These blends are local to a few B&Ms in Pennsylvania, and between being asked about them, and the guys who make them being hopeful of wider distribution, I thought I'd post my reviews.
St. Basil’s Golden Brown:
The dark brown burley is nutty, a bit earthy with some toast, dry, sour wood along with a little molasses and cocoa. The gold Virginia offers some floral grass/hay, citrus, toast, and a hint of spice. The combination seems to provide a very mild cigar note as well. You’ll notice the majority of these characteristics in most puffs. The strength, taste, and nic-hit are a little past the mild threshold in the first quarter of the bowl, though they gain strength as you along, and gets closer to medium by the half way point. The nic-hit is a little less potent than the other two aforementioned aspects. Won’t bite and has no harsh notes, though if you puff like a freight train, you will experience a very light cigarette note, which sometimes happens with this type of blend. Burns a little fast with a cool, clean and fairly smooth, consistent flavor. Requires very few relights, and leaves almost no moisture in the bowl. Will burn to the final strands. Has a pleasant after taste, though the room note is stronger than expected. An uncomplicated all day work and play smoke with some depth.
St. Basil’s Ivan the Terrible:
The red Virginia has a mild tangy dark fruitiness with a bit of earth. It forms the base of the blend. The perique content is around forty percent; spicy and plumy with some fig and raisins. The strength and taste are closer to medium than they are to mild. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium, a couple of shades less than the strength and taste levels. Won’t bite, and has no harsh or dull moments. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a very consistent spicy sweetness from top to bottom. Burning it to ash is very easy. Requires few relights, and hardly dampens the bowl with moisture. Has a lingering, pleasant after taste. The room note is sweet and spicy. It’s not an all day smoke, though the experienced VaPer aficionado would find it a repeatable one.
St. Basil’s Miyagi’s Mindfulness:
This American English blend has a mildly tangy, dark fruit sweet and earthy red Virginia as its base. The smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia is a team player in a support role, as is the woody, buttery sweet Izmir, which also has slight spice and sour notes. The spice, plum and raisins from the perique underscore the experience. The nutty, earthy, lightly molasses sweet burley is just a little more obvious than the perique. The air cured Pennsylvania broadleaf is earthy with a little smoke and wood, and isn’t very sweet. It provides a light cigar flavor to the blend. The strength and taste levels are a little closer to medium than they are to mild. The nic-hit is just past the mild threshold. Won’t bite and has no harsh points. Well blended with some complexity, you’ll notice most of the tobaccos’ attributes in every puff. Burns at a moderate rate, cool and clean, and easily burns to ash. Requires few relights, and leaves very little moisture in the bowl. The after taste and room notes are smoky and woody. Can be an all day smoke if it fits your flavor profile.
St. Basil’s Peter the Great:
The earthy, toasty, woody, nutty burley also has a very small amount of molasses and a hint of cocoa. The maple infused black cavendish is in the center of mild to medium. The perique is thirty percent of the blend, and offers some spice, plum and raisins, though the maple does mute it and the burley a little. It won’t taste like it’s thirty percent perique, but reveals enough of its inherent characteristics to add a little complexity to the mixture. The strength, nic-hit, and taste levels are mild. Won’t bite, and has no dull or harsh spots. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a very smooth consistent maple sweet and lightly spicy flavor as it easily burns to ash. Requires few relights, and leaves just a little dampness in the bowl, which isn’t the norm for many aromatic blends. The after taste is short lived, and both it and the room notes are pleasant. An easy going aromatic that makes a decent entry level product while providing enough depth to hold the interest of an experienced aro smoker.
St. Basil’s Rasputin:
The burley is more like small pieces than it is cube cut. It is earthy, nutty and very woody with some molasses, and forms the base of the blend. The perique is twenty percent of the blend, offering some spice and plum, along with a little raisin and fig notes, and often mildly dominates the other components. The unsweetened black cavendish provides a light smoothing sugar sweetness in the background to tame potential harshness, none of which exists in this blend. The strength and taste start at the medium threshold, and they gather a little strength by the half way point, so both are essentially medium to full by the time you’ve finished smoking. The nic-hit is medium. Won’t bite. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable pace with some savory smoothness, and a rough edge or two. Has a slight inconsistency in the flavor here and there, though most aspects of the tobaccos are evident the majority of the time. Will burn to the last ember with no trouble. Requires very few relights, and leaves virtually no dampness in the bowl. The lightly sweet and more savory after taste lingers a bit, and the room note is a little strong for non-smokers. Not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable later in the day.
