Hi all,
I thought I'd write a brief review of my first pipe tobacco, Solani 763 White & Black. I smoked 3 or 4 bowls of this over the course of the week, but I'm going mostly from memory and a few brief notes I made from 1 of those.
I've just had a tin of Peterson EMP and Sam Gawith Balkan Flake delivered. I thought I'd wait until I'd smoked at least one of them before posting a review of the Solani so I had some point of comparison. I went for the Peterson EMP this morning and will post a review of it once I've had a few more bowls in the near future.
Components
Dark Virginia, Black Cavendish, Syrian Latakia. I am assuming the Cavendish is of the unflavoured variety, since the blend as a whole is described as unflavoured "English Black Flake" with no casing or topping. I could believe that the Latakia might indeed be Syrian, as the tin had the older style of UK warning labels on it (without pictures), so it was probably manufactured between 2003 and 2009, pre-Arab Spring (I am assuming this is the reason most Latakia is Cypriot these days). I found a review online dated 2006, so the blend was indeed in production within this time-frame.
Cut
Broken flake. It's not the type of broken flake that I've seen pictures of, which is literally just flake that's been broken up a bit. It's flake that appears to have been cut into about the width and length of a ribbon cut. Rubs out quite easily into what is essentially an actual ribbon cut.
Tin note
Sweet and smoky. The sweetness of the Cavendish is ever present, as well as the smoky Latakia. There's also the slightly sharper, grassy sweetness of the Virginia in there. The combination of the Cavendish and the Latakia undertones puts me in mind of warm stewed fruit, like you might get in a cobbler, with the campfire overtones of the Latakia blending quite nicely in with it.
Room note
Fairly strong, I'd say. Quite musky. Probably not the type of thing you'd want your aftershave smelling of but not that bad.
First 1/3
The tobacco takes a flame fairly easily. I had to re-light more often in the first 1/3, but not excessively. The smoke has a neutral sweetness as it hits the tongue, developing into creamy and earthy notes. Some tang and sharp grassy notes from the Virginias. Smoky, musky undertones from the Latakia are ever-present, as well quite a good dose of black pepper.
Second 1/3
No major changes, but the Virginia starts to come into its own a bit more, and along with the creamy notes form the slightly more dominant flavours. Probably just down to bowl packing, I'd think. My pipe is gurgling a fair bit at this point. Not sure if it's my technique or if the tobacco needs some more time to dry out. The pipe doesn't seem to be overly hot, so I'd assume it's the latter.
Last 1/3
Getting much more into the peppery and smoky notes by this point. The sweetness from the Cavendish is pretty much gone. As the bowl gets to the bottom I'm quite satisfied with the experience.
Overall Rating
8/10
I thought I'd write a brief review of my first pipe tobacco, Solani 763 White & Black. I smoked 3 or 4 bowls of this over the course of the week, but I'm going mostly from memory and a few brief notes I made from 1 of those.
I've just had a tin of Peterson EMP and Sam Gawith Balkan Flake delivered. I thought I'd wait until I'd smoked at least one of them before posting a review of the Solani so I had some point of comparison. I went for the Peterson EMP this morning and will post a review of it once I've had a few more bowls in the near future.
Components
Dark Virginia, Black Cavendish, Syrian Latakia. I am assuming the Cavendish is of the unflavoured variety, since the blend as a whole is described as unflavoured "English Black Flake" with no casing or topping. I could believe that the Latakia might indeed be Syrian, as the tin had the older style of UK warning labels on it (without pictures), so it was probably manufactured between 2003 and 2009, pre-Arab Spring (I am assuming this is the reason most Latakia is Cypriot these days). I found a review online dated 2006, so the blend was indeed in production within this time-frame.
Cut
Broken flake. It's not the type of broken flake that I've seen pictures of, which is literally just flake that's been broken up a bit. It's flake that appears to have been cut into about the width and length of a ribbon cut. Rubs out quite easily into what is essentially an actual ribbon cut.
Tin note
Sweet and smoky. The sweetness of the Cavendish is ever present, as well as the smoky Latakia. There's also the slightly sharper, grassy sweetness of the Virginia in there. The combination of the Cavendish and the Latakia undertones puts me in mind of warm stewed fruit, like you might get in a cobbler, with the campfire overtones of the Latakia blending quite nicely in with it.
Room note
Fairly strong, I'd say. Quite musky. Probably not the type of thing you'd want your aftershave smelling of but not that bad.
First 1/3
The tobacco takes a flame fairly easily. I had to re-light more often in the first 1/3, but not excessively. The smoke has a neutral sweetness as it hits the tongue, developing into creamy and earthy notes. Some tang and sharp grassy notes from the Virginias. Smoky, musky undertones from the Latakia are ever-present, as well quite a good dose of black pepper.
Second 1/3
No major changes, but the Virginia starts to come into its own a bit more, and along with the creamy notes form the slightly more dominant flavours. Probably just down to bowl packing, I'd think. My pipe is gurgling a fair bit at this point. Not sure if it's my technique or if the tobacco needs some more time to dry out. The pipe doesn't seem to be overly hot, so I'd assume it's the latter.
Last 1/3
Getting much more into the peppery and smoky notes by this point. The sweetness from the Cavendish is pretty much gone. As the bowl gets to the bottom I'm quite satisfied with the experience.
Overall Rating
8/10
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