Anyone Recently Discover a New Blend That They Absolutely Love?
- Thread starter agnosticpipe
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mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast
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shutterbug: I guess one mans treasure is another mans trash. No problem, but definitely stay away from Ennerdale Flake! As for Rattray's Exotic Orange, it's apparently already become unobtainium. :crying:
stvalentine: I like Cabbies Mixture too, but it's under $10 a tin, which seems pretty reasonable to me. I take it you don't live in the US.
stvalentine: I like Cabbies Mixture too, but it's under $10 a tin, which seems pretty reasonable to me. I take it you don't live in the US.
I'm with oldreddog. On a whim, I ordered McC's 2035 and was just blown away with how good it is. I have been on a Navy flake kick and this is one I had never tried.
I will be smoking a lot of this.
I will be smoking a lot of this.
Sablebrush---- can you elaborate further on what you mean? While most list some highly scarce and obscure brand as some new great discovery, it is saying quite a lot to "discover" something wonderful that most would consider so close under their nose they never would even try it and is both cheap and readily available.
The reason I smoke a pipe. The reason I prep the tobacco, pack the ways I do, care for my pipes the way I do, is to enjoy the pleasure of a flavorful smoke.
It's not about rarity, or having unobtainium to brag about, it's about flavor.
And I really like the flavor of SWRA. JimInks had sent me some to try as he's a great fan of it, and I found it delicious, a very fine, mild, round, flavorful blend of Virginias and burley that is well served by the touch of liquers that serve as the topping. It was easy to light, smoked well, and left no bad aftertaste. Because I'm a very slow smoker I didn't experience any of the issues with it that some have reported. I could enjoy SWRA immediately, rather than wait while it dried, or have to cut, cube, fold, spindle, or mutilate. I didn't have to genuflect, supplicate, or sacrifice a virgin to get it to perform. I could just load up a pipe, relax, and enjoy.
We like different kinds of flavors, and if you look at the reviews, a lot of people either love SWRA or hate it. I love it. I certainly have plenty of unobtainium and hotly pursued blends in the cellar, and many of them didn't bring me the simple pleasure of an enjoyably flavorful smoke that SWRA provided.
Not everything good is rare or expensive. After years of smoking some of the most sought after rare blends I'm enjoying the straightforward unfussy flavors of OTCs. I've been reaching for Chatham Manor more than for Motzek Strang, Director's Cut, or Stonehaven. Who woulda thunk it.
Isn't it really?!
Coming from the two of you, that is quite the endorsement.
I smoked a lot of the OTC's early in my smoking days like most, but a lot I simply never got around to. I suppose like many people I thought, there is a reason why this stuff is behind the counter at the supermarket, there is a reason for all these hundreds of other blends and to get "the really good smoke" you had to look to the obscure. But in the end, when a person goes out and tries many others and can still come back to a classic and be impressed, that shows that its makers really knew what they were doing all along rather than just out to create the newest "smoke of the week." And SWRA has certainly endured the test of time. I've smoked hundreds of blends but after a while you realize that many are just further variations on a theme in fancy packaging, and while I still go out and try new blends out of curiosity, I am also realizing that there are certain fundamental truths to good tobacco that is not some "secret" just discovered last week for the fickle smoker. Thank you, Sablebrush, when I read your endorsement above, it just stood out as having that intuitive ring of honest wisdom to it.
Toobfreak: for many years, SWRA was the only OTC I would smoke, especially once Amphora Brown disappeared from these parts in the early 1980s. It's uncomplicated, but flavorful, always consistent with just enough going on to hold my interest. Here's my review of it:
The fairly molasses sweet, nutty, very chocolately, earthy burley takes the lead over the lightly grassy, citrusy Virginia. The Dutch and French liqueur toppings are difficult to define (I notice anise and chocolate, among something else), and while they tone down the tobaccos, they also work well in concert with them to provide a very consistent flavor from start to finish.The nic-hit is in the center of being mild to medium. The taste level is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. It might burn a little warm if you are a very fast puffer so I suggest a moderate cadence. I have never experienced tongue bite from it. It does burn slightly more than an average pace, but even and clean with few relights, and just a little moisture left in the bowl. Has a very pleasant after taste and room note. Performs well in repeat performances, and is an all day smoke. It won't ghost your pipe. And, btw, when you open a tub of it for the first time, the smell is wonderful!
The fairly molasses sweet, nutty, very chocolately, earthy burley takes the lead over the lightly grassy, citrusy Virginia. The Dutch and French liqueur toppings are difficult to define (I notice anise and chocolate, among something else), and while they tone down the tobaccos, they also work well in concert with them to provide a very consistent flavor from start to finish.The nic-hit is in the center of being mild to medium. The taste level is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. It might burn a little warm if you are a very fast puffer so I suggest a moderate cadence. I have never experienced tongue bite from it. It does burn slightly more than an average pace, but even and clean with few relights, and just a little moisture left in the bowl. Has a very pleasant after taste and room note. Performs well in repeat performances, and is an all day smoke. It won't ghost your pipe. And, btw, when you open a tub of it for the first time, the smell is wonderful!
Late to the party, but I just finished my first bowl of Black Frigate and have to admit that it is better than what I was expecting. This was one of the 5 samples a generous forum member sent me. I just lit up the second sample, Vieux Carre, and it is feeling like a winner too.
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