This is not so much a review as a seeking of advice. I am still very inexperienced.
I bought 3 tins of GLPease Kensington after reading many reviews. I want to like it and I think that I do, but I want to optimize my experience. I noticed right away that the stuff was only prepared in January. Many of the reviews including one by Mr. Pease himself indicate that this tobacco really improves with age and may not have reached its potential when so new. None the less, I opened one of the tins and dove in.
The first thing that I noticed was that this stuff is really dry out of the tin. It is also in some larger chunks. I have not tried to rub it out at all but have just smoked it as is. I have just gravity packed since it seems to not like being packed down at all.
It burns very hot and harsh due to the dryness, but for some reason it is still a bit hard to keep lit. I try to puff slowly to avoid the heat but that just leads to more re-lights. I feel like I am missing the flavors that might be there if it weren't so dry. I feel like I'm smoking a green cedar tree that was cut down and turned into mulch yesterday.
Should I back-off and let it age in the jar for a while? Am I packing it wrong? Should I rub it out some? Or is this how is it supposed to smoke?
I am very tempted to add a few drops of water to the jar and see if I can dampen it up a bit. Would this be a mistake?
Please advise.
I bought 3 tins of GLPease Kensington after reading many reviews. I want to like it and I think that I do, but I want to optimize my experience. I noticed right away that the stuff was only prepared in January. Many of the reviews including one by Mr. Pease himself indicate that this tobacco really improves with age and may not have reached its potential when so new. None the less, I opened one of the tins and dove in.
The first thing that I noticed was that this stuff is really dry out of the tin. It is also in some larger chunks. I have not tried to rub it out at all but have just smoked it as is. I have just gravity packed since it seems to not like being packed down at all.
It burns very hot and harsh due to the dryness, but for some reason it is still a bit hard to keep lit. I try to puff slowly to avoid the heat but that just leads to more re-lights. I feel like I am missing the flavors that might be there if it weren't so dry. I feel like I'm smoking a green cedar tree that was cut down and turned into mulch yesterday.
Should I back-off and let it age in the jar for a while? Am I packing it wrong? Should I rub it out some? Or is this how is it supposed to smoke?
I am very tempted to add a few drops of water to the jar and see if I can dampen it up a bit. Would this be a mistake?
Please advise.
