I’ve only had a half dozen or so bowls, so these are only my first impressions. Entirely positive first impressions. I’m not a regular smoker of burley blends, so this is a bit on the strong side for me, but in a good way. The spice of the perique and inherent bitterness of the burley stand out to me in the first third of the bowl, but always present are the chocolate notes of the burley and the fruity sweetness of the brandy. Those two notes really take over for the last two thirds, and to my palate the blend really smooths out with those rough edges completely gone. That sweet brandy is definitely there in the flavor, but it has a much brighter character in the side stream. Very, very pleasant contrast. The smoother it gets the richer it gets, the chocolate notes really predominating for me. The nuttiness of the burley and the dark fruit of the perique are also always there, but as a background presence which to me really sets off the very slight fruitiness of the brandy. I can’t quite pick out the flavor of the red Virginia, but I suspect it contributes to the smoothness of the smoke. Seamless blending.
I really feel the nicotine in this blend, so it would never be an all day smoke for me, but after dinner it is fantastic. As I said, the touch of sweetness from the brandy is there all the way through. It makes a mighty fine dessert with some bourbon neat.
To sum up, a persistent non-cloying sweetness with a fantastic chocolate note. 6 stars out of 5.
I really feel the nicotine in this blend, so it would never be an all day smoke for me, but after dinner it is fantastic. As I said, the touch of sweetness from the brandy is there all the way through. It makes a mighty fine dessert with some bourbon neat.
To sum up, a persistent non-cloying sweetness with a fantastic chocolate note. 6 stars out of 5.