Bourbon Bleu & Old Grove

[doctorthoss]

Well, my first impressions of Oak Grove are positive but not overwhelmingly so. I can taste the.pomegranate, but it's a muted sweet flavor and by no means goofy or overwhelming the tobacco. This is a very light, almost playful blend. Very smooth and very sweet, it doesn't seem to bite and has a nice room note. The favors are primarily Va with a few whispers of perique. It's a drastic break from my normal fare, which includes much stronger and heavier blends (Gaslight, Old Joe Krantz, Filmore). I am looking forward to smoking enough for a proper review.

 

[ericthered]

I also received a pair of samples. thank-you Ted! Because these are supposed to be designed to age, after loading one bowl of each I re-packaged my samples in mylar and lost them in the back of my cellar.
Please note that what follows are the distracted impressions of a newish smoker, one who is still learning how to taste the complementary flavors behind the most prominent ones.
The Old Grove I smoked in a cob while mowing the lawn over the weekend, so I wasn't able to devote the concentration necessary to suss out the nuances. At first light I definitely tasted the aromatic nature of the blend- there's an underlying taste that all aros seem to have... maybe the cavendish? This is a bit of a turn-off to me since it reminds me of all the bulk aros that I initially tried and was disappointed by when I first picked up the pipe. That being said, that flavor dissipated after 10 minutes or so and the primary flavor settled into a solid burley taste. I couldn't pick up the Virginias, maybe because my cob may be ghosted by some of the burley blends I've smoked in it lately. All in all I liked it well enough and I'm looking forward to giving it another shot several years down the road.
The Bourbon Bleu I smoked in my mini-meer while grilling dinner a couple nights ago. This was my first experience with a crumble cake and it was a favorable one. I definitely tasted the Virginias in this- there was a tang and a sweetness that persisted throughout the smoke. As with Old Grove, since I was distracted I wasn't able to pick out the bourbon note, but I thoroughly enjoyed this blend and look forward to seeing what time does for it.

 

[gphenry]

I am currently not smoking after having surgery last week. I too received my samples and am chopping at the bit to try them. Fathers' Day will be my return. Thanks again Ted.

 

[davidintexas]

gphenry, hope you have a speedy recovery, and that everything is ok. Father's day will be a nice time to return to the pipe. Hope it will be a great day for you

 

[gphenry]

Thank you David. I am well, and have my health, so I am lucky too. Definitely following doctor's orders to get back to 100%. The best to you too.

 

[settersbrace]

Thanks to Ted for providing the samples! Old Grove is the first batter up and I'll confess up front that I'm not an aromatic smoker and I can say without prejudice that Old Grove is not your typical Aro. I also loaded a cob but I sat down to focus on what this may or not be in a tobacco blend. From first light I was greeted with a sweetness similar to a straight Virginia with just a hint of a topping, a fruit brandy maybe? I was impressed with how robust and full this blend is and I can't get it to bite no matter how hard I try. I know this is part of the "Cellar" series and I'll be curious to see what some age will do for this concoction. Burley, Cavendish are typically not the leaves you generally hear people swooning over when they pop that 20 year old tin but what do I know? I can't wait to try the VaPer, Bourbon Bleu, I know what age can do for Perique!

 

[jimbo69]

It's on my radar. Still hurting after the IMP fire sales the last couple of months :/
What fountain pen and ink was that tedswearingen? (FP and ink collector here).

 

[settersbrace]

I'm getting down to my last bowl or two in this sample so I loaded somewhat larger bowl this evening, a group 4 maybe? In a old no-name estate that does pretty well. At first things were kind of mild and unremarkable but at about a 1/3 in the Perique started to shine on the retrohale and the smoke became a little bolder. I am just sitting in the porch watching the rain and enjoying the heck out this stuff. I don't get any of the fruity topping at all this time around although I am tasting something sweet, a mystery but tasty. I get an occasional note of fresh hay or a grassiness but it's very faint. I'm giving Old Grove two thumbs up and the heck with cellaring it, smoke it now!

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I am smoking some Bourbon Bleu now and quite like it. Worth a try.