterday morning. It was surprisingly moist for a tin with such an appearance of age on it. Maybe it could've been smoked right away, but since I was breaking in an Iwan Ries Bent Churchwarden, I decided to dry it out to reduce the chance of gurgle messing up. The tin note was assuredly Cavendish, but it had a hint some spice. My guess is this is a pinch of an oriental or even perique, but my uneducated nose could be wrong. I threw it into a napkin for the day and left for work. After I had gotten home, tinkered with the family minivan which has been making "weird noises" (as my wife put it), gave up, and put the kids to bed, I packed the aforementioned Iwan Ries CW using the "Frank Method" (which seems to give me the best results I'm finding) and got down to business. It burned really well with few re-lights, which was a bit unusual for me when I smoke Cavendish-heavy blends. The first half of the bowl was mellow, but there was some peppery-ness that I found interesting. The pipe didn't get hot nearly as quickly as I had expected with tobacco this dried out. It produced a decent amount of pleasant , mild smoke and the room note was typical of a Cavendish-style blend. It didn't turn my wife away, so it must have been pleasant. It smoked down to the bottom with very little gurgle which I attribute to the humidity of the day more than anything. It was an enjoyable, if somewhat one-dimensioned, smoke.
I'd rate this as a middle-of-the-road, mild (as the name states), Cavendish-styled tobacco. Nothing to write home about, but it will certainly be a nice escape from time to time as a mindless indulgence. I expect I'll be smoking this while reading where my attention is not as much on the nuances and character of the blend, but rather on the book.
I'd rate this as a middle-of-the-road, mild (as the name states), Cavendish-styled tobacco. Nothing to write home about, but it will certainly be a nice escape from time to time as a mindless indulgence. I expect I'll be smoking this while reading where my attention is not as much on the nuances and character of the blend, but rather on the book.
