Here are my latest Private Stock reviews:
Bacchanalia: The medium brown, lightly sweet Virginia acts mainly as a base for the mild earthy, nutty burley. The red wine topping is medium strength. Though it doesn't crowd out the other flavors, the wine taste is the high quality major player with some sweetness and some tangy tartness. Relaxing and smooth, burns well and cooly with no goop. This is a very comforting smoke that goes well with hot tea or coffee, but that's hardly a requirement for enjoyment. An all day smoke that leaves a very pleasant after taste, and keeps you interested in smoking it.
Navigator Blend: Being a black cavendish blend, it should come as no surprise that vanilla is the star flavor here, albeit a mild one. Burns very smooth and cool with few, if any relights, with mellow consistency. There is a little blackened Virginia and aged maduro in the mix with a light alcohol topping, and some chocolate notes. It was designed to be a match for the old Argosy Black blend, and comparisons may vary as to how close it is to AB, which I've never smoked. Either way, this is a solid entry into the black cavendish genre.
Old Vienna: A rich aromatic with a smooth vanilla and cognac tang. The burley undertones are just noticeable, but become a little more obvious when the tobacco has dried. They add slight earthy notes. The tobacco was a little moist when I opened the tin, but it did not hamper the burn rate or leave any goop at the bottom of the bowl. It's not a very complex blend, but it has a pleasingly sweet and consistent flavor that's between mild and medium in strength, and medium in taste. Smells as good as it tastes.
R-Blend: This is meant to be Sutliff's version of Revelation before House of Windsor got their hands on it. The HoW version left me with a bad impression all the way around. This is a vast improvement. The medium brown Virginia has a mildly natural sweetness. The burley sports some earthy points, plus a light tangy nuttiness from the burley. The perique is very lightly added for a hint of spice. The latakia brings very mild smokey, woody bass notes to give this mixture a slight flavor push. This is a well rounded, medium tasting blend for the all day smoker who wants a decent nic hit with a lot going for it.
South Seas: The mango topping tends to dominate the other flavors a little. As with some of the other Private Stock aromatics, the Virginia is the core component that keeps this a cool smoking blend. The burley is lightly sweet with a very slight nutty note, and is mostly responsible for what "oomph" is present here. South Seas is mild with a medium strength taste, and works well as a dessert smoke, or a pleasant day smoke as you go about your business.
St. George's Blend: A mild black cherry blend, milder than I expected after smelling a freshly opened tin, which, if you are a black cherry fan, will prove pleasing to your senses. Even though it's mildly moist fresh out of the tin, it burns very well, smoothly, and not hot. The Virginia mostly acts as a cooling base for the black cavendish, the latter adding a little vanilla and slight fruity plum taste of its own. The use of the back cherry favor gives this mixture a deeper flavor push than your average cherry blend.
