Black Irish X Unsliced

Black Irish X Unsliced is the first rope I’ve smoked. The fact that it’s a rope is really cosmetic and gimmicky, but when you get down to slicing the coins and a slight rub you have a pile of tobacco. Dark oily leaves with a strong peat smell to it, into a cob for sure. This smoke was going to be something different good or bad. Right from the char light you get hit with a strong earthy hit of burnt wood. Within a few sips, and I mean this is truly a sipping blend. The level of vitamin “N” is going to be a rough one. I can handle some nicotine fairly well, but I’d never try this one on an empty stomach. The oily leaf burns slow and even with only one re-light half way when I needed a break. While smoking this and trying to compare it to all the exotic and complex blends we have today, you can’t. This is like comparing riding a horse to a car. My thoughts wonder around, probably from the nicotine, on the beginnings of smoking tobacco. It’s not pretty, smells bad and there’s no hint of fruity plum in the background. The harsh flavor of peat and burnt wood stays true, at least to the three quarters point when I’d had enough of a history lesson and a days’ worth of nicotine.
I can see a sailor on a stormy sea tearing off a piece of rope with his teeth and just chewing the tobacco, then on calm seas taking a sharp knife and slicing ragged coins to stuff in his pipe. This is a hard leaf and I don’t think the sailor would care which way he enjoyed it. But sitting at my computer with dozens of pristine tobacco to choose from, and hundreds more with a few clicks on a website, this is one that will never be smoked again. This is not meant for the cellar, this one was meant for the ships haul hundreds of years ago.
It’s was nice to see how far we’ve come, by sampling from where we came.
Craig