June Pax Tobacco Crawl with New Head Blender for C&D - Jeremy Reeves

[newbroom]

echie, right on! The tin note does diminish to something less insistent, and I agree with you that the bowl develops nicely. I can agree with the caramel notes, but haven't noticed the dark chocolate, yet.

Very nice write up.

 

[echie]

newbroom thanks! Try to look for it next time. Specifically, dark (of the 90%, not sweet kind) chocolate melting in the pot. I went back to the tobacco description and found nothing about it, and nobody has mentioned chocolate yet, so perhaps I'm imagining things. But then again, my wife came up with the same description, without any hints. Dunno, perhaps we're both going mad

 

[jpmcwjr]

OK, total noob to the process of trying to taste: First impression was maple syrup and waffles, but that may have been power of suggestion by others. Ten minutes later I was sure the taste was Log Cabin (ersatz maple) Syrup. There is another taste I don't know how to describe. But smooth is a word that comes to mind, (not taste, still looking for a word).
I am smoking in one of the smallest bowls I have, a Bruyere St. Cloud bought recently.

 

[rblood]

echie, you may be right about the dark chocolate. When I asked my wife about the room note she said cranberry and dark chocolate. I don't pick it up but obviously some do.

 

[jpmcwjr]

This just in! Pirate Kake is it!! Let me explain: I've been looking for a tobacco that matches my (very) old Burlington Arcade, and Pirate Kake is the closest yet. An unexpected and serendipitous find.
Thank you, Jeremy, Pax, Brass and 4noggin.
Is it possible to give the nicotine percentage of these tobaccos?

 

[jkrug]

Well I've smoked a bit over a third of the tin and must say I really enjoy this blend. Best results so far have been in my Peterson Aran Bulldog. This pipe seems to expand the flavours he best. Nothing but positive comments from others with regard to the room note. Two people have mentioned a note of chocolate although I have neither tasted or smelled it myself. I put the tin away once in my drawer with the lid not sealed correctly and boy did the drawer smell good next time I opened it. Very happy with this blend and I'm looking forward to trying the next one now. Overall a very good experience. ::

 

[beastkhk]

This just in! Pirate Kake is it!!

SPOILERS!

 

[jeremyreeves]

Hey Everyone! I am glad to see so many positive responses to Autumn Evening. I have really enjoyed reading and re-reading the thread as new posts pop up. Keep 'em coming!
As Newbroom pointed out, Autumn Evening is our best selling blend, but the real reason that I picked it is because, well, I think Autumn Evening is excellent.

I personally don't find myself drawn to many overt aromatics, and I have tried all kinds of tobaccos in this category, but to me, Autumn Evening is, as many of you have indicated in your posts, quite beguiling. It strikes, for me, just the right balance between sweetness and richness. It is equal parts fun and serene to smoke. It never fails me.
I have not had the tongue-tingle experience that some of you have mentioned, but I do know that AE tastes so good that I have to really watch my pace with it or it can become a little bitter and all the sweetness goes away. But I have always found AE to be incredibly forgiving, and when I slow back down, the warm, round, maple and milk chocolate sweetness come right back in focus and the tobacco seems no worse for the wear.
I hope everyone is gearing up for the FOS portion of the Crawl, next week. i am looking forward to reading all of your reviews and insights. What a treat this has been. And it ain't over yet!
Cheers

 

[echie]

Aha! Chocolate!

 

[echie]

rblood: cranberry? My wife mentioned "berries" as well, though I couldn't find it. The plot thickens!

 

[newbroom]

Jeremy:

I do know that AE tastes so good that I have to really watch my pace with it or it can become a little bitter

I was going to suggest that that was what might be happening for some who mentioned any burn, as it is typical to oversmoke a really tasty blend, which AE is and becomes more so throughout a bowlful.

I can foresee another of these featuring Cornell and Diehl before the end of this year, maybe even more.

A month's worth of Pease blends, or maybe a month's worth of just the Burleys #1=4, MIGHT be something we could have fun with.

 

[bigjoe]

I have to really watch my pace with it or it can become a little bitter and all the sweetness goes away. But I have always found AE to be incredibly forgiving, and when I slow back down, the warm, round, maple and milk chocolate sweetness come right back in focus and the tobacco seems no worse for the wear.

I liked keeping things right in the middle of that, you know that one pancake that you weren't paying close enough attention to and it got just a little over done.

 

[echie]

To skip a bit ahead: I ordered the pax package from 4noggins, including the 5 O'Clock shadow, even though I already had a tin of it. When it arrived, I was surprised to see that the cover art had changed. The previous one had an anguished "Brazil", or perhaps Metropolis feel to it, while the new one features a tie-wearing silhouette enjoying a smoke by a lake, observing a city contour at a distance.
Jeremy, could you tell us a bit about the change?

Edit, just to mention: the old one is on the right, the new one on the left.

