Thanks to the underground railroad, my supply of Germains Rich Dark Flake arrived at the Studio this morning. I'd been curious about this blend since hearing that it is a match for Stonehaven. So when the opportunity came to run the blockade, I took it.
The tobacco is a, well, rich dark flake. In appearance and feel, it is identical to Stonehaven. The aroma that wafted forth from the package was absolutely delicious! But GRDF's tin not is different from that of Stonehaven. Where Stonehaven reminds me of chocolate, raisins, a touch of fig, and a touch of hay, GRDF has a slightly savory component, more like chocolate, rum raisin, a touch of fig and a bit more hay. I'm not saying that there's rum in the topping, only that rum raisin is what came to mind. The scent is a little more complex than that of Stonehaven.
I prepped a small quantity in the same manner as I do Stonehaven, fine cube cutting, and left it on a ceramic plate to dry. I had enough for two bowls, and jarred up the rest. I find that letting the tobacco dry until it's just shy of bone dry yields the best result for me. In this case about 1 3/4 hours.
I drizzled the pieces into a Paul Tatum acorn, tamped it slightly, and fired it up. This tobacco delivered on flavor when smoked very slowly in tiny slow sips. The raisin, fig and hay notes were all there in the smoke as well as that slightly savory flavor that is not present in Stonehaven. That bit of savoriness works well as a counterpoint to the slight sweetness, adding a bit more dimension than I get with Stonehaven. The hay is a little more prominent as well in GRDF.
But, the flavor is so close that I would have thought that I was smoking Stonehaven in a blind taste test. A group 3 bowl lasted me almost an hour and a half. That gives you an idea regarding how slowly I was smoking this blend, coaxing out the flavors. It burned effortlessly. Like Stonehaven, it can get a little bitter if smoked too quickly, but does exceedingly well when simmered.
The tobacco is a, well, rich dark flake. In appearance and feel, it is identical to Stonehaven. The aroma that wafted forth from the package was absolutely delicious! But GRDF's tin not is different from that of Stonehaven. Where Stonehaven reminds me of chocolate, raisins, a touch of fig, and a touch of hay, GRDF has a slightly savory component, more like chocolate, rum raisin, a touch of fig and a bit more hay. I'm not saying that there's rum in the topping, only that rum raisin is what came to mind. The scent is a little more complex than that of Stonehaven.
I prepped a small quantity in the same manner as I do Stonehaven, fine cube cutting, and left it on a ceramic plate to dry. I had enough for two bowls, and jarred up the rest. I find that letting the tobacco dry until it's just shy of bone dry yields the best result for me. In this case about 1 3/4 hours.
I drizzled the pieces into a Paul Tatum acorn, tamped it slightly, and fired it up. This tobacco delivered on flavor when smoked very slowly in tiny slow sips. The raisin, fig and hay notes were all there in the smoke as well as that slightly savory flavor that is not present in Stonehaven. That bit of savoriness works well as a counterpoint to the slight sweetness, adding a bit more dimension than I get with Stonehaven. The hay is a little more prominent as well in GRDF.
But, the flavor is so close that I would have thought that I was smoking Stonehaven in a blind taste test. A group 3 bowl lasted me almost an hour and a half. That gives you an idea regarding how slowly I was smoking this blend, coaxing out the flavors. It burned effortlessly. Like Stonehaven, it can get a little bitter if smoked too quickly, but does exceedingly well when simmered.
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