St. Basil’s Golden Brown:
The dark brown burley is nutty, a bit earthy with some toast, dry, sour wood along with a little molasses and cocoa. The gold Virginia offers some floral grass/hay, citrus, toast, and a hint of spice. The combination seems to provide a very mild cigar note as well. You’ll notice the majority of these characteristics in most puffs. The strength, taste, and nic-hit are a little past the mild threshold in the first quarter of the bowl, though they gain strength as you along, and gets closer to medium by the half way point. The nic-hit is a little less potent than the other two aforementioned aspects. Won’t bite and has no harsh notes, though if you puff like a freight train, you will experience a very light cigarette note, which sometimes happens with this type of blend. Burns a little fast with a cool, clean and fairly smooth, consistent flavor. Requires very few relights, and leaves almost no moisture in the bowl. Will burn to the final strands. Has a pleasant after taste, though the room note is stronger than expected. An uncomplicated all day work and play smoke with some depth.
St. Basil’s Ivan the Terrible:
The red Virginia has a mild tangy dark fruitiness with a bit of earth. It forms the base of the blend. The perique content is around forty percent; spicy and plumy with some fig and raisins. The strength and taste are closer to medium than they are to mild. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium, a couple of shades less than the strength and taste levels. Won’t bite, and has no harsh or dull moments. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a very consistent spicy sweetness from top to bottom. Burning it to ash is very easy. Requires few relights, and hardly dampens the bowl with moisture. Has a lingering, pleasant after taste. The room note is sweet and spicy. It’s not an all day smoke, though the experienced VaPer aficionado would find it a repeatable one.
St. Basil’s Miyagi’s Mindfulness:
This American English blend has a mildly tangy, dark fruit sweet and earthy red Virginia as its base. The smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia is a team player in a support role, as is the woody, buttery sweet Izmir, which also has slight spice and sour notes. The spice, plum and raisins from the perique underscore the experience. The nutty, earthy, lightly molasses sweet burley is just a little more obvious than the perique. The air cured Pennsylvania broadleaf is earthy with a little smoke and wood, and isn’t very sweet. It provides a light cigar flavor to the blend. The strength and taste levels are a little closer to medium than they are to mild. The nic-hit is just past the mild threshold. Won’t bite and has no harsh points. Well blended with some complexity, you’ll notice most of the tobaccos’ attributes in every puff. Burns at a moderate rate, cool and clean, and easily burns to ash. Requires few relights, and leaves very little moisture in the bowl. The after taste and room notes are smoky and woody. Can be an all day smoke if it fits your flavor profile.
St. Basil’s Peter the Great:
The earthy, toasty, woody, nutty burley also has a very small amount of molasses and a hint of cocoa. The maple infused black cavendish is in the center of mild to medium. The perique is thirty percent of the blend, and offers some spice, plum and raisins, though the maple does mute it and the burley a little. It won’t taste like it’s thirty percent perique, but reveals enough of its inherent characteristics to add a little complexity to the mixture. The strength, nic-hit, and taste levels are mild. Won’t bite, and has no dull or harsh spots. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a very smooth consistent maple sweet and lightly spicy flavor as it easily burns to ash. Requires few relights, and leaves just a little dampness in the bowl, which isn’t the norm for many aromatic blends. The after taste is short lived, and both it and the room notes are pleasant. An easy going aromatic that makes a decent entry level product while providing enough depth to hold the interest of an experienced aro smoker.
St. Basil’s Rasputin:
The burley is more like small pieces than it is cube cut. It is earthy, nutty and very woody with some molasses, and forms the base of the blend. The perique is twenty percent of the blend, offering some spice and plum, along with a little raisin and fig notes, and often mildly dominates the other components. The unsweetened black cavendish provides a light smoothing sugar sweetness in the background to tame potential harshness, none of which exists in this blend. The strength and taste start at the medium threshold, and they gather a little strength by the half way point, so both are essentially medium to full by the time you’ve finished smoking. The nic-hit is medium. Won’t bite. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable pace with some savory smoothness, and a rough edge or two. Has a slight inconsistency in the flavor here and there, though most aspects of the tobaccos are evident the majority of the time. Will burn to the last ember with no trouble. Requires very few relights, and leaves virtually no dampness in the bowl. The lightly sweet and more savory after taste lingers a bit, and the room note is a little strong for non-smokers. Not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable later in the day.