 

[jeremyreeves]

Big Joe, thanks for your comment on that. I do occasionally, throughout a bowl, test the heat and bitterness tolerances, as I smoke any of our blends, partly to learn the character of a blend, to gain insight into any improvements or inconsistencies I find over time, or looking for new flavors or inspiration. I really like stoved Virginias for this toasted, roasted, baked, caramelized or even slightly charred flavor that you are referring to in your cadence preference/flavor preference regarding AE. Based on your flavor preference in this case, I would suggest that you try Blockade Runner, Poplar Camp, and Yorktown. Each of these blends has a stoved element. Poplar Camp and Yorktown are comprised of Stoved and Unstoved Red and Bright VA's, Poplar Camp including the addition Perique, and Blockade Runner beginning the stoving process of both Red and Bright VA using components that have been soaking in Rum for seven days, and follows the stoving with 2 hours under extreme pressure while the tobacco is still hot and quite damp. I think that you may find a lot to love in these C&D offerings! If you try them, please let me know what you think.

 

[jeremyreeves]

Newbroom, I think that sounds splendid! We have a lot of cool stuff to try and I would love to do one of these again soon.
Thanks for suggesting it!
Of course that will depend on what the organizers and other participants think as well... :wink:

 

[jeremyreeves]

Echie, thanks for pointing this out!
Yes, the label has changed, but the blend has not. (Not without some time in the cellar, anyway.) I love the new artwork. Your comparison of the original FOS label to Terry Gilliam's film "Brazil" is spot on, and while I love the movie, I am just not sure that dystopian element speaks to how I feel when I smoke Five O' Clock Shadow. I like the imagery in dystopian novels and films and I think the original label artwork is cool looking, but there was a stark, and forlorn tone to original artwork, and as I really enjoy FOV and so do a lot of others. I certainly do not feel that there is anything stark or forlorn about that blend at all!
The new labels were designed by Calvin Miller at Laudisi, and were intended to make the tin as inviting on the outside, as the blend inside it is enticing. The whole series is really good and each of the blends had similarly themed artwork before, and now have updated artwork that are thematically similar to the new FOS label.
Thanks again for the question!

 

[dmcmtk]

Ok, I'll chime in. Upon first opening the tin, the most noticeable aroma and taste was the maple. As others have said, the tobacco, in terms of moisture, was ready to smoke without any drying. A smooth, flavorful, and pleasant aromatic. At this point I've gone through half the tin. Now the more noticeable aroma and taste is the chocolate others have also mentioned, with the maple much less apparent. Not at all to detract from Autumn Evening, but for a maple taste, I think I prefer P&W Vermont Maple. The P&W is more finicky in regards to needing more drying time to enjoy it. As it stands, I may take some of the Autumn Evening and mix it with some 1-Q for a sort of chocolate and vanilla taste maybe. Without question, Autumn Evening is made with quality tobacco, with no bite to speak of for me. I should say, that while a few years ago I smoked mostly aros, my tastes have changed. At the moment, amongst my "readies" are two Virginias, two Va/Pers, two Balkan/English, and of course one Aro, which at the moment is Autumn Evening.

 

[echie]

Jeremy: I thought the old artwork meant to say "You've been at work all day. Exhausted? Had enough? Like you're trapped in a dystopia? Relax, time to smoke a pipe!".
And yes, Brazil is one of my favourite movies (I like dystopian scenarios in general) , so I quite enjoyed the link there. But I can see why that might confuse the general audience
I'll leave my other comments on Five O'Clock Shadow to Friday.

 

[brass]

Friday, June 12 - Kickoff

for

Cornell & Diehl - Five O'Clock Shadow

(Working Man's Series)

​

From TobaccoReviews.Com
Red Virginias and perique, pressed into a cake with a pinch of dark-fired Kentucky for an extra bit of depth, C&D's "Five O'Clock Shadow" is blended to provide that simple sort of treat we could all use when the workday is, finally, over.
Brand Cornell & Diehl

Blend Type Virginia Based

Contents Kentucky, Perique, Virginia

Flavoring None

Cut Krumble Kake

Packaging 2 oz. & 8 oz. Tin

Country US

Production Currently available

Product Image

Strength

Medium

Flavoring

None Detected

Taste

Medium, Full

Room Note

Pleasant, Pleasant to Tolerable

Favorite Of 1 Users
3.6

5 reviews Reviews

4 star: 3

3 star: 2

2 star: 0

1 star: 0
STRENGTH FLAVORING TASTE ROOM NOTE

 

[brass]

Regarding Artwork
I've noticed that Hearth and Home have gone to uniform artwork for all its blends as has GL Pease. To me, this smells of the work of an MBA who had a bright idea on how to cut costs. Or perhaps a marketing major, who wanted to introduce uniform branding.
In any case, I bet those decisions were not made by longtime pipe smokers. A pipe smoker would understand that the art is part of the identity of a particular blend. Many of us collect tins for their utility and beauty. I wish that blenders would all go to round tins, both for their functionality and esthetics.
Cigar smokers feel the same way about cigar bands and boxes. Cigar art is a class unto itself.
Too often, well intentioned business managers, miss the soul of the product. I hope Hearth and Home and GL Pease commission original art for each blend.
I know we don't smoke the tins but I do enjoy them for their own sake. Tin art is one of the enjoyable facets of our pipe smoking hobby.
Pax