With Pipe and Pen Blog » Reviews
By Bob Tate

Note: This review is from bulk tobacco. I have not tried the tinned version, so I can not compare the differences, if any, between the two.
The tin aroma of this blend is very intriguing and pleasant. I am picking up on the rum, licorice, and vanilla as well as the sweet tang from the Virginias. It is a little on the moist side and could use a little drying time. This tobacco comes in a broken flake style (Fig. 1), and needs very little effort in rubbing out (Fig. 2).
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By Bob Tate

Editors Note: This tobacco is from an sample pouch that I received from Mac Baren at the time this blend was introduced. It is has about 2 years of age on it. HH Vintage Syrian is not available in this pouch.
The pouch aroma on this blend has a sweet and tangy Virginia smell which was accompanied by the smokiness from the Latakia. The moisture content is perfect for smoking right out of the pouch. It is a coarse cut, which means there are some nice chunky pieces of tobacco. I loaded my pipe and proceeded with the charring light.
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By Bob Tate

The pouch aroma has that lovely sweet and tart smell that accompanies a lot of VA/PER blends. I love this smell. The moisture content is perfect for smoking without any drying time. The tobacco is a little chunky and I rubbed it out a little.
I used a two step packing method to load the bowl and proceeded with the charring light. I was greeted by a very nice sweet tobacco taste. I finished lighting the bowl and settled in for the smoke. There is a pure tobacco taste with a natural sweetness. At the mid-bowl point, this seems more of a VA blend to me than a VA/PER blend.
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By Bob Tate

The tin aroma from this blend is a straight forward strong tobacco with a hint of tanginess. The moisture content is almost perfect for smoking right upon opening the tin. This means that it dries out a little faster than other blends, which does not bother me. I have smoked it fresh from the tin, dried out quite a bit, and have also re-hydrated it a little before smoking with no problems and no noticeable change in flavor. Read the rest of this entry »