I've been distracted by other things lately, like making youtube videos, but I need to get out this review of Jack Lee's (pipeinhand) Honey Malt. I last reported on the Summer Sangria that I enjoyed while drinking some Blackberry Mead on my porch and remarking upon how well it paired but wasn't a tobacco for every man.
If there is to ba a polar opposite of that, it would be Honey Malt. Jack told me that in designing the blend he wanted the Honey to be the main taste, but didn't want just another "Honey and Chocolate". I'm a fan of Altadis Honey 206 and Lane's mighty 1-Q and this blend takes the best of those worlds and unites them with the superior quality we have all come to expect from our friend pipeinhand.
The pouch note is reminiscent of some of my meads that I malted and still brewed sweet and syrupy, as a high-gravity dessert type wine. You get a hint of chocolate, like when you buy a vanilla malt (for those who remember what those are) and a hypnotic honey smell. Being a mead man, I can attest to the belief that honey is itself a magickal thing and literally has a life of its own so the pouch note of Honey Malt was right in my world!
The tobacco did need drying and an hour on a paper towel did the trick as I folded laundry and finished some things before walking the dogs. Walking two active small dogs is a great way to see if a tobacco will threaten to burn, as keeping them from attacking cats and larger dogs takes a bit of effort.
In addition to dog walking, I smoked this blend in several briars, a cob and a Meerschaum and what you take from it differs with each experience.
At the charring light, the malty, chocolate taste makes an immediate appearance and on the true light, the honey really starts to sing. In the Meerschaum the honey was loud and proud and made the smoke very sweet. There was a little more balance in the briar and it was in the briar, sitting in my desolate hide-out on the roof that I discovered the most amazing thing. The round smoke and the predominant taste of the honey was joined by a room note that was so damned familiar! If I could not taste the honey and simply walked into the room, I would swear there were a room full of guys smoking Lane 1-Q! The chocolate malt and another flavor that seemed like vanilla or spiced rum reminded me of my very favorite part of my favorite bargain smoke! This is not to downplay the quality of Jack's blend, in fact, I found it so enjoyable that I lit this stuff up just about every night at work and even shared some with simnettpratt and UApiper so I could see if I wasn't just going crazy.
Add to the great olfactory experience with the smooth taste of honey that came with every puff, becoming darker, smokier and more malty toward the end of the bowl and I would say that Jack may have inadvertently created and every-man, every-day smoke that I like better than Halfling's Leaf! Imagine the marriage of a premium version of 1-Q and your favorite honey blend with a heavenly room note and a sweet taste that stays on your lips like a well-made creme' brulee' and you have Honey Malt!
The best has gotten even better! I wonder if he will swap me for another bottle of mead...
If there is to ba a polar opposite of that, it would be Honey Malt. Jack told me that in designing the blend he wanted the Honey to be the main taste, but didn't want just another "Honey and Chocolate". I'm a fan of Altadis Honey 206 and Lane's mighty 1-Q and this blend takes the best of those worlds and unites them with the superior quality we have all come to expect from our friend pipeinhand.
The pouch note is reminiscent of some of my meads that I malted and still brewed sweet and syrupy, as a high-gravity dessert type wine. You get a hint of chocolate, like when you buy a vanilla malt (for those who remember what those are) and a hypnotic honey smell. Being a mead man, I can attest to the belief that honey is itself a magickal thing and literally has a life of its own so the pouch note of Honey Malt was right in my world!
The tobacco did need drying and an hour on a paper towel did the trick as I folded laundry and finished some things before walking the dogs. Walking two active small dogs is a great way to see if a tobacco will threaten to burn, as keeping them from attacking cats and larger dogs takes a bit of effort.
In addition to dog walking, I smoked this blend in several briars, a cob and a Meerschaum and what you take from it differs with each experience.
At the charring light, the malty, chocolate taste makes an immediate appearance and on the true light, the honey really starts to sing. In the Meerschaum the honey was loud and proud and made the smoke very sweet. There was a little more balance in the briar and it was in the briar, sitting in my desolate hide-out on the roof that I discovered the most amazing thing. The round smoke and the predominant taste of the honey was joined by a room note that was so damned familiar! If I could not taste the honey and simply walked into the room, I would swear there were a room full of guys smoking Lane 1-Q! The chocolate malt and another flavor that seemed like vanilla or spiced rum reminded me of my very favorite part of my favorite bargain smoke! This is not to downplay the quality of Jack's blend, in fact, I found it so enjoyable that I lit this stuff up just about every night at work and even shared some with simnettpratt and UApiper so I could see if I wasn't just going crazy.
Add to the great olfactory experience with the smooth taste of honey that came with every puff, becoming darker, smokier and more malty toward the end of the bowl and I would say that Jack may have inadvertently created and every-man, every-day smoke that I like better than Halfling's Leaf! Imagine the marriage of a premium version of 1-Q and your favorite honey blend with a heavenly room note and a sweet taste that stays on your lips like a well-made creme' brulee' and you have Honey Malt!
The best has gotten even better! I wonder if he will swap me for another bottle of mead...
