Semois Tobacco from Vincent Manil Available in USA January 2014
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Kevin Godbee - Dec 6, 2013
- 1 min read
Confidential sources exclusive to PipesMagazine.com tell us that the fabled Semois tobacco, made by Vincent Manil in Belgium, will be imported into the United States and be available for purchase in January 2014.
This tobacco is so unique and rare that The New York Times published an extensive article on it. Our own Gregory Pease was interviewed for the NYT piece, and he penned an introduction to it; When Tradition Endures.
We are told that Mr. Manil is finalizing the Customs and Border Patrol approved English labels for export to the US and that by the end of January the product will be shipping out to customers from the domestic importer.
Here are the details we have so far …
1. The release of Semois in the US is confirmed to be taking place in the month of January.
2. The initial release will include solely La Brumeuse (thick cut) pipe tobacco, but plans are to introduce new products over the coming months.
3. The product will be available through only one online retailer…(this is due to the next detail…)
4. Since Semois is a hand-roasted artisanal tobacco, the supply is very limited. Vincent can only produce a certain amount each month for the US. (This is not much different than the situation with J.F. Germaine & Sons.)
5. It will be available in 100g and 250g packages.
We do not currently have the identity of the importer / retailer, and will update our readers as soon as we have the information confirmed.
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Written by Kevin Godbee
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Good news for U.S. pipe smokers. Thanks to PipesMagazine.com for cutting edge reporting.
It’ll be extremely hard to get but, I’ll be trying to get my hands on it just like everyone else! On Guard!
I had the privilege of sampling a bowl of Kevin’s Semois at the Chicago Pipe Show last May, so I’ll be eagerly anticipating a second shot at it when it becomes available next month. Keep in mind that it’s basically a Burley, and pretty strong stuff at that.
By the way, I love the warning posted on the pack. The German and Dutch say: “smoking is deadly,” while the French says ” smoking kills.” Guess the antismoking Nazis are stronger over there.
I too was lucky enough to sample some of Kevin’s semois at Chicago, though from what I understand that’s a pale imitation of the top-shelf product like Vincent Manil’s. Looking forward to this release, it’s a good direction for the industry to have these niche products to supplement the mainstream offerings.
I currently have three Semois tobaccos – the Vincent Manil La Brumeuse pictured above, Cordemoy by Couvert, and Langue de Chien by Martin. All three have a unique character. To my taste Cordemoy is the mildest. Every time I light a bowl, I taste something different. Takes some getting used to though, especially if one is used to heavily flavored blends. The first bowl I tried months ago tasted like, well, nothing. Definitely worth trying, as these are pure unadulterated tobacco with no flavorings nor humectants added.
Wow! PipesMagazine is ALWAYS on top of a good story. Good goin’ PM.com!!!
Never heard or tryed this blend , looking forward to this.