Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky
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Kevin Godbee - Oct 6, 2017
- 6 min read
Kyle Weiss
October is by far my favorite month of the year. It abandons the heat and bustle of summertime as it holds at bay the harshness of the wintertime. The fall colors are a treat, the smells are fresh, the mornings brisk, and the afternoons mild. In the Northern hemisphere, most of the harvest is in full swing and much of the good stuff coming from farms and gardens is rolling into farmer’s markets and grocery stores. The first real harvest of grain back in August gets made into beer and spirits, and to make way for new barrels in aging rooms, the aged whiskeys come out from smaller distilleries. Autumn decorations dot the porches of neighborhoods, suburban minivan-moms lose their minds over pumpkin-spiced…everything, and kids strain and gnash on their leashes, eager to overdose on free sugar at the end of the month. It’s the best time of year.
It’s no accident my eye caught the black, red, and yellow graphics on a tin of Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky recently. I’m in the spirit, and back from the dead, STG/Lane has reanimated this once-popular tobacco for us to smoke. Not having an empirical basis to go by on the old stuff, as it was before my time with the briar, I have the easy task of only comparing it to itself. So, set down your lattes and seasonal brews, then pause your ranting at the football game for a moment.
Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky’s tin reads:
“A unique mix of selected ripe Virginia tobaccos and Dark Fired Kentucky tobacco gives this blend its characteristic and unmatched taste. The flake cut provides a beautiful contrast between the bright and dark tobaccos.”
The second sentence doesn’t lie: There’s quite the duality of the two tobaccos upon visual inspection. When I opened the tin, not only did this strike me as interesting, I had to ponder whether the two tobaccos were interspersed well enough to provide smoking flavor and consistency bowl to bowl. For example, GLP Jackknife Plug has been carefully layered in a exact way before pressing and cutting against the grain means more consistent distribution of components. This tobacco had some flakes that had thin areas of bright Virginia “filling” while others had more. Those that were equal, however, looked like strips of pretty tobacco bacon, and I liked that. The smell in the tin is almost treacle-like; a lot sweeter than I had anticipated, to be honest.
This is a dense tobacco. I’m so used to flakes that fall apart nearly instantly, yet Dark Strong Kentucky’s flakes must have used steamrollers as presses. I did experiment with allowing the tobacco to dry a bit before lighting (which I suggest you do as well, which will prevent you needing a blow-torch to get it lit), and instead of leafy strands I got rough nuggets. In all fairness, these were plenty easy to light and get going. Think more charcoal briquettes than loose tinder. My first puffs were surprisingly sweet. This isn’t an aromatic tobacco but there’s definitely a reason why this stuff smelled treacly once the tin was opened. It isn’t distracting or cloying, however, when I’m getting to know a tobacco, especially one with strong components or bright Virginias, I’d rather those greet me at the door when I come a’knockin’.
The first quarter of the bowl of DSK is relatively easy. I’m not spinning out of my chair from over nicotinization and relighting and tamping is unnecessary. I’m not struggling to find the richness of the Kentucky, yet I am missing much of the subtlety the Virginia leaves could provide. To its credit, these flakes make a lot of pleasant, voluminous smoke without a lot of effort, which is a very important thing to me. Unfortunately, the dry, carob and sweet nature of the smoke is making it rather difficult to find much else. In the distance there’s a woodstove fire nose to the tobacco, and a fantastic spice undertone, but how much strain is too much to hone in on those other qualities?
Halfway down the bowl, and I say that almost laughably because of the small pipes I found working best for this product, the sweetness calms itself down a tad. This is a good thing. The experience thus far as been okay in the performance department: cool smoke, even burning, minimal lighting, no tongue-searing nor biting. I continue, however, to find out where the tobacco is. I’m sure you’ve read my slightly abstract way of describing what I like in tobacco when I describe it as “wild.” By “wild,” I’m typically referring to the natural attitude of the tobacco. The kind of attitude that probably makes some people a little sheepish, like a little prickle on the nose and tongue, a helping of compost, a bit of nicotine, a touch of dirtiness. Character. Personality. Something to remind me that what I’m smoking came from the ground and handled thusly, swaddled in soil, bathed in sunlight and caressed by breezes. Wild. Sometimes tobacco is made so easy to smoke the personality has been stripped from the leaves. In the case of Dark Strong Kentucky, I can sense the wildness in it, and I like it: but where’s the structure? The sweetness is part of the issue, the other might be in imbalance of types of tobacco. It’s like putting too much sauce on a brisket sandwich that doesn’t have enough bread. The components are all correct, but in the improper amounts.
