I received a sample of this a few weeks ago and fell in love with it. Had to wait a while till it came back in stock but now I have a few tins on hand, so I decided to write a review on it. I'm not one of those who can describe tobacco in terms of things it doesn't contain (like figs and raisins for example). But here goes:
First of all, I would classify 1931 as a "natural aromatic". By that I mean it doesn't taste or smell like it's topped with something recognizable like liquor or fruit or chocolate. I would describe the aroma as "old time classic pipe smoke". Reminds me of smelling pipe smoke as a kid. Just a nice, mellow, pleasant aroma that says
"pipe".
It's a flake, composed of black cavendish, VA and Burley. The tin note is remarkably like the room note...sweet but not cloying, with a nice natural tobacco aroma. Moisture was perfect right out of the tin. The flakes are about 3" long and fold and stuff easily. The only problem is, even folded in half it needs a rather deep bowl. For a shallower bowl, one would either have to fold it again, or cut the flakes in half before folding. I haven't tried rubbing it out yet, but probably will continue to fold them. With a few loose strands on top to help get it lit, it burns evenly and cool and dry right down to the bottom with (for me) no relights. Small sips produce a goodly amount of smoke, which I like. I don't care for blends that produce very little smoke. And for an aro, it has a nice nic content. My only gripe with my previous go-to aro (a black cav) was that it had practically no nic. As I mentioned, a full-length flake fits best in a deep bowl, and I find that 1931 burns so slowly and produces so much smoke that a small bowl is fully satisfying. I loaded up a Peterson Darwin Rusticated and found that it was too much. It took well over 2 hours to finish it, and I would have been satisfied with half that. It's a "rich" tobacco, and with the nic content, a little goes a long way. Another thing I like with this blend is that the constituents are well-married, so the taste and aroma remains steady throughout the bowl, with only a slight strengthening as it progresses. I'm not one who likes the taste to change much during a bowl, and this one doesn't.
In summation, if someone were to say they were a non-aro smoker looking to try an aro, 1931 would be my recommendation. It is somewhat expensive at nearly $18 a tin, but it's a 100g tin so really not that costly compared to my other go-tos, Royal Yacht and Three Nuns. A bit more expensive than Nightcap.
First of all, I would classify 1931 as a "natural aromatic". By that I mean it doesn't taste or smell like it's topped with something recognizable like liquor or fruit or chocolate. I would describe the aroma as "old time classic pipe smoke". Reminds me of smelling pipe smoke as a kid. Just a nice, mellow, pleasant aroma that says
"pipe".
It's a flake, composed of black cavendish, VA and Burley. The tin note is remarkably like the room note...sweet but not cloying, with a nice natural tobacco aroma. Moisture was perfect right out of the tin. The flakes are about 3" long and fold and stuff easily. The only problem is, even folded in half it needs a rather deep bowl. For a shallower bowl, one would either have to fold it again, or cut the flakes in half before folding. I haven't tried rubbing it out yet, but probably will continue to fold them. With a few loose strands on top to help get it lit, it burns evenly and cool and dry right down to the bottom with (for me) no relights. Small sips produce a goodly amount of smoke, which I like. I don't care for blends that produce very little smoke. And for an aro, it has a nice nic content. My only gripe with my previous go-to aro (a black cav) was that it had practically no nic. As I mentioned, a full-length flake fits best in a deep bowl, and I find that 1931 burns so slowly and produces so much smoke that a small bowl is fully satisfying. I loaded up a Peterson Darwin Rusticated and found that it was too much. It took well over 2 hours to finish it, and I would have been satisfied with half that. It's a "rich" tobacco, and with the nic content, a little goes a long way. Another thing I like with this blend is that the constituents are well-married, so the taste and aroma remains steady throughout the bowl, with only a slight strengthening as it progresses. I'm not one who likes the taste to change much during a bowl, and this one doesn't.
In summation, if someone were to say they were a non-aro smoker looking to try an aro, 1931 would be my recommendation. It is somewhat expensive at nearly $18 a tin, but it's a 100g tin so really not that costly compared to my other go-tos, Royal Yacht and Three Nuns. A bit more expensive than Nightcap.
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