Jim's C&D The Beast 2023 Review.

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JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
64,390
643,758
This blend goes on sale at Smoking Pipes March 21 at 6 PM EST. Here's my review.

This production uses St. James perique from 31 Farms. It comprises over half the blend as it provides a wealth of mildly sweet plums, spice, floralness, earth, wood, and a few raisins. The red Virginia cavendish offers a fair amount of tangy dark fruit, earth, wood, bread, mild sugar, vegetation, tart citrus, floralness, and a couple blades of grass. It secures a secondary support role. The dark fired Kentucky produces a little earth, wood, vegetation, nuts, herbs, floralness, sourness, and light barbecue as a condiment. The bready, unsweetened black cavendish is mainly a flavor holder. The effect of the spicy dark rum is a couple of notches over the medium mark though it slightly weakens toward the finish. The strength and nic-hit are strong. The taste is very full. No chance of bite or harshness. Has a few rough edges. I saw no need to dry it as it isn’t overly moist. Burns cool, clean, and slightly slow with a mostly consistent plummy, dark fruity, spicy, rum, floral, slight barbecue, very piquant flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is a bit pungent. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a couple more than an average number of relights. It’s lightly less potent and sweet than earlier offerings, and is more plummy, and a tad spicier. Designed to provide punch and depth, it’s not an all day smoke. I recommend a slow puffing cadence. Three and a half stars rounded up to four.
 

Wyomingpiper

Lurker
Aug 1, 2021
28
53
43
Wyoming
I bought a tin last year and enjoyed it quite a bit. I was unaware of this year's release till it was too late. Very disappointing I must say.
 

Wyomingpiper

Lurker
Aug 1, 2021
28
53
43
Wyoming
Oops, I just read your title. Thankfully I was wrong and it hasn't released yet. I must have been seeing people that got it early somehow.
It will be interesting to try it this year now that it has ST James perique.
Thanks for the review!
 
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craig61a

Lifer
Apr 29, 2017
6,159
52,925
Minnesota USA
Sounds like a great blend.

If there was a local B&M that had it, I’d pickup a tin or two. At one time, there were numerous shops around. Now it’s mostly cigars or glass shops.

Kinda pointless to place an online order for a couple tins.
 

Chalaw87

Can't Leave
Apr 21, 2021
440
1,601
Northeast TN
Did they change the recipe? It used to be one of the strongest blends out there. Of course, I haven't bought any in ten years.
Im not sure about the old recipe but according to the blog on SP this years blend is: "unsweetened Black Cavendish and a little Dark Fired, and some Red Virginia Cavendish, but the Perique makes up 50 percent of the blend".
 

BriarBrook

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 8, 2022
255
1,235
Missouri
Im not sure about the old recipe but according to the blog on SP this years blend is: "unsweetened Black Cavendish and a little Dark Fired, and some Red Virginia Cavendish, but the Perique makes up 50 percent of the blend".
wow, i did not realize the perique content was that high. Night Cap doesn't bother me at all.