The Exhausted Rooster, is it too tired to crow? I received a tin of C&D ER a while ago in a hit back trade and put it in my “smoking box”. While searching today for something a bit different the tin came out with a why not, the artwork is cool and my two favorite words in tobacco… Virginian and Perique. On opening it and working my way through the 3 layers of cardboard I’m searching for some tin notes. To say it had a rum aroma would be an insult to rum. This was almost vinegar. This mostly past and some hay from the burley started to show.
What surprised me was the cut. Listed as a broken flake it seems more like the intent was to produce a flake and with too much burley or not enough time, it was basically your first quarter inch cuts for cubing. Fairly dry with only a few minutes after finishing the cubing job, the bowl was filled and the char lit. A flash of spice from the Perique some nut from the burley but no Virginian to be found. First light became what the bowl was about. This was another blend of burley adding a little Virginian and Perique to make it sound different. Thankfully the alcohol smell was gone in the smoke.
The smoke has quality to it mostly added by the cut. Cubing this is the saving grace here. If this was a ribbon and the Virginian and Perique quickly burning off, a total fail. The cubes allow for an even release of a hint of sweetness from the Virginian and the occasional hit of Perique. With a little more of both would make this a smoke for the burley man’s rotation. Towards the bottom the Perique steps up and matches with the hay and nut of the burley. The quality of the burley is defiantly above average and the tin should have listed it first. There’s nothing Virginian about this, and it’s a quality burley, so marketing this as a Virginian I believe hurt the blend for those looking for a burley.
The finish unloads the vitamin N with a force, and the quality of the burley and the cut left a white and gray finish with a single tamp and one re-light. So I recommend this to a burley smoker looking for a quality burley that is really a full flake that fell apart into strips and a little Perique and heavy N. This is the first time I’ve run across a burly that could be cubed nicely and it does make a big difference. I’ll be hitting back my traders with this as it was a surprise to enjoy a long smoke with a cube cut BURper.
What surprised me was the cut. Listed as a broken flake it seems more like the intent was to produce a flake and with too much burley or not enough time, it was basically your first quarter inch cuts for cubing. Fairly dry with only a few minutes after finishing the cubing job, the bowl was filled and the char lit. A flash of spice from the Perique some nut from the burley but no Virginian to be found. First light became what the bowl was about. This was another blend of burley adding a little Virginian and Perique to make it sound different. Thankfully the alcohol smell was gone in the smoke.
The smoke has quality to it mostly added by the cut. Cubing this is the saving grace here. If this was a ribbon and the Virginian and Perique quickly burning off, a total fail. The cubes allow for an even release of a hint of sweetness from the Virginian and the occasional hit of Perique. With a little more of both would make this a smoke for the burley man’s rotation. Towards the bottom the Perique steps up and matches with the hay and nut of the burley. The quality of the burley is defiantly above average and the tin should have listed it first. There’s nothing Virginian about this, and it’s a quality burley, so marketing this as a Virginian I believe hurt the blend for those looking for a burley.
The finish unloads the vitamin N with a force, and the quality of the burley and the cut left a white and gray finish with a single tamp and one re-light. So I recommend this to a burley smoker looking for a quality burley that is really a full flake that fell apart into strips and a little Perique and heavy N. This is the first time I’ve run across a burly that could be cubed nicely and it does make a big difference. I’ll be hitting back my traders with this as it was a surprise to enjoy a long smoke with a cube cut BURper.