Toward each of the finales of my subsequent pipes-full of this stuff is when I could finally taste something other than molasses and generic subtle spiciness. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a tobacco flavor throughout the experience, it simply goes unnamed and muddled. The end of the bowl is where the magic happens. It’s been a long wait. It’s flavors of cedar, light citrus and a light grassiness. I almost expected to have a finish of red Virginia and its lovely yeast-like and bready nature that I adore so much, but this wasn’t to be had. There is a bit of a dry, pithy and sour attitude at times which is a nice break from the thicker sweetness of the beginning parts of the bowl. Nicotine, surprisingly, stays rather moderate overall. There was also some value in setting down a half-smoked bowl and coming back to it an hour later. I tried pairing various beverages and nothing really stuck. It was pretty ho-hum with whiskey and gin was no-go. Coffee was acceptable but not stellar, and tea was simply too overwhelmed. I’m not much a cocktail maker or drinker, but I might think something like a classic Old Fashioned or a Whiskey Fizz might do okay with this reboot flake.
Wrapping up this month’s experience with Orlik’s Dark Strong Kentucky, I can say I was encouraged enough by the performance and the “almost there” aspect with the product to say, yes, I enjoyed it. In fact, because there is so much promise behind this tobacco from bowl to bowl, I probably became more critical than I normally would, rather than simply dismissing it or blindly praising it. Promise versus delivery, however, are two different things. There are enough qualities to like in this flake to suggest it to newer smokers to explore what Dark Kentucky is all about, however, I think there are better examples out there. Old codgers that have been around the block are probably not going to enjoy it as much, not only because it is a sequel to another tobacco, but that it also lacks a bit of finesse and finish. I was happiest with the way it smoked more than the flavor and the poise though I’m not sure that will be enough for me to buy tins upon tins. Normally I’m relatively keen on what STG/Lane has done with a lot of blends they have adopted over the years, as they seem, to me, to understand the spirit of what makes pipe smoking a joy. This tobacco, on the other hand, could have used a little more beta-testing and tasting before deciding “…this is it!”
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! 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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. 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With a sweet coffee or tea to accompany, the aftertaste of the maple is reinvigorated on the palate […]
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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. Science: Meet Pipes I chatted with Chris from the San Diego Pipe Club; he started off doing stem replacements for estate pipes but also improved the airflow. James: How are you doing 3d printing? What is the thought process? Chris: It’s a 3D-printed pipe with a briar insert. The design is a calabash meets a Peterson system meets a metal Falcon/Kirsten radiator style. It is a bottom draft smoking bowl like a radiator like those metal pipes. The inside chamber is a calabash. The stummel and accent rings in the stems are all 3d printed. The insert is briar, olive wood, or I have the potential to use meerschaum as well. This idea came about through the San Diego Pipe Club, wanting to see if we could 3D print a pipe and being curious about the technology; I have a printer and design ability, so here we are. James: What’s the type of plastic you’re using? Chris: It’s all PLA plastic, a renewable potato starch plastic that is food-safe. 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, […]
Thanks for a wonderful read. I like your conception of a “wild” tobacco blend. I’ll have to return to this article a few more times to unpack all the descriptive content and allusions.
As above, when I smoked this blend 15 years ago I didn’t buy more due to the molasses, etc., goop.
I enjoy it enough to have five tins of it in my cellar. Nice read.
Thank you, gents.
It’s funny, I still have a little of this flake left in the tin, and I had a bit this morning. I don’t hate it. I wasn’t wowed by it. As I mentioned, situations like these in the “halfway mark” bother me a bit. As in, I want to like it, but my honesty won’t let me. It isn’t a bad tobacco, but after doing some research on what it once was, I don’t think it’s as good as it could have been. I do, however, appreciate what it is: and being smokeable is just that. This tobacco is almost an oxymoron: a non-aromatic that smokes like an aromatic; underlying sweet that still takes over the mix, has a personality but is a little lost, smokes heavy yet tastes light…
…they stumped me on this one. I smoked the whole tin, but I probably won’t be buying another. I wouldn’t refuse a bowlful if offered… etc…etc…
KW
Right on! It is the amount of each tobacco in the blend that doesn’t get it. I am reminded of that thing penned by John Greenleaf Whittier. “For all he sad words of tongue and pen. The saddest are these, ‘It might have been’.” After experiencing the three phases you mentioned, the top, the middle and the bottom of the bowl, I had to reflect it was close. Still, as we used to say in the misspent days of my youth, “Close only counts in horseshoes, had grenades and atom bombs.”