Jim's Watch City Simply VOriental Review.
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Just out of curiosity, for those who want a more Oriental forward version of Voriental, what other Virginia Oriental (no Latakia) blend do you have in mind as a benchmark?
A good blend for sure, but it also has Perique. Ernie was working to show what could be done with one varietal, Prilep. There just doesn’t seem to be much availability of anything but blended Turkish these days, at least in the US, from the primary processors.
I believe Embarcadero is only Va/Or. It uses red Va and Izmir Turkish. I get lots of toasty and spiced coffee notes. It's one of my go-to blends.
Haven’t had that one in several years, I guess I should revisit it.
KBV Bas Matica. Its delicious, very much oriental forward. 25% Basma I believe. The only downsides to the blend in my mind are availability and the quick burn rate. It doesn’t seem to burn any hotter, just faster- in a pipe that typically takes me an hour and a half to smoke, Bas Matica is done in 45 minutes.
Well, I've had four bowls of this in the past three days, and I have to say I think it's very very good. There is definitely a pre-dominant sweet red Va flavor upon first light, but the Macedonian makes it's presence known shortly thereafter and adds a lot of additional complexity to what was already a pretty complex straight Va. I understand the complaints that this is too Va-heavy, but IMO many VaOr blends are heavily weighted the other way (which doesn't make them bad, however-GL Pease's Cairo, which I feel is the opposite of Voriental in that the Oriental leaf dominates, is one of my favorites). This has a flavor profile unlike anything I've smoked yet other than the base blend (Simply Red), and I feel like the Oriental leaf is present and known for most of the bowl.
I was pre-destined to like this, however. Simply Red is my #1 favorite ribbon-cut straight VA (never had the opportunity to try McClelland 5100), and I am a lover of VaOrs, so any addition of an oriental leaf to Simply Red was going to be a winner in my book.
I was pre-destined to like this, however. Simply Red is my #1 favorite ribbon-cut straight VA (never had the opportunity to try McClelland 5100), and I am a lover of VaOrs, so any addition of an oriental leaf to Simply Red was going to be a winner in my book.
Dan Tobacco Ascanian No 1 or Sunday Picnic. I smoked my second bowl of Simply VaOr yesterday. I really like it as it is. Unique and very good.
Ernie asked me to post the following:
Regarding Simply VOriental- This was my attempt to embrace a genre that I have been very unfamiliar with. I never cared for the sour character of good Oriental that some folks love. My intention here was to understand it for myself without throwing a whole lot of sour at myself at once and perhaps offer a bridge to those also interested in their first go with such a mixture.
While the release was a soaring success (we sold a great deal of tobacco in a small amount of time and the whole picking/packing/shipping process was smooth silk and the feedback has been largely phenomenal!) The one thing I need to comment on is the whole "Unicorn/UnObtanium" issue that I have been giving a lot of thought to lately- The perception of Rarity/Scarcity should not be the driving factor behind buying a whole lotta' somethin' we don't know if we'll like! At least one customer who purchased a pound of Simply VOriental expressed his immense displeasure at receiving a blend that was "not as billed". I'm not sure I could have been clearer. The description plainly states a "hint of that Oriental Funk" Nowhere does it state that this blend is an "Oriental bomb." He also questioned whether the blend was even much different from Simply Red. I assure you that with Prilep, Matured Red , Stoved and Bright added to 20% Simply Red it is a very different animal.
Regarding Simply VOriental- This was my attempt to embrace a genre that I have been very unfamiliar with. I never cared for the sour character of good Oriental that some folks love. My intention here was to understand it for myself without throwing a whole lot of sour at myself at once and perhaps offer a bridge to those also interested in their first go with such a mixture.
While the release was a soaring success (we sold a great deal of tobacco in a small amount of time and the whole picking/packing/shipping process was smooth silk and the feedback has been largely phenomenal!) The one thing I need to comment on is the whole "Unicorn/UnObtanium" issue that I have been giving a lot of thought to lately- The perception of Rarity/Scarcity should not be the driving factor behind buying a whole lotta' somethin' we don't know if we'll like! At least one customer who purchased a pound of Simply VOriental expressed his immense displeasure at receiving a blend that was "not as billed". I'm not sure I could have been clearer. The description plainly states a "hint of that Oriental Funk" Nowhere does it state that this blend is an "Oriental bomb." He also questioned whether the blend was even much different from Simply Red. I assure you that with Prilep, Matured Red , Stoved and Bright added to 20% Simply Red it is a very different animal.
I think it is a fine blend. Prilep is not a commonly used Oriental. As I recall, McClleland’s series of “Grand Orientals” didn’t include anything featuring Prilep.
I applaud Ernie's desire and efforts to stretch the envelope and try new things. I can't think of any out right dogs and most have been a huge success. I bought 5 pounds of Ernie's TOY sight unseen last year that was a VaOr. No regrets other than perhaps I should bought 8. I'll buy a pound of Ernie's new blends just about every time. It will be a cold day in hell when I call him up afterwards to whine.
I appreciate his thoughts on the unobtanium hoarding situation, but unfortunately I don't think that behavior is going to change for the better. It seems to be becoming more prevalent, if anything, and affecting more blends and brands. It is probably a good thing for the pipe tobacco industry though.
I don't suppose you could convince him to either (1) make more, so that it doesn't sell out in 20mins (BEST OPTION)
. Or (2) to do secondary/alternative releases with a 4oz limit or something? Then all of the guys buying a pound will likely pass on 4oz (or at least be limited to 4oz), but a lot more people could get some to try who might want to. Hold 10lbs aside and release it the following week at 4oz limit... He'll likely get 40 more orders that spend enough to qualify for free shipping.
Also - how does one get ahold of this release schedule? I'm a late adopter of Ernie's stuff but it seems great so far!
Sign up for his newsletter on the site.
Here is a screen shot from an email that was sent out several weeks ago. Hope it helps!
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