Finally smoked my first bowl of this in my first pipe: an inexpensive Butz-Choquin 1320 bent billiard.
It’s really good.
For whatever reason, I find that a good pipe tobacco is more satisfying the farther into the bowl I get. As someone who started pipe smoking for the first time earlier this year, I wonder if this could be the result of over-charring the tobacco—I have developed a nice, slow smoking cadence, which is why I suspect it’s the initial light that causes first third of the bowl harshness. After that first third, the charring light surface is all ash and the slow smoking cadence may be what translates into a far more enjoyable mid- and end-bowl experience. (If any of you more experienced pipers have thoughts on this, I’d love to know!)
Back to the blend, the first third of the bowl seemed fairly average. A little more bitter and dry than I like.
I’m pretty sure my theory about overdoing my char light is correct because the second and third parts of the bowl were amazing!
From that point forward, the tobacco smoked cool and produced lovely clouds of smoke (even with a slow, shallow draw) with a homey, mildly sweet smell.
The tip-of-the tongue flavor is sweet and nutty, and the mouthfeel is surprisingly creamy and full. There’s something pleasingly malty around the sides of my tongue. The retrohale is silky-smooth—while I love a good sour (Oriental) or astringent (Perique) retro, those characteristics wouldn’t fit this comforting, comfortable blend.
Well done,
@ernieq &
@JimInks.