This blend goes on sale Tuesday, May 10. Here's my review.
The rather sweet, fermented, spicy Katerini perique provides an abundance of earth, wood, sugary stewed plums and raisins, vegetation, a fair amount of floralness, herbs and spice with light incense and smoke notes. It takes a small lead. The sweet and very smoky Cyprian Latakia offers plenty wood, earth, floralness, incense, and a pinch of spice as an important supporting player that occasionally challenges the effect of the Katerini perique. The Saint James perique produces some earth, wood, sugary fermented stewed fruit (plums, dates, figs, raisins) and pepper as a strong competitive supporting player. The aspects of the red, stoved and bright Virginias are deeply tangy dark fruit, tart and tangy citrus, earth, wood, bread, sugar, mild grass, vegetation, floralness, some stewed fruit and light spice. They form the bed for the other varietals, and are always noticeable. The earthy, woody, sweet and sour, herbal, floral, vegetative, mildly nutty, spicy aged dark fired Kentucky makes a conspicuous contribution just above the condimental line. The smoothly creamy, sugary, black cavendish tames many of the rough edges. The strength is a couple of steps past the medium mark. The taste level is a notch ahead of that. The nic-hit is a slot past the medium threshold. There’s no chance of bite or harshness. This easily broken apart crumble cake sliced product is mildly moist, but as is usual custom, I didn’t dry it. Well balanced, deeply rich and complex, it burns cool, clean and a tad slow with mostly consistent zesty, fermented, stewed fruity, sugary, creamy, spicy, floral, herbal, smoky, mild campfire flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is a bit more pungent. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires some relights. Not quite an all day smoke, but it is repeatable, especially for the veteran piper. Four stars out of four.
The rather sweet, fermented, spicy Katerini perique provides an abundance of earth, wood, sugary stewed plums and raisins, vegetation, a fair amount of floralness, herbs and spice with light incense and smoke notes. It takes a small lead. The sweet and very smoky Cyprian Latakia offers plenty wood, earth, floralness, incense, and a pinch of spice as an important supporting player that occasionally challenges the effect of the Katerini perique. The Saint James perique produces some earth, wood, sugary fermented stewed fruit (plums, dates, figs, raisins) and pepper as a strong competitive supporting player. The aspects of the red, stoved and bright Virginias are deeply tangy dark fruit, tart and tangy citrus, earth, wood, bread, sugar, mild grass, vegetation, floralness, some stewed fruit and light spice. They form the bed for the other varietals, and are always noticeable. The earthy, woody, sweet and sour, herbal, floral, vegetative, mildly nutty, spicy aged dark fired Kentucky makes a conspicuous contribution just above the condimental line. The smoothly creamy, sugary, black cavendish tames many of the rough edges. The strength is a couple of steps past the medium mark. The taste level is a notch ahead of that. The nic-hit is a slot past the medium threshold. There’s no chance of bite or harshness. This easily broken apart crumble cake sliced product is mildly moist, but as is usual custom, I didn’t dry it. Well balanced, deeply rich and complex, it burns cool, clean and a tad slow with mostly consistent zesty, fermented, stewed fruity, sugary, creamy, spicy, floral, herbal, smoky, mild campfire flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is a bit more pungent. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires some relights. Not quite an all day smoke, but it is repeatable, especially for the veteran piper. Four stars out of four.
Last edited by a moderator:
