This goes on sale Tuesday, April 1 at 6 p.m. EST.
The fermented St. James perique from 31 Farms is fifty-one percent of the blend. It provides an abundance of mildly sweet and very sour dried plums, spice, dried figs, floralness, bread, earth, wood, light dried raisins, and smoked mesquite. The red Virginia cavendish offers a fair amount of tart citrus, vegetative grass, bread, mild tangy dark fruit, earth, wood, sugar, floralness, and light spice. It’s a notch above a secondary support role due to the citrus and grass which are a tad more noticeable this time. The dark fired Kentucky supplies a little earth, wood, vegetation, herbs, floralness, sourness, spice, nuts, and tangy barbecue. It’s a step more obvious than the previous versions. The unsweetened black cavendish sports a little sugar, but is mainly a flavor holder. The other star attraction is the spicy dark rum which has more than a medium effect on the proceedings. The strength, nic-hit, and taste levels are strong and filling. There’s no bite or harshness present though it does have a few rough edges. It’s a little moist, but as is my custom, I did not dry it for review nor do I recommend drying it. You’ll lose some of the intended effect if you do. Burns cool, clean, and a little slow with a very consistent plummy, fruity, spicy, rum, floral, mild mesquite, barbecue, light smoky, deeply rich, piquant flavor that extends to the pleasantly long lasting after taste. The room note is pungent and lingers some. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a few more than an average number of relights. It’s slightly sweeter with a touch more barbecue, mesquite, and citrus this time. It’s not an all day smoke, and I recommend a slow puffing cadence, and a small to medium bowl. Will ghost a briar, and a meer in time. Four stars out of four.
©Jim Amash 2025.
The fermented St. James perique from 31 Farms is fifty-one percent of the blend. It provides an abundance of mildly sweet and very sour dried plums, spice, dried figs, floralness, bread, earth, wood, light dried raisins, and smoked mesquite. The red Virginia cavendish offers a fair amount of tart citrus, vegetative grass, bread, mild tangy dark fruit, earth, wood, sugar, floralness, and light spice. It’s a notch above a secondary support role due to the citrus and grass which are a tad more noticeable this time. The dark fired Kentucky supplies a little earth, wood, vegetation, herbs, floralness, sourness, spice, nuts, and tangy barbecue. It’s a step more obvious than the previous versions. The unsweetened black cavendish sports a little sugar, but is mainly a flavor holder. The other star attraction is the spicy dark rum which has more than a medium effect on the proceedings. The strength, nic-hit, and taste levels are strong and filling. There’s no bite or harshness present though it does have a few rough edges. It’s a little moist, but as is my custom, I did not dry it for review nor do I recommend drying it. You’ll lose some of the intended effect if you do. Burns cool, clean, and a little slow with a very consistent plummy, fruity, spicy, rum, floral, mild mesquite, barbecue, light smoky, deeply rich, piquant flavor that extends to the pleasantly long lasting after taste. The room note is pungent and lingers some. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a few more than an average number of relights. It’s slightly sweeter with a touch more barbecue, mesquite, and citrus this time. It’s not an all day smoke, and I recommend a slow puffing cadence, and a small to medium bowl. Will ghost a briar, and a meer in time. Four stars out of four.
©Jim Amash 2025.
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