Chapter one: figuring it out
These are not just smoking tobaccos. I struggled, had to figure them out. They are more than just VaPers. They are an education. They are subtle moods of light, weight, and music. Ambience.
I started off by popping open the SV-23 first and I smoked it for a week, by itself. Then I realized that I just wasn't going to get anything out of just smoking one tin at a time. So, I popped the GP-11. I rotated back and forth, and honestly, it was hard to tell what I was smoking at any given time. I got them confused. I kept reading the tin descriptions, peppery, mellow, coffee, herbal, verses winey, cocoa, and rich body. The SV-23 was South Verachie perique, and the GP-11 was Grand Point Region perique. I swear I would get confused. Even the Burley eluded me.
I was smoking them in different pipes, different times of day, and constantly forgetting which was which. But, I was just enjoying them for what they were at the time, tobacco in a pipe that I was focusing on smoking in the manner that the particular pipe wanted to be smoked best. And hour and a half in the Ardor, the other blend for a couple of hours in the Northern Briars Churchwarden. Don't get me wrong, they were delicious. But, it was like they were constantly changing in flavor.
I was further along in the SV-23 tin, so I set back the last bowl, till tonight, when I had burned through the GP-11. I had one bowl of each left. So, I pulled out my Becker strawberry scoop Rhodesian. It's an excellent taster, and I only use it for Virginias and VaPers, and it is well rested after smoking.
I am recovering from pulled muscles, so I just kicked back on my chair in my smoking room, put on some classical guitar on vinyl, turned off the lights and just melded with my pipe. The Becker quickly becomes an extension of myself, so it allowed me to just taste. The GP-11 was first. It was, of course familiar, as I had been smoking it often. But, I really had to try to pull flavors. Sweet, light, the perique just melded with the Virginia. I couldn't tell where one began and the other left off. I know there is a Burley in there, but I just couldn't taste it. Maybe it provided a slight nutty, but it was faint, very faint. The entire smoke stayed light and sweet. It wasn't rich... for me. The smoke was light and danced lightly on my tongue, with faint sweet footprint.
So, I emptied the ashes, and thoroughly wiped the shank out with a thick fluffy pipe cleaner. Reamed the wide cone shaped chamber with a paper towel. And, I packed the last of the SV-23, dry, with the last little crumbs on top. The very last bowl.
From the first draw, I got boldness. But, it was the weight of the smoke on my tongue. Much bolder, harder steps, sweet but richer sweetness. I also got a faint fruity in the sweetness, and as the bowl progressed, it got bolder and more peppery. I cheated and reread the tin, but the description was not even close to what I was tasting. I never got coffee or herbally. But, I did register the differences between the two. The quality of the smoke on my tongue. The differences in the type of sweetness. The slightly sweet spice of GP-11 verses the slightly peppery of SV-23. And, the SV-23 builds in weight and mellow sweetness. The differences in the way the guitar plays. The weight of the fingers plucking the strings.
I think that these are not just smoking tobaccos, to be enjoyed while taking a walk or working or driving with a distracted mind. These are to be savored like a connoisseur and his wines. I am still a newbie to reviews, even after having had a few years of trying behind me. These are subtle tobaccos. I can easily describe the differences in Penzance and Margate. But, the subtle differences in perique and what the subtle differences are in region, environment, and nutrients... these are not intended to be easy tobaccos. You have to pay attention. So easily the classical guitar can just become a background noise, a mood for a room. It's easier for me to compare them to moods, aesthetics, outside the realm of comparisons. Even the names are like classical music, Concerto 11 For Violin and Lute in B minor, Concerto Del Sol in C, Perique Blend GP-11 in G.
I will take a week or so away from the RO's, and come back to two more. I'm so glad that I have more tins of each to cross compare, and further explore. But, they also give me a new insight into how my pipes play such a huge role in my smoking enjoyment. If you are looking for an analytical Smoking experience, an education so to speak, something outside of just smoking, you should give these blends a try. I feel so lucky to have this experience.
I apologize for not giving you the flavors in easy to convey food terms as Jiminks reviews, nor as to the point as the Rabbit. Sometimes I just have to write it like I taste it.
BRAVO to the meistro Russ Oelette!
