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

[rblood]

I am with you on the art work being part of the experience brass. How many of us admire the tin, read it over an over while enjoying a pipe full? I know I do.
All round tins would be great too, but even some of the drug store pouches have their charm. I would even go so far as to say bring back the painted tins - but, that's probably not going to happen...
C&D has had some of the best tin art out there in my opinion. I am sure developing unique packaging cannot be cheep, but packaging does sell product. Otherwise why not just run off a bunch of Avery labels with a name on it, right

 

[okiescout]

Autumn Evening smokes all right, probably not crazy about it because maple is not one of my big flavors. Did not bite and moisture content was just about right maybe a tad damp. If someone likes maple and aromatic tobacco I think they will like this one. It does taste like maple and when you open the tin the whole room has a maple scent. This is the first maple I have ever smoked so I cannot judge it against any others. It smokes smooth with no bite for me.
I like the new pipe, Brass. Military mounts are cool.

 

[okiescout]

In regards to the art on the tins, I believe it sells. Purchased a large tin of their Christmas blend, last years, I think, anyway it was a great smoke but I kept the tin for room art. If I was a Latakia fan I would buy that crazy duck too :rofl:
Maybe because I grew up in a generation of awesome comic book art, cereal box kids, and cracker jacks, looking for decoder rings and you name it, but I personally love to see good art work on the tins, and if I am contemplating buying a blend, that might just tip the sale.

 

[cmdrmcbragg]

Five o'clock Shadow is great!
The crumble kake came apart no problem and packed easily into my calabash. It took light without issue and I puffed on it while reading a couple stories from Clive Barker's "Books of Blood." I recommend them if you like horror or just good short stories.
Some say they dislike or can't even smoke Red VAs, but I love red VAs. They're my jam, my jelly, my peanut butter and my peanuts. I could smoke red VAs with wreck less abandon. Needless to say, I give this blend two thumbs up. It burns slow, smokes wonderfully and is right within my wheelhouse. It needed no drying time, just straight to business.
Fantastic blend, C&D!

 

[jkrug]

Sounds good cmndr.
I cracked my tin yesterday to check it out and give it a sniff or two. The tin note was nice and the cake itself looks interesting. This will be my first experience with Krumble Kake. I plan on smoking a bowl this morning when I get home from work. A good way to end my day before heading off to bed. ::

 

[brass]

Wrapping up with Autumn Evening​

While aromatics are my least favorite type of tobaccos, I believe that you must judge a product on it's own merits against objective standards for that product. I used to evaluate software and IT products for a living. I may not enjoy working with spreadsheets but when reviewing a spreadsheet product, the goal was to determine if the product met or exceeded the standards of a good spreadsheet. Any of you remember a killer application called SuperCalc?
So, in the object sense, Autumn Evening gets a 3.9. The tin note was fragrant and delivered on its promise of maple, chocolate, and vanilla. I never did pick up on the whisky's that were used.The blend was complex for its class. It burned well - in some cases, I enjoyed a one light bowl. I would say that it burned a little fast but perhaps I was smoking it a little fast.
I got a little tongue bite but perhaps, again, I was smoking a little fast. I'm also a bit sensitive to Virginias. If I'm allergic to peanuts, I can't downgrade a snickers bar because it has nuts.
It performed well in small bowls and large - I didn't find a magic pipe shape or size for the Autumn Evening.
The room note was delightful - no complaints from the wife.
Continuing with the food metaphor, my balkan blends are like great stews, my English blends like steak, my American blend are great burgers. Autumn Evening is my Creme Brulee.

 

[mranglophile]

I have never done anything like this (reviewing) but thanks for having me.
I had smoked AE before(and liked it for an aro) as it had been a sample many times at Smokingpipes.com but was happy to get a tin of it and see how it fared now My wife instantly recognized it, she said "is that the Starbucks tobacco?". She calls it that due to the tin aroma which she said smelled like the flavored Starbucks flavored Kerig drinks at work. She smells all the tobacco as I get it and has a great olfactory memory and commented on how much she had liked the room note last year when I had last smoked it. Like everyone else noted it was perfect right out of the tine, and I usually like my tobacco on the drier side. I have smoked half this tin in various sizes and like others I found it performed well in all. I normally smoke British/Lakeland style flakes and Virginias but started out with Capt. Black and don't mind flavorings if done well. This blend keeps all the tobacco flavor and I only lightly taste the maple, I didn't find it cloying like some had mentioned but then again I like lakelands. I had seen videos where Jeremy had mentioned the Cavendish process they use to make it and it is more cased than topped and I think they helps the light flavor and helps the tobacco shine. I still find retro haling un-natural but I certainly tasted more maple when I tried. It burns great and only had to relight once out off a dozen bowls. I am an ex cigarette smoker and it smoked to fast I did get some of that "smoking section at IHOP's" going but like others, once Ilet it cool it was fine again. I would really like to smoke in Autumn, I live in WA and it seems like it would be great for rainy dog walking. I would give it 3 out of 4 stars...will continue to smoke but on certain occasions.
Thanks for getting me out of my comfort zone, this is a lot of fun

 

[brass]

Five O'clock Shadow​

Now, this is what I'm talking about. I love flakes, slices, coins and especially, krumble kakes. I believe that pressed pipe blends are deeper and richer than ribbon cuts. I like prepping them, and I like the control I have while prepping. I can cut and rub out, leaving course or fine ribbons. I can cube cut for slow smokes. I can use a knife for precise work, or if I'm in a hurry, just pinch off a piece from the bar and crumble the tobacco with my fingers to the desired consistency. I can slice off as needed or crumble the whole cake and store in the can for a quick and easy load later.
Five O'Clock Shadow has that wholesome smell of good, smoke-cured tobaccos upon cracking the tin. I sliced off a couple of strips using a little bamboo cutting board and a kayaker's rescue knife. I rubbed out the first strip and loaded a small Peterson's tankard. It took a couple of charring lights to get it going but I find that typical of kakes and flakes.
I was rewarded with a masculine smoke - no dainty, sweet aromas here. Once lit, it burned very well in the small tankard and I had no need for relights until reaching the bottom dregs. The smoke was heavy, copious and viscous - I'd say almost oily but that has a bad connotation. This was a SASTISFYING smoke.
The description says that this is a Virginian/Perique blend with a little dark fired. I'm thinking a little dark fired goes a long way. I picked up on the burley easily. To my untrained palate, the Perique took a background role. Or, since both Kentucky Dark Fired and Perique are cured over open wood fires, they merge to form a completely new taste. Jeremy's input on this would