Before the rains come (again), I relaxed under the back yard pin oak - with my Sunday pipe (a Butz-Choquin Cocarde bulldog) and a bowl of C&D Briar Fox. I received several half ounce samples with a few orders from my preferred enabler. My first smoke of this tobacco several weeks back wasn't very pleasant. Of course, it does help if you crumble against the grain (lesson learned). Today's smoke was far more enjoyable.
For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of a smoke with this tobacco, I'll give you my newbie impressions.
Have you seen those YouTube videos where someone is discussing his new pipe or new tobacco in a veritable haze of smoke? Do you enjoy getting lost in the over-abundant fog of smoke spilling over itself? If so, this tobacco probably isn't for you. In my opinion, this Virginia is meant to be sipped, not gulped. And a deep, serious tobacco it is. If it were food, it would be a chocolate cake - made of the darkest chocolate from a planet not yet discovered.
The first half bowl was a bit like my first experience - somewhat monochrome. But halfway through the bowl Tinkerbell must have arrived with her pixie dust, as the tobacco took on a whole new range. Each slow puff took the flavor and aroma deeper and deeper. By the time I'd made it down to ash, it occurred to me that this is one tobacco I will never smoke indoors or around non-smokers: the sale of the tin should come with a secret handshake.
It is a wonderful smoke for a Sunday afternoon when all you really want to do is read a few pages of a good book or even better just gaze at the branches above your head. I wouldn't want to try driving either during or immediately following, as it has some serious nicotine. If you are like me and you enjoy fruit with your smoke, cherries are a wonderful complement to the deep chocolate of the tobacco.
I'm thinking of purchasing a few tins with the next order from my enabler - to cellar for a year. Perhaps a bit of age might bring out even more flavors than Tinkerbell's pixie dust.
For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of a smoke with this tobacco, I'll give you my newbie impressions.
Have you seen those YouTube videos where someone is discussing his new pipe or new tobacco in a veritable haze of smoke? Do you enjoy getting lost in the over-abundant fog of smoke spilling over itself? If so, this tobacco probably isn't for you. In my opinion, this Virginia is meant to be sipped, not gulped. And a deep, serious tobacco it is. If it were food, it would be a chocolate cake - made of the darkest chocolate from a planet not yet discovered.
The first half bowl was a bit like my first experience - somewhat monochrome. But halfway through the bowl Tinkerbell must have arrived with her pixie dust, as the tobacco took on a whole new range. Each slow puff took the flavor and aroma deeper and deeper. By the time I'd made it down to ash, it occurred to me that this is one tobacco I will never smoke indoors or around non-smokers: the sale of the tin should come with a secret handshake.
It is a wonderful smoke for a Sunday afternoon when all you really want to do is read a few pages of a good book or even better just gaze at the branches above your head. I wouldn't want to try driving either during or immediately following, as it has some serious nicotine. If you are like me and you enjoy fruit with your smoke, cherries are a wonderful complement to the deep chocolate of the tobacco.
I'm thinking of purchasing a few tins with the next order from my enabler - to cellar for a year. Perhaps a bit of age might bring out even more flavors than Tinkerbell's pixie dust.