Last month the Dark Lord and I were feasting at a splendid Sichuanese restaurant he had discovered. After the last plates had been removed and the teapot drained, he reached into his bag of wonders and extracted an unlabelled tobacco tin.
“Go forth and smoke this”, he commanded, “but speak not of it until a sign is given.”
As the Dark Lord has just released me from my vow of silence, I now relay to you how I saw the Light.
The Gas Light.
I went straight home and brought out my tobacco cutting board and knife, well versed from preparing ropes, coils and fabulous plugs such as his earlier Jackknife Plug and Triple Play.
Upon opening the tin, the scent of fine Latakia greeted me, and the pressed bar looked very appealing. I found it was not quite as tight as the JKP and, if your knife is not well honed, a serrated edge might even be better. Later I even pulled out a small chunk with my fingertips and it came apart easily enough.
Most of the bits were dark with speckles of lighter leaf and were a pleasure to rub out. It was a little moist, but after a few minutes in the dry air of Kalifornia all was well.
I tried the Gas Light cut in various ways in different pipes and was rewarded with a smoke that is remarkably cool and rich without being overwhelming. The Latakia, while present in force, is utterly transformed by the pressing and elevated temperature, so that the resulting smoke was very slow, mellow and soothing. The Virginias provided a solid foundation, and did I detect some Perique? Hard to tell but the general impression is one of deep, quiet flavour.
This is not the uproarious encounter one obtains with the muscular plugs like JKP and TP. Still less does it resemble the original Bengal Slices or Penzance, and it should not be smoked in a short interval like a lunch break. No, this is a long, meditative smoke for late at night or over a weekend.
While I enjoy lats, I find as a rule that too long a smoke with much of that leaf will sometimes result in a slight bitterness. But that was not the case here, and even a long session of an hour and a half left me wanting more.
And more. And more.
“Go forth and smoke this”, he commanded, “but speak not of it until a sign is given.”
As the Dark Lord has just released me from my vow of silence, I now relay to you how I saw the Light.
The Gas Light.
I went straight home and brought out my tobacco cutting board and knife, well versed from preparing ropes, coils and fabulous plugs such as his earlier Jackknife Plug and Triple Play.
Upon opening the tin, the scent of fine Latakia greeted me, and the pressed bar looked very appealing. I found it was not quite as tight as the JKP and, if your knife is not well honed, a serrated edge might even be better. Later I even pulled out a small chunk with my fingertips and it came apart easily enough.
Most of the bits were dark with speckles of lighter leaf and were a pleasure to rub out. It was a little moist, but after a few minutes in the dry air of Kalifornia all was well.
I tried the Gas Light cut in various ways in different pipes and was rewarded with a smoke that is remarkably cool and rich without being overwhelming. The Latakia, while present in force, is utterly transformed by the pressing and elevated temperature, so that the resulting smoke was very slow, mellow and soothing. The Virginias provided a solid foundation, and did I detect some Perique? Hard to tell but the general impression is one of deep, quiet flavour.
This is not the uproarious encounter one obtains with the muscular plugs like JKP and TP. Still less does it resemble the original Bengal Slices or Penzance, and it should not be smoked in a short interval like a lunch break. No, this is a long, meditative smoke for late at night or over a weekend.
While I enjoy lats, I find as a rule that too long a smoke with much of that leaf will sometimes result in a slight bitterness. But that was not the case here, and even a long session of an hour and a half left me wanting more.
And more. And more.