Bengal Slices White Tobacco Review
-
Kyle Weiss - Nov 12, 2019
- 6 min read
I joked with a cigar appreciator friend that daylight savings time is like this: one clips an inch of the cap from the head of the cigar, affixes it to the foot and expects the smoke to last longer. Pipes on the other hand, you just keep adding a little if necessary — therefore, clearly it wasn’t a pipe guy who invented or maintains the silliness of daylight savings time. He told me I was full of shit, I told him the same thing; we smoked, we drank, and had a good time. Even if we “lost” an hour.
The man knows his cigars, but never was a fan of Latakia, and I swear I didn’t bring in Bengal Slices White to annoy him. There wasn’t much left in the tin at this point, and I knew my written gibberish and notes needed to be compiled into a more publishable and readable format. So I sat, compiling on my laptop, waiting for him to refer to the smell of Latakia as a “dumpster fire” as usual. To my surprise, he complimented me.
“That stuff isn’t half bad, it smells kind of like bacon — what is that?” he inquires.
“You’re not going to like me, but it’s Bengal Slices White, and yes, it has a bit of Latakia in it,” I sheepishly admit.
He was mildly impressed. He’s also not the sort that tries some exotic food and keeps eating it so long as he doesn’t know what it is. There’s a backbone in this man. Becoming unstuck from your ways to admit you like something you normally wouldn’t or dislike something you are a complete blubbering fanboy about says a lot about a person.
Moving recently to an overpriced and underwhelming apartment in Reno provided me with one thing: a tiny little porch that overlooks a nearby basalt and sagebrush covered hill. I sold or threw out half of my nostalgic anchors and had to choose that I deemed necessary. Naturally, pipes and tobacco made the cut, but I had no idea where any of it was. Fortunately a little box containing Bengal Slices White was within easy reach, and it became a welcome if not my only choice amid the chaos. It’s described as lighter version of the Bengal Slices family, a group of Balkan or Balkan-inspired tobaccos that has a long and rich history.
Inside a tin of Bengal Slices White you’ll find a brownie-sized square of crumble cake which seems a bit overpackaged by such a large, round tin. The smell is nice, just a warm greeting of your everyday Cyprian Latakia. There’s a little background of treacle and meatiness there, but descriptors also mentioned BSW isn’t topped with a scent or flavoring. The crumble cake breaks apart easily and the large chunks load and pack decently into various tobacco chambers without much fuss. Lighting the tobacco could be a little bit of a chore since it is genuinely compressed in certain spots and carries with it a bit of moisture.
The first quarter or so of the bowl is a little less mute on Latakia flavor (and scent, apparently) than I was expecting. The smoke has a thinner mouth-feel than a lot of Balkans, as well. What I notice first is a warm, toasted bread quality that makes me think they used very little if any Burley tobacco and favored a mellow orange or even red Virginia. The savory smoke is subtle, distantly basil-like and pleasant. Have no fear, the Latakia is in here, it simply isn’t a freight train like the dying fad of overpowering Lat-bombs we all got sucked into the last decade or so. Latakia is becoming enjoyable again, it seems.
About past the halfway mark, the oriental components, be they Turkish or simply the Latakia taking its time, spice things up. This is one of the things I look forward to as a standard in any Balkan mixture: where does the spice tickle the nose? How much tongue-tingling do I get? Is it a sharp sensation or more fuzzy? Under-appreciated is the way the senses are affected in a tactile way in lieu of simply searching for the flavors. The mouth, like any part of the body, likes to be comfortable as well, and it’s okay to get a little picky. It seems the only time most of us notice how our mouth really feels is when there’s tongue bite or burn. With Bengal Slices White, it’s not a particularly rich or full smoke, it has a thin but pleasant body, and the oriental provides a warming, capsicum spice very gently both on the nose and upper palate. The Latakia is still smoky and meaty, but never overwhelming. I would have liked a little more dynamic herb-like qualities to carry over to this point, but that is a matter of minor concern.
