Le Petit Robin Semois Tobacco Review
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Kevin Godbee - Nov 3, 2016
- 5 min read
Kyle Weiss
Semois is a rich tobacco cultivated and bred exclusively in Belgium that started gaining ground in the US a couple of years ago. Since then, American pipe smokers looking for something a little different to stuff in their briars were piqued. There’s plenty of interesting articles and talk about it on the Internet for those more curious about its history, how it is grown and what sets it apart. For this review, however, I’m going to focus on my time spent with Vincent Manil’s “Le Petit Robin,” the newest of the Ardennes Valley creations. This Semois is different than others, and with reason: it’s a “Semois enhanced” tobacco, with roughly a third of it being Semois, the rest comprising of naturally sweet and lighter (what I assume are) Virginia leaves. The idea of this particular blend is a mellower character than an all-Semois tobacco. Le Petit Robin intends to give a taste of the Semois experience without being overwhelming.
The brick of Le Petit Robin I received came in a 3.5oz/100g portion, wrapped in a foil-lined cardboard box of sorts. The tobacco is cut thin, about as thin as one could imagine tobacco to be cut. It is nearly hair-like and isn’t as typically dry as a whole Semois, which is good because the delicate cut of Le Petit Robin would likely turn to snuff rather quickly. The smell in the package is pleasantly sweet in only the most natural way, which comes off as almost like warm, blooming honeysuckle. I’d highly suggest getting this stuff in a suitable jar as quickly as possible lest it lose its character and moisture.
Packing the bowl for the first time, because of the cut, requires a little finesse as it wants to cling to itself. Through some trial-and-error, I found balling it up a little and layering to be just as effective as crudely stuffing it in. This way it won’t cause airway restriction nor be too loose. When first lighting flavors are subtle and woody, like distant smoldering maple; the cut takes to a flame instantly. About a third down the bowl, things become interesting. Now is where the Semois comes into the scene, with the characteristic spring-garden floral aspects and “bold tobacco freshness” mingling with the sweeter side of the lighter leaf. Proto-exhaling is an absolute dream–akin to wafts of delicate, baked confections. It’s not a particularly meaty smoke, but there’s plenty of body, along with plenty of smoke.
Halfway down the bowl the tobacco changes from naturally sweet and bready to pleasantly spiced…think light mace leafs or allspice, again, mostly being picked up from the back of the tongue as it is rolled out of the nose a little. This is also where the floral notes typical to a Semois become more noticeable but not as pronounced as other variants I have tried. The tongue gets a few pleasant “prickles” at this point, which enhances the overall experience. It’s a smoke with an excellent mouth-feel, thick but not tongue-coating; a touch of spicy strength without being fatiguing. As one who enjoys a pipe to the very end, I look forward to the thicker and “final hurrahs” of any tobacco. Here instead, the consistently clean finish is surprising. The last part of the bowl to the bottom of the chamber it mellows out a tad and is almost milky, having a Connecticut cigar mixed way about it with a touch of baker’s cocoa. Beverages I managed to pair successfully with Le Petit Robin were black mid-roast coffee, lighter whiskeys and more tart ciders, and I highly encourage others to do the same.
This is a lovely whole-palate tobacco experience, if not a majority upper-palate. If you’re not pushing a little out through your nose every once in a while, there’s a lot being missed. If this were a whole-Semois blend, which ordinarily would pack a punch to the unsuspecting both in robustness and nicotine, whole-palate enjoyment would be only for the bold. Performance of this blend overall is forgiving. Setting aside the pipe for a few minutes I found relights to be a joy and any tamping requirements throughout the smoke are minimal. Fast or overzealous puffers will want to beware–the cut of this tobacco is so deftly fine that it can get hot fairly quickly if not initially packed on the firm side. I discovered with a looser pack, the fast-burning of this delicate leaf will give a muddy and tarry experience, as well as a not-so-cool smoke. Proper packing isn’t difficult if one is mindful to load to keep the draw a tad constricted, but being careful not to pack too much. To that end, slow smokers as well as those who tend to be hasty in their puffing shouldn’t have much trouble. Nicotine is moderate and satisfying, to the point where I could have another bowl if I wanted but I’ve also learned with things pleasurable to leave myself wanting a little more so the next time it is with a happy anticipation. For those wondering if family members or innocent bystanders out and about will also appreciate your enjoyment, compliments were given aplenty when lighting this stuff in public. Some said it smelled like a nice, mellow sweet cigar, others said it simply smelled “like a strong” or “manly” pipe tobacco. A particularly pretty young gal told me it smelled like baking brownies–keep this in mind, fellas!