These are not just smoking tobaccos. I struggled, had to figure them out. They are more than just VaPers. They are an education. They are subtle moods of light, weight, and music. Ambience.
I started off by popping open the SV-23 first and I smoked it for a week, by itself. Then I realized that I just wasn't going to get anything out of just smoking one tin at a time. So, I popped the GP-11. I rotated back and forth, and honestly, it was hard to tell what I was smoking at any given time. I got them confused. I kept reading the tin descriptions, peppery, mellow, coffee, herbal, verses winey, cocoa, and rich body. The SV-23 was South Verachie perique, and the GP-11 was Grand Point Region perique. I swear I would get confused. Even the Burley eluded me.
I was smoking them in different pipes, different times of day, and constantly forgetting which was which. But, I was just enjoying them for what they were at the time, tobacco in a pipe that I was focusing on smoking in the manner that the particular pipe wanted to be smoked best. And hour and a half in the Ardor, the other blend for a couple of hours in the Northern Briars Churchwarden. Don't get me wrong, they were delicious. But, it was like they were constantly changing in flavor.
I was further along in the SV-23 tin, so I set back the last bowl, till tonight, when I had burned through the GP-11. I had one bowl of each left. So, I pulled out my Becker strawberry scoop Rhodesian. It's an excellent taster, and I only use it for Virginias and VaPers, and it is well rested after smoking.
I am recovering from pulled muscles, so I just kicked back on my chair in my smoking room, put on some classical guitar on vinyl, turned off the lights and just melded with my pipe. The Becker quickly becomes an extension of myself, so it allowed me to just taste. The GP-11 was first. It was, of course familiar, as I had been smoking it often. But, I really had to try to pull flavors. Sweet, light, the perique just melded with the Virginia. I couldn't tell where one began and the other left off. I know there is a Burley in there, but I just couldn't taste it. Maybe it provided a slight nutty, but it was faint, very faint. The entire smoke stayed light and sweet. It wasn't rich... for me. The smoke was light and danced lightly on my tongue, with faint sweet footprint.
So, I emptied the ashes, and thoroughly wiped the shank out with a thick fluffy pipe cleaner. Reamed the wide cone shaped chamber with a paper towel. And, I packed the last of the SV-23, dry, with the last little crumbs on top. The very last bowl.
From the first draw, I got boldness. But, it was the weight of the smoke on my tongue. Much bolder, harder steps, sweet but richer sweetness. I also got a faint fruity in the sweetness, and as the bowl progressed, it got bolder and more peppery. I cheated and reread the tin, but the description was not even close to what I was tasting. I never got coffee or herbally. But, I did register the differences between the two. The quality of the smoke on my tongue. The differences in the type of sweetness. The slightly sweet spice of GP-11 verses the slightly peppery of SV-23. And, the SV-23 builds in weight and mellow sweetness. The differences in the way the guitar plays. The weight of the fingers plucking the strings.
I think that these are not just smoking tobaccos, to be enjoyed while taking a walk or working or driving with a distracted mind. These are to be savored like a connoisseur and his wines. I am still a newbie to reviews, even after having had a few years of trying behind me. These are subtle tobaccos. I can easily describe the differences in Penzance and Margate. But, the subtle differences in perique and what the subtle differences are in region, environment, and nutrients... these are not intended to be easy tobaccos. You have to pay attention. So easily the classical guitar can just become a background noise, a mood for a room. It's easier for me to compare them to moods, aesthetics, outside the realm of comparisons. Even the names are like classical music, Concerto 11 For Violin and Lute in B minor, Concerto Del Sol in C, Perique Blend GP-11 in G.
I will take a week or so away from the RO's, and come back to two more. I'm so glad that I have more tins of each to cross compare, and further explore. But, they also give me a new insight into how my pipes play such a huge role in my smoking enjoyment. If you are looking for an analytical Smoking experience, an education so to speak, something outside of just smoking, you should give these blends a try. I feel so lucky to have this experience.
I apologize for not giving you the flavors in easy to convey food terms as Jiminks reviews, nor as to the point as the Rabbit. Sometimes I just have to write it like I taste it.
BRAVO to the meistro Russ Oelette!
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