The end of the bowl of BSW slows down just as pleasantly. There is no rich or powerful compounding of flavors or tars. This is unique to this genre tobacco, something I don’t come across very often. If I’m to use a comparison, Billy Budd, one of my staples when I’m not exploring something new, has both quite a bit of Latakia and cigar leaf. It accumulates at the bottom of a pipe like the pot liquor of a batch of collard greens. It’s good stuff, a broth, an aspic—left over and ignored by some; savored and used by others. Balkan Slices White’s version of this is not as present, but no less delicious. It’s a clean finish that leaves the mouth wanting a little more of the main dish.
In summary, my new little porch was a great place to try something as interesting as Bengal Slices White. For me, it isn’t a tobacco that is trying to buck a trend or become a groundbreaking entry into the market. In fact, I have to pity it in a way, as it does what a lot of tobaccos with history do: follow in footsteps and shadows of another “glory day” tobacco that the original form is wrapped up in nostalgia and impossible shoes to fill. I have never tried the original, and perhaps never need to. The product compared to itself is a good one. It has a classic approach and is made with care and good ingredients. It has enough to satisfy those looking to explore what tobacco might have been like many decades ago, and is modern enough to be readily available and smoked easily by any curious enough to indulge. Nicotine levels are barely moderate, and I enjoyed gin drinks, earl grey teas and red wine all with great success when paired with Bengal Slices White. It smokes cool, is easy to prepare and smolders forgivingly.
The easygoing nature, clean operation and success bringing a celebrated classic is what stands out as a winner with Bengal Slices White. It’s rare to have these qualities in a Balkan style tobacco, let alone having the task of being compared as a mere reboot of something that doesn’t exist anymore. Hell, it even was welcomed by a known, outspoken critic of the room note of Latakia.
Clocks change, places and times right along with it.
- Editor Rating
- Rated 5 stars
- Spectacular
- Bengal Slices White Tobacco Review
- Reviewed by:
- Published on:
- Last modified:
From SmokingPipes.com: Similar to the original Bengal Slices, Bengal Slices White is a blend of ribbon cut Latakia, Virginia, and Orientals that has been pressed into a crumble cake. A little lighter in body and without the top note found in the original, this blend can be enjoyed all day without tiring the palette.
Written by Kyle Weiss
More Pipes and Tobaccos Articles
2 Responses
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 641. Our featured interview tonight is with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl and is featured in our recurring series, “Ask the Tobacco Blender”. However, tonight he will be the interviewee as we learn about how he became a pipe smoker and collector, when he got his first pipe and how he progressed from there. At the top of the show, Brian will have a review of the rare German tobacco blend, Tumblin’ Dice.
I remember the first time I heard someone else say it. “How many pipes do I need? Just one more.” It’s glib, sure, a bit of a joke, but it also rings a bell of truth, at least to me. I certainly have “enough” pipes, but pipes are seductive little things. Just when we think we’re all set, we have enough, another will come along that tempts us beyond any sense of reason. I suppose it’s the same way with any sort of collecting. There’s always another white whale we’re in pursuit of. When we finally track that one down, though, another will almost inevitably breach the surface, taking its place as the new object of our desire, enticing us to change course and set sail once again. But, there’s a potential problem with having a lot of pipes. Maybe. The more pipes we may have, the harder it can be to keep them in rotation. It makes sense. We tend to gravitate towards our current faves, the ones that most appeal to us for whatever reason, and sometimes, maybe they stay in rotation longer than they really should. The side-effect of this, of course, is that another favored pipe might end up too-long forgotten. That’s exactly what happened recently. Exhibit A: The Castello pictured is one that has been long overlooked. It’s a Trademark shape #55. It’s a really nice example of the shape. The red pearlized stem is beautifully done. The wood isn’t really anything special to look at, but it’s evenly covered, without any bald spots. When I look at it, I wonder why it wasn’t done in the more typical dark ruby-red finish that adorns most Trademarks. I’ve seen a great deal of variation