Presbyterian tasted, to me, like a tin full of latakia with 2 or 3 strands of Oriental. I kind of like Sams' Flake but the Tonkin comes through more than I would prefer and masks some of the good tobacco flavors.
A Good Oriental Forward Blend?
- Thread starter Jaylotw
- Start date
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
Presbyterian tasted, to me, like a tin full of latakia with 2 or 3 strands of Oriental. I kind of like Sams' Flake but the Tonkin comes through more than I would prefer and masks some of the good tobacco flavors.
Savinelli Brunello Flake. It's an actual Va/Bur/Or and a damned good one.
You have ample recommendations but I will toss one more out there. I highly recommend Low Country's Waccamaw.
Thanks. I actually have a tin of Presbyterian begging to be opened soon!
Got a tin of the Savinelli Brunello Flake heavily based on your recommendations in previous Oriental threads. I've tired it once so far and liked it, but plan to revisit it again very soon before I solidify my thoughts about it. Will post back then.
I am working through a tin of it now and am not all that impressed. It is not a bad blend but not one that I will reorder.
I've seen this blend recommended before in previous Oriental threads, but can't recall if it was you or not. Regardless, this on has been on my radar as a result and hope to try someday, but I probably won't be ordering tobacco again any time soon and I rarely purchase from Smokingpipes.com any more and that's the only place I've seen this particular tobacco since it's their store brand.
I like Brunello Flake a lot but I also don't find the Oriental component to be very prevalent. More of a condiment to me.
Man you guys are delivering! Interesting with the Presbyterian Mixture...I have some jarred up and smoke it occasionally, but I guess never realized that there was such a small amount of Lat in that one. It always seemed fairly present to me. I’ll have to revisit it and be more mindful!
Yeah, I’ve always assumed that it had its fair share of Latakia...maybe the Orientals are amplifying it? I just read a review that said “some people insist there’s Latakia, some people insist there isn’t any...”
Oh man, I've been smoking a bunch of Oriental silk recently. It's pretty good fresh, but a year in the jar and it's fantastic.
Also, Stokkeby English Oriental Supreme; it has that sweet/sour thing is spades. It just tastes like... more.
I had my second go at the Savinelli Brunello tobacco yesterday and can't argue with your assessment. It's a perfectly okay smoke, but just isn't overly impressive for my preferences. I suspect that this is because of the high burley content. I'll smoke through the rest as it ages over time in the jar, but I won't be purchasing another tin.
For me, the Savinello Brunello starts sweet and tangy with some vague citrus notes. A rich maltiness emerges pretty quickly from the Burley and persists throughout and pairs well with a light fruity sourness. The spicy earthiness of the Orientals seems to come through in the last third to quarter, but doesn't last long before the tobacco is burned out. The lingering room note is predominately a bit cigarette-like (probably from the Burley). I don't like that too much.
Interesting to hear what others say about Brunello Flake. I love it. I like that the Oriental is balanced against the other components rather than dominating them. I always get a consistent flavor from it during a bowl and have never gotten a cigarette note. It's interesting how different people experience the same blend.
Perhaps not a super oriental Oriental, but I find Skiff Mixture being one of my favourite blends with enough orientals for me to think it should be a good suggestion here. Fantastic and relaxing tobacco.
Yes, individual smell and taste perception is a truly amazing and very interesting thing. I've probably only every smoked a single digit number of cigarettes in my life and I didn't get any of that in the flavor. However, the lingering smell in the room from Brunello did remind me of the freshly lit cigarette. Brunello is a very interesting blend. It's hard to describe, but I at the moment I would say that it taste very much like San Pellegrino Pesca &Tè. I know that sounds a bit crazy, but the peach flavor in that beverage is more like a vague fruitiness and is muted and changed by the tangy lemon and black tea - a lot like the flavors I get from Brunello. If you ever have the opportunity to, grab a can of the San Pellegrino, smoke some Brunello first, and then try the beverage. The flavors and afertaste are VERY much the same between the two!
I don't get any cigarette taste with Brunello, I get it as Va and Burley with "something else". It's clearly more than Va and Burley. That something else makes it a very unique and pleasant blend. I probably have around 3 lbs in the cellar. Just don't taste it as an Or forward blend but that's just me.
Apologies for all of the embedded quotes, but I have been trying to consolidate my thoughts on Savinelli Brunello. I decided to revisit it again last Wednesday and enjoyed it a lot more the third and fourth times around. I may be finally starting to "get" it and there are several other factors that changed:
- The tobacco has had another month to "breathe" in the jar.
- Rather than pulling apart the flakes into strands, cubing, drying, and filling, I have switched over to using an herb grinder to rub out the flakes, then drying, and filling; this has improved the flake smoking experience for me overall along with making sure that the tobacco is adequately dry first.
- I've been working on dialing in my pipe-tobacco pairing preferences - I fell in love with the estate Savinelli Riviera Rusticated 315 KS pipe for many tobaccos and have dedicated it to oriental blends. I recently got another estate Savinelli Professor Rusticated 315 KS to use for oriental blends without Latakia and that is what I am now using for the Brunello. I had previously smoked the Brunello using cobs and think that the briar pipe and this particular shape really works for me overall and this blend, in particular. I will definitely be on the hunt for more nice Savinelli 315 KS pipes!
With those items noted, I'll start by stating that I am definitely NOT getting any cigarette taste from Brunello anymore. I like the beginning sweetness and vague fruitiness that pairs nicely with some malty flavors. The first third is nearly "juicy" and then it transitions with some lovely floral and spicy Oriental coming through that I enjoy so much, although I would agree with previous comments that everything is balanced and that it adds enough to the Virginia and Burley to make it interesting. I think that I'm also now understanding a bit more about what is meant by "coolness from the burley" that I see others mention in regard to blends. The aftertaste is tangy and slightly fruity/citrus like dried clementine peel. I still don't yet love this blend, but it is definitely "unique and pleasant" and has grown on me.
cc: @sablebrush52 @hoosierpipeguy
- Status