Several years ago I tried JKP, didn't like it, and sold/traded what I had on hand. Recently I thought I'd try it again as I like the plug tobacco format and my taste preferences have been evolving. So I purchased a tin to try.
On opening, the aroma was pretty enticing and I thought this will be good. Uncovering the tobacco revealed 2 blocks of tobacco and a fair amount of loose stuff (this as a 2 oz tin). The largest block comprised about 65% of the total, the smaller block about 20%, with the remainder being loose tobacco. The loose stuff looked like crumbled individual leaves like you’d get if you crumbled a dead tree leaf in your hand. Disappointed as I was expecting something resembling 3P or Salty Dog plugs, which is how I remember the JKP plug of several years ago.
Looking over the blocks it seemed that they at best only had a passing acquaintance with the press. Both blocks were delaminating, that is sheets of tobacco were coming off in individual layers. Cutting the blocks into flakes was not possible due to the degradation of the integrity of the plug as the layers fell apart under the knife. Really different from 3P which I can obtain almost paper-thin flakes. Cube cutting was not an option, so I rubbed it out prior to packing. Another thing I noted was there was a lot of stem material, about half the bowls I prepared needed to have stem material picked out, some that were thick enough to impede packing.
So how did it smoke? I don’t have the discerning palate of some on this board but my overall impression was harsh with mild to moderate tongue bite. The flavor changed throughout the smoke, it was never a melded flavor. The changes were not consistent bowl to bowl, they seemed random. I suspect that’s from the individual component tobaccos being revealed during the smoke, perhaps this is a result of the delamination mentioned above. I’d characterize the nic hit as medium, though I’m not particularly nic tolerant so YMMV. Took a few attempts to get it started, though this improved a few days after opening the tin. Relights toward the bottom of the bowl were required, smoking to the bottom with little or no dottle or moisture.
In the end, it wasn’t bad, just not what was expected and, I did finish the tin; however, it goes on my do not buy again list. In this genre I prefer ODF.
On opening, the aroma was pretty enticing and I thought this will be good. Uncovering the tobacco revealed 2 blocks of tobacco and a fair amount of loose stuff (this as a 2 oz tin). The largest block comprised about 65% of the total, the smaller block about 20%, with the remainder being loose tobacco. The loose stuff looked like crumbled individual leaves like you’d get if you crumbled a dead tree leaf in your hand. Disappointed as I was expecting something resembling 3P or Salty Dog plugs, which is how I remember the JKP plug of several years ago.
Looking over the blocks it seemed that they at best only had a passing acquaintance with the press. Both blocks were delaminating, that is sheets of tobacco were coming off in individual layers. Cutting the blocks into flakes was not possible due to the degradation of the integrity of the plug as the layers fell apart under the knife. Really different from 3P which I can obtain almost paper-thin flakes. Cube cutting was not an option, so I rubbed it out prior to packing. Another thing I noted was there was a lot of stem material, about half the bowls I prepared needed to have stem material picked out, some that were thick enough to impede packing.
So how did it smoke? I don’t have the discerning palate of some on this board but my overall impression was harsh with mild to moderate tongue bite. The flavor changed throughout the smoke, it was never a melded flavor. The changes were not consistent bowl to bowl, they seemed random. I suspect that’s from the individual component tobaccos being revealed during the smoke, perhaps this is a result of the delamination mentioned above. I’d characterize the nic hit as medium, though I’m not particularly nic tolerant so YMMV. Took a few attempts to get it started, though this improved a few days after opening the tin. Relights toward the bottom of the bowl were required, smoking to the bottom with little or no dottle or moisture.
In the end, it wasn’t bad, just not what was expected and, I did finish the tin; however, it goes on my do not buy again list. In this genre I prefer ODF.