amongst the grade over the years, including one really nice bent-bulldog that left the factory with a brown sandblasted finish. (For those who don’t know, Trademark has long been the lowest Castello smooth grade, usually finished in a dark red.) Was this a stamping/grading error, or is there just more leeway in the grade than we’ve come to expect? I might never know. This example is from the early 1970s, maybe even the late 1960s, identified by the upper case Ks in the grade designation. (On Sea Rock and Old Antiquari pipes, the Ks reflect the size, while with the smooth finishes, Trademark, Castello and Collection, the Ks represent the relative grade.) It has been living in a different rack than the one housing the majority of my #55s. I don’t recall why I put it there, but as many of us can relate to, rack space is often at a premium. I stumbled upon it while looking for something completely different. “Oh, you? Why are you there? I remember you smoke pretty well.” Yeah, I sometimes talk to my pipes – one of many quirks, I suppose. I won’t begin to worry until they start talking back. I grabbed it from the rack, dusted it off, and decided to give it a fill with a bowl of a slightly aged VA/perique blend, Telegraph Hill, from 2018. What a delightful smoke! At five years, the tobacco is expressing a lot of the complexities of aged Virginias and the perique adds a delightful fruitiness. When young, the composition is a bit brighter, maybe a little spicier, but time has polished any edges, and amplified the sweeter notes. Like the pipe, I’d forgotten about this blend for quite a while, but one evening in March, after chatting with my good friend Nate, who is quite a fan of it, I decided it might be time to revisit it. I got a couple of fresh ones, and excavated a couple older tins from the library. I normally reach for Fillmore when I want a VA/perique thing because of its boldness and depth, but in revisiting this one, I’m finding something soothing and comfortable about it that I’ve really been enjoying, both young and aged. Sticking with the theme of the forgotten, and as a perhaps interesting tidbit to the photographically inclined, I shot the pictures for this month’s column with my old Nikkor-O 35mm/2.0 mounted on my trusty Nikon Df. The last time I used this lens, it was adapted to one of my Fujifilm bodies, and I didn’t care much for the results, so I put it away and pretty much forgot about it. But, I’ve recently been exploring some of my old kit, deciding what to keep, what to pass along, and this one once again came to my attention, kind of like that old Castello. On the Df, there’s something about its vintage rendering that I find truly appealing. Another forgotten treasure, and just like with that old pipe, it seems that, at least today, everything old is new again. If your collection is on the large side, are there pipes or tobaccos that you’ve all but forgotten, only to come back to them one day to find yourself wondering why? Maybe it’s just another fun dimension to this endlessly fascinating journey.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 640. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Ben Rapaport. Ben has been known internationally as an avid pipe smoker, antique pipe collector, and book author. His first book on pipes was published in 1972, and his latest book – his 10th – is out now in very limited quantities. The distribution has already sold out, but you can still get a copy of “The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes. Two Centuries of Craftsmanship and Creativity” by contacting him directly at ben70gray@gmail.com. At the top of the show we’ll be turning the tables on our recurring Ask the Pipemaker segment. This time, Jeff Gracik will ask the questions, which Brian will answer as a pipe collector, and you can give your answers too.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 639. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Per Billhäll. Per is the owner of Scandinavian Pipes, which is an online retailer of high grade pipes. He started smoking pipes in the 1960s. His first high grade pipe was made by Hans “Former” Nielsen, who is one of the living legends from Denmark. That led to Per becoming a huge pipe and tobacco collector, and show attendee where he became well known. Along with pipe book author Jan Andersson, they started The Pipe Club of Sweden in 1991. Then in 1999, Per started “Scan Pipes”. He is now one of the pipe retailing legends from Sweden. At the top of the show Brian will talk about holiday blends, and other special pipe tobacco blends.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 638. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Fae “The Sassy Pipe Lady” Simmons. Fae is the owner of Tobacco Treasures, which sells new, vintage, & estate pipes, and smoking accessories on Etsy. She has been in business since 2017, and has been surrounded by pipes and tobacco most of her life. Her father and his brother smoked pipes, and so does Fae. Her husband is also a retired tobacconist that worked all over the industry from coast to coast for several different companies in the industry. She has a great story of how her business got started with a great inventory of unsmoked vintage pipes. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Ok, so it’s that time of year, as we all know. Family feasts, houses, yards, and big trees festooned with lights and dangling ornaments, just high enough to keep the cats from reaching a paw into the greenery. It’s also the time of year when your pipe-smoking-significant other makes vast hints about a new pipe. That’s to be expected since he or she was a good boy or girl during the year. Yes, ladies smoke pipes, too. Oh, you want an example? Okay, try Actress Greta Garbo, Millicent Fenwick, Mary Frith, and my late grandmother (who died when she was 93) dipped snuff and smoked a cob occasionally. So now that we have settled that the gentler side of life will puff a pipe too, let’s move on to the upcoming biggest holiday of all. Of course, that huge event is brought to us by the hefty fellow in a red suit, puffing his pipe all the way in a sled filled with presents, being led by a reindeer with a red nose. Or some such. That’s Santa Claus, of course. Becoming a bit more serious, Christmas is such a wonderful time for families and friends. It’s also quite special for pipe puffers. For many of us, this brings up a nostalgic look back to our pipe-smoking or cigar-smoking friends who have died during the current year. A great journalist pal whom I often joined in a local brick-and-mortar pipe and cigar shop. I puffed my pipe, and occasional cigar, as he enjoyed a cigar. He died in October and will be missed. On the happier side of things, Christmas is also a time when mind workers of the world renew their collections with fresh additions. Pundit included. A French passion has overtaken Pundit, from reading more Albert Camus, a heavy cigarette smoker, as were many French intellectuals of a certain time. Instead of cigarettes many of us prefer the more relaxed enjoyment of pipes for that “calm and objective judgment” in the comings and goings of the world. This brings me to French pipes. While visiting France once in the long ago, I happened by a “Tabac” shop in Paris, Tabac Des Vosges. I purchased a beauty of a Chacom bent. I also later bought a Ropp made from ancient briar. To learn more about the dawn of briar pipes and beginnings, take a peek at a well-done piece by Davin Hylton in Pipe Line on April 12, 2023, on Saint-Claude, France, the birthplace of briar. Also in the long back when, on a cold Christmas afternoon, Pundit wandered into an Atlanta bricks and mortar pipe shop to look around. There, resting in an enclosed glass counter was an exquisite Comoy. An older gent, smoking a beautiful bent, asked me if I wanted to look at that pipe. It had a $100 price tag. A college student working for a grocery store chain to help with college tuition at the time, Pundit didn’t have one hundred cents, let alone a C note! I declined and found a $5 basket pipe. A Christmas tradition had just begun. Since that early time, Pundit has made it a holiday ritual to either reward himself, or a special friend, with pipe or tobacco. A Claudio Cavicchi would be nice. Just sayin.’ And now for a couple of December-born Pipe Smokers of the Past: Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on Dec. 30, 1865, and died on Jan. 18, 1936. I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble—Rudyard Kipling. Martin Van Buren, born Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862, U.S. President, 1837-1841 As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it—Martin Van Buren. And one more note to recall a deceased World War II veteran who loved William Somerset Maugham, the author. Maugham, a pipe smoker, was born in Paris, France, on Jan. 25, 1874, and died on Dec. 16, 1965. One cool afternoon as the veteran and I talked while sitting in his backyard patio, he looked off into the distance as if studying something. Nothing in particular. Just looking. He turned to me and said if I wanted to learn about life, “read Somerset Maugham.” I did. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’ –W. Somerset Maugham And now a Parting Shot: Any day with an old friend with pipes and tobacco is a good day.
Great review!
Awesome review Kyle ! I’ve never tried this tobacco but you’ve made me feel as though I have !