I've been slaving away over a hot pipe for days now, trying to crack the code on this Potlatch.
It's everything. It's nothing. It required me to stop and think, something to which I'm not generally accustomed. I even had to break out special, new hardware.
Mr. Lankford, I hope you're pleased with yourself. :
:
A recent clearance price opportunity brought this blend to my attention (Get off my lawn, Cosmic :rofl: )
I went all in, after reading some reviews and got a few pounds of it.
Now, I have to figure out just what it is I got such a great deal on.
If one searched YouTube for reviews, there are many "first impression" submissions with similar results: "I don't taste much/anything."
On the other hand, most of the written reviews on TR are 4 star, including the people we've come to know and trust (JimInks, PipeStud, DK, etc)
So, I knew there was more to the story. I suspected that this was a blend to help the sophomoric pipe journeyman advance skills and technique, if pursued in earnest. I decided that I was the neophyte for the job.
One pleasant change for me, I got a tin note. It's a hot mess of sour, tangy, woodsy, leathery sweetness, kind of like when my young nephew goes to the Chinese buffet and puts the sweet and sour chicken on top of the barbecued pork, on top of the shrimp fried rice....you get the picture. I was just excited to smell something, as tin notes usually pass me by.
Visually, it's the same buffet mess, a blend of every color and hue in the tobacconist's tool kit. Slender light brown ribbons and darker chunks comprise the bulk of it.
The tin is packed densely and seems to be at near optimal moisture. I decided to start with one of my latakia pipes, a Savinelli 606KS. The first thing to reach me was the slightly sour oriental influence coupled with a sweetness of mostly cavendish, maybe backed by Virginia. The latakia was a tame but steady undertone. Heavy lat smokers might write it off altogether. But, it is there and contributes to the whole artfully.
I had trouble finding the burley. Half way down, the most mellow tart tingle of perique asserted itself. Like the latakia, it was deployed in the delicate manner with which a renowned French chef layers the contents of his spice rack into your overpriced, fancy dish. As above with the latakia, heavy VaPer fans may dismiss it.
I really wanted to find Mr. Burley. Reflecting back on things learned here over the last 10 months, I recall MSO and several others extolling the benefits of wide chambered pipes for busy blends. I decided to dip into the strategic pipe reserve and place a new briar into service.
The chosen one was "The Thing", an orange beast of a pre-Savinelli era Rossi, picked up unsmoked on eBay last year. The general consensus so far is, "Damn that's ugly. Bet it smokes well."
Loading it this morning, taking care to observe some recommended break-in standards, I smoked a loosely packed 2/3 bowl slowly. With a few relights, it burned cleanly and dryly to the bottom. The initial oriental blast found in the Savinelli was less intense this time. The sweet and latakia was about the same. The mild nuttiness of burley finally made an appearance! It hid behind the cavendish initially, but as the bowl progresses, it is unmistakable.
The burley and cavendish form a solid and agreeable platform, with the tiny gremlins of latakia, perique and oriental running amok at will. A true symphony. A fine representation of the spirit of Potlatch
Having obsessively smoked this blend only for the last 2 days has helped me to gain more insight to the interplay of the components. This is the first time I've intentionally drilled down into a blend with such interest and it has been informative and rewarding.
This blend is already on its way to being an every day smoke for me.
Verdict: GET SOME!
It's everything. It's nothing. It required me to stop and think, something to which I'm not generally accustomed. I even had to break out special, new hardware.
Mr. Lankford, I hope you're pleased with yourself. :
:
A recent clearance price opportunity brought this blend to my attention (Get off my lawn, Cosmic :rofl: )
I went all in, after reading some reviews and got a few pounds of it.
Now, I have to figure out just what it is I got such a great deal on.
If one searched YouTube for reviews, there are many "first impression" submissions with similar results: "I don't taste much/anything."
On the other hand, most of the written reviews on TR are 4 star, including the people we've come to know and trust (JimInks, PipeStud, DK, etc)
So, I knew there was more to the story. I suspected that this was a blend to help the sophomoric pipe journeyman advance skills and technique, if pursued in earnest. I decided that I was the neophyte for the job.
One pleasant change for me, I got a tin note. It's a hot mess of sour, tangy, woodsy, leathery sweetness, kind of like when my young nephew goes to the Chinese buffet and puts the sweet and sour chicken on top of the barbecued pork, on top of the shrimp fried rice....you get the picture. I was just excited to smell something, as tin notes usually pass me by.
Visually, it's the same buffet mess, a blend of every color and hue in the tobacconist's tool kit. Slender light brown ribbons and darker chunks comprise the bulk of it.
The tin is packed densely and seems to be at near optimal moisture. I decided to start with one of my latakia pipes, a Savinelli 606KS. The first thing to reach me was the slightly sour oriental influence coupled with a sweetness of mostly cavendish, maybe backed by Virginia. The latakia was a tame but steady undertone. Heavy lat smokers might write it off altogether. But, it is there and contributes to the whole artfully.
I had trouble finding the burley. Half way down, the most mellow tart tingle of perique asserted itself. Like the latakia, it was deployed in the delicate manner with which a renowned French chef layers the contents of his spice rack into your overpriced, fancy dish. As above with the latakia, heavy VaPer fans may dismiss it.
I really wanted to find Mr. Burley. Reflecting back on things learned here over the last 10 months, I recall MSO and several others extolling the benefits of wide chambered pipes for busy blends. I decided to dip into the strategic pipe reserve and place a new briar into service.
The chosen one was "The Thing", an orange beast of a pre-Savinelli era Rossi, picked up unsmoked on eBay last year. The general consensus so far is, "Damn that's ugly. Bet it smokes well."
Loading it this morning, taking care to observe some recommended break-in standards, I smoked a loosely packed 2/3 bowl slowly. With a few relights, it burned cleanly and dryly to the bottom. The initial oriental blast found in the Savinelli was less intense this time. The sweet and latakia was about the same. The mild nuttiness of burley finally made an appearance! It hid behind the cavendish initially, but as the bowl progresses, it is unmistakable.
The burley and cavendish form a solid and agreeable platform, with the tiny gremlins of latakia, perique and oriental running amok at will. A true symphony. A fine representation of the spirit of Potlatch
Having obsessively smoked this blend only for the last 2 days has helped me to gain more insight to the interplay of the components. This is the first time I've intentionally drilled down into a blend with such interest and it has been informative and rewarding.
This blend is already on its way to being an every day smoke for me.
Verdict: GET SOME!