Color me impressed. I’m certainly no Semois expert, but aside from Le Petit Robin’s unusual thin cut for a pipe tobacco, this stuff with its easy to smoke and easy to enjoy nature gives a lively and effortless way to get into this genre of leaf. There’s a lot going on in this blend, enough that those looking for an honest, sophisticated smoke as well as those looking for something to switch up their daily routine will be pleased. I’d encourage anyone curious about Semois or simply something different to pick up one of these lovely Belgian bricks of unique leaf, newbies and veterans alike.
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 634! Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Warren Ertle. Warren is an extremely accomplished musician with a PhD in music. He started early as a percussionist in sixth grade. Later his grandmother got him a cheap Casio keyboard which he taught himself to play. He started playing in blues bands in high school, and has been a pianist with jazz big bands for years. Even though he was already a professional musician, he took his first real piano lesson when he enrolled in college with his studies in classical music. He is of course a pipe smoker. 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.
Soon now, supposedly, our neighborhoods will shift from grinning pumpkins, skeletons in various assortments, and zombies dashing about to pretty reindeer, angels, and flashing lights illuminating homes with sparkling stars and laughing, scurrying Santas. But, lest we forget, there is the turkey season, fancy pie aromas wafting from kitchens, and a national pardon of a big Tom Turkey. Remember, now, that only one of these holiday personalities is a pipe smoker. And that is the hefty, bearded fellow in a bright red suit sitting in a sleigh with a herd of deer hitched up and ready to streak across the globe, bringing tidings of joy and many presents. Ok, the scene is set for the next couple of months, right? So, before we get too far off the beaten path, let’s just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. That’s better, isn’t it? What’s got the Pundit in a snit is not all the Halloween spooks who came a-jostling for candy. Or the wild turkeys gobbling in the backwoods or all the fuss and feathers over the big one—Christmas. No, it is that we might need to take note of all the little things that mean so much to us. Like a good sunrise (seriously, Pundit has not gone all Pollyanna.) Mayhaps we need to appreciate more of what we have than what we have not. Or something like that. Like, a good pipe in the morning with coffee as the dawn brings us coolish weather now that we have flipped the calendar to autumn. But it also brings beautiful leaves that have become a spectacle of technicolor in the wind. It is the little things. The rereading of an enjoyable book and finding something you did not see or learn in the first go-round. Or a stunning phrase you commit to memory with the re-read, while smoking that favorite pipe. And you notice a superior puff that just seems to be different. It’s in the air and the seasons of meaningful little things. It’s aromatic! Or perhaps it is that sense of satisfaction knowing and appreciating you made it to another day. With the world in a kind of rinse-and-repeat history, reminiscent of a Shakespearean play, it is perhaps a good moment to remember some of Pipedom’s philosophers whose cogent thoughts brought light to clear a path in the mists of confusion and confounding opinions. Ok. No gloom and doom. Just some down-home thoughts. Think of times in the past when history was running off the rails. It took our pipe-smoking thinkers (the mind workers of the world) to speak of better pathways to more light. Think for a moment, with a pipe in hand, these wizards of the world and word: Albert Einstein, J. R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edwin Hubble, Bertrand Russell, C. S. Lewis, and Jean-Paul Sartre. All learned and enlightened. They offered wisdom instead of storms of meaningless roads to nowhere. All while smoking their pipes! Maybe especially with the help of their pipes in the art of thinking and philosophy. Recall the words of Mr. E=MC2 when he said, “I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.” Amen and amen! Dealing with world-rattling events takes a calm and objective view of things, to the Pundit’s way of summing it up. You just don’t go messing around with quantum physics without a calm and objective approach, methinks. Or as the extraordinary physicist Robert Oppenheimer said after he and a team in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Labs developed a way to split atoms into bombs during World War II. “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said Oppenheimer referring to the development of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. It must be pointed out that Oppenheimer was more of a cigarette smoker than a pipe smoker. Nonetheless, pipes were part of his personality. Now, if you have read some of the great authors of the past and present, their pipes were always nearby. Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle can be a three-pipe problem at times. S. Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre require time with your pipes to reflect on the existential problems and solutions these authors provide in learned novels and other narratives. Or take Edwin Hubble and Bertrand Russell, philosophers of another world. Pipes are required for reading. The quantum lode of ideas Pundit is attempting to sort out is that our pipes are relaxing and stimulate our thoughts and creativity. Especially in these last months of the year. Many times Pundit has had that light bulb flick on while smoking my beloved pipes. And friends in Pipedom, it ain’t easy to turn on the lights in Pundit’s rock pit head. Now it’s time for a quote from a Pipe Smoker of the Past. Shelby Foote was born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., and died June 27, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn. A fact is not a truth until you love it—Shelby Foote. A parting thought: It is said that famed Southern author William Faulkner carried a packed pipe in a coat pocket wherever he went. That’s one effective way to deal with workday conflicts and confusion. A calm and objective judgment in our everyday human affairs, as the quantum man said.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 633. Our featured guest tonight is Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and the accompanying online store. We’ll have JD and Brian talking about what’s new at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss tobacco growing, what happens to the leaf, and provide updated information on where tobacco is being gown today. Tobacco production originated in the United States and we were once the #1 producer. It’s quite different now.
Well there’s nothing like a touch of the plague to usher in the changing season. Leaving the airport just when the first advertisements for all things pumpkin spice began to appear—lattes, muffins, shampoos, trash bags, and myriad other concoctions—so, too, my ability to breathe freely disappeared. The unfortunate side effect of losing one’s sense of taste and smell for weeks is the utter inability to enjoy tobacco. Not that I consider myself an expert on anything but my own tastes, but be forewarned that this review was made with mildly impugned sensory equipment. Just when a comforting pipe was most needed, its comfort was denied. Be that as it may, the road to recovery found me limping along on one lung this past month, trying to wrest the particulars of two blends on offer from Sutliff: the latest 175th Anniversary blend, Silver Quarter, as well as their spooky seasonal Maple Shadows II. Silver Quarter is a new style on offer from Sutliff, their first coin-cut blend. Naturally a Virginia-Perique, it is enhanced with a traditional core of black Cavendish. In the tin it holds much promise, with a lightly bready and very woody, if ever-so-slightly sour, aroma. After some time acclimating to air, the bouquet softens further and offers hints of the burley with some chocolaty notes wafting through the more dominant dry grassy aspect. The tin art is of a coin-style bas-relief bust, presumably of a founding Sutliff brother, à la The Old Boss On the reverse of the tin we find the blend’s description: Reflecting on Sutliffs 175 years of tobacco excellence, we came across a brand that embodies true value, SILVER QUARTER. This name pays homage to Sutliffs roots, the legacy of two brothers who popularized pipe smoking in the burgeoning mining society of San Francisco. We celebrate this heritage with a coin cut composed of the finest African Virginias, complemented by a core of Perique and Black Cavendish. The tin notes are, forgive the pun, on the nose for a good VaPer blend: mild tart sweetness peeking out from behind dried hay and slight chocolate undertones, with a lightly tannic finish of weathered oak. It is always a joy to prepare a coin cut, my preference being to put a few in my palm and vigorously warm my hands together to fully break them apart. These well-formed discs pack and light easily, and smoke with little prodding to the end of the bowl. For technical points it scores well—it smokes light, and it’s easy to tend the ember. While it gets sharp after a few quick bowls, pacing should be heeded to easily smoke down to the heel without inviting bite. Of the flavor, though, I am left a bit wanting. There are tart and high notes aplenty, but very little of the lemony citrus I would anticipate, as well as scant midtones; they tend more toward the red wine-vinegary and sour. The flavors are muted, also, lacking the sweetness and piquancy of other marques—the small measure of Perique tickles the nose now and again with peppery hints, and there is a smidge of a deeper sweetness to be found in the Cavendish from puff to puff, but overall it lacks some dynamism. The Virginias, to my palate, come off a bit on the dry side, and here they dominate the blend. The aftertaste and mouthfeel are neutral, again evincing more of the dry, woody, tartly tannic end of the spectrum. The blend has plenty of polish, but not enough depth or richness (*yet) to make it a standout. Here, comparisons are inevitable: Luxury Bullseye Flake has more sweetness, both from its Virginia as well as its Cavendish, and a better finish; Davidoff is similar but with a pronounced umami that is absent here; as for Escudo, I haven’t had any fresh tins lately so it would be unfair to compare. While it rates as a solid, fairly mild smoke, particularly to lovers of the genre, it does not surprise with any exceptional flavors. To be fair, all the boxes have been checked for the blend to benefit from some real aging, and it would be worth checking in on this after a couple of years sealed away. I’ve set half my tin aside to sample again in a month or two, in case I’m merely suffering from the lingering effects of parosmia, and will amend this review in that case. Maple Shadows II, on the other hand, made up for the weeks of sniffling and sneezing I’d endured. Offered in a full 8 ounce tin with delightfully spooky Halloween art, it’s (hopefully) enough to last through the season. Somehow I had missed this last year, so it’s a real pleasure to get some in my candy bucket this year. As the chilling winds of autumn draw eerie prattle from contorted, deciduous limbs, we find ourselves possessed by the spirit of the season. Bewitched by a dissonant charm, we’ve created Maple Shadows. In a season that is defined by the unlikely harmony of treats and frights, we’ve joined the enchanting sweetness of maple with the earthy spice of Dark Fired Kentucky for a smoking experience that captures the senses with an otherworldly fusion of flavor. This may be the best aromatic blend Sutliff’s ever made—and they make a ton of them. First off, it’s not overbearing in the least—quite the opposite, it is also one of the more restrained aromatics they’ve ever made, with a clear but very light topping that melds oh-so-well with their choice Kentucky added to the mix. Opening the tin, the sweet maple is up front and center, but so too is the must of fallen leaves, bready pie crusts, and a crackling fire in the hearth—a perfect invocation of Herbstdüfte in a can. Packing best in an open and capacious bowl, the flavoring is subtle, and recedes to the background while puffing. With a sweet coffee or tea to accompany, the aftertaste of the maple is reinvigorated on the palate […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 632. Our featured guest on tonight’s show is the host of the Pipe & Tamper Podcast, Mike Murphy. Brian and Mike will have an extended chat revolving around the days before, during and after the Las Vegas International Pipe Show. We will hear about their travels to the show and the anxiety of Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida at the same time while running a show and not knowing if your house is going to be there when you get home. In the end, the show went great and our homes survived, although many others in Florida were not so lucky. We’ll have clips from the show, and shoutouts to other podcasts and vlogs that were broadcasting from the pipe show.
Vegas Baby The show started out strong on the 14th floor hospitality suites hosted by the Vegas Pipe Show and Smoking Pipes as well as room hopping to carvers, estate sellers, and vendors to pre-game for the festivities. If you’re interested in what that looks like I’ll refer you to last years pipe show round up. I circled with Brian Levine to get the totals in comparison to last year: This year’s show numbers: 108 Exhibitor tables, 445 attendees, 3,250 Raffle Tickets, 100ish dinners, 172 Rooms in the Hotel. Last year, by comparison, 107 exhibitor tables, 425 attendees, 2,200 raffle tickets, 104 dinners, and 175 rooms on Friday and Saturday nights. We were at capacity, basically, when it came to vendor tables and the dinner, so there is no physical room for growth at this point except for attendees. That said, we filled that smoking lounge to the brim. New Carvers Spotlight Garret Woo (Pipes by Woo) How long have you been carving? Garret: I’ve been carving since 2021, and I’m guessing your next question is probably how’d you get started carving? James: Yes. Garret: In 2021 I took a break from my full time job – that included machining and assembly work and I thought maybe it was time I made something that I would like and I started looking at youtube and Instagram and putting together my shop. I did struggle on the stems to start and there was a lot of failure at the beginning. James: How many pipes have you made so far? Garret: I number my pipes, so I just finished up 186. James: What is your favorite shape you’ve been making? Garret: I really dig Canadians and pipes with longer shanks and lovat Canadian blends. I like to play with different shapes of stems on the longer shanked pipes. The billiard would be my go-to shape but I want to learn more techniques on freehanded shapes. I like to put brass and copper adornments on my pipes with my machining background it helps. James: What is the craziest thing you’ve seen at this show? Garret: The first thing that comes to mind is the table over there with C-Pipes with the shapes and the size and petiteness and the intricate details they did. You can check out what Garret is working on by going to his Instagram. Stefan Cashwell James: how long have you been carving? Stefan: about 3 years. James: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen at the show? Stefan: The Adam Davidson pipe with the clear shape and the bamboo—I don’t know if it’s 3D printed or what, but it’s amazing. James: What’s your favorite shape to do? Stefan: That’s a tough question. I think they’re all the same shape, but what’s fascinating is that Dublin, volcano, and blowfish are all the same depending on how you turn them. Playing with that, with all its variations, is a lot of fun. My favorite accent to use is also horn; it’s finicky, but it’s a great accent on pipes. You can check out Stefan’s work on his Instagram. 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The stummels are printed with a plastic that has wood in it 40% wood fiber, bamboo, rosewood, ebony, redwood, and walnut are the woods I’m printing. For the accent rings I just got a new material that I’m printing that has 40% copper, so its real metal that you can sand, and polish the same as wood filament. The stems are 3d printed as well. The concept is renewable and cheap from a production standpoint, with the ability to make a very high quality smoking pipe based on the experience. By combining the calabash system pipe and bottom draft hole and using 3d simulations to see airflow, I can see where I’m having eddies and ripples in my current, and see where my moisture and all the particles are dropping back out from a vapor to a liquid. Most people who have tried these say the stems are clean, and they don’t even have to run a pipe cleaner afterward because everything collects at the bottom. Chris has also been experimenting with color-changing plastics so you can see the hotspots. Chris said he was able to use this to slow down his cadence, which, of course, could mean you could get a slow-smoke training pipe to teach yourself to perform better. If you’re interested in learning more or want to check one out, you can contact him on Instagram: Copper Beard Pipe Works The Negative Space The show was buzzing about one specific pipe, which had everyone guessing how it was made. I chatted with Adam Davidson briefly about it. James: How did this idea come to fruition? Adam Davidson: Smokingpipes.com had an expo back in August open to all of the makers they carry. The theme was to make a pipe utilizing bamboo. Given that the last time we had the expo I made a smooth Almond with three bamboo shanks, […]
Great review! I have been smoking the regular Semois for a while now, and was gifted a sample of the Le Petite Robin by a generous forum member. I really enjoyed it, and had the occasional wisp of something flowery also, which is unusual from a tobacco that by itself usually smells like a horse barn.
I like the Semois medium and thick cut versions, which I believe are one-leaf burley variants, but also Le Petite Robin, which is a blend. My advice to those who have tried the other Semois, going to Le Petite Robin is this. The others are best smoked in a deep bowl with a standard chamber diameter. They are packages dry and burn better and a little slower in a tall deep bowl. For this purpose, I use a Ferndown bent billiard, a Savenelli Hungarian (Oom-Paul), or a MM cob freehand natural, and they are perfect for this purpose. For Le Petite Robin, I would choose a medium size pipe, Group 4, with a standard depth bowl of an inch or so, for more complete burning and better mix of flavors. I favor the plain variant versions slightly, but Le Petite Robin is a great blend.
Cosmic: Ha! It’s true! The full-octane Semois I had tried a while back when it was making waves in the US had this “goaty” funk to it. Being the sort I am, I admit I was into it. Once it is smoked it transformed into a rich, earthy-but-flowery kind of smoke, one that I usually didn’t need to follow up with another. La Petit Robin carries some of the same spirit but in a much more pedestrian manner. Manil’s goal of making an “everyman’s Semois blend” really did succeed if you ask me. I have the feeling I’m going to be packing a few jars of this stuff in the future.
Thanks guys.
KW
Many thanks for the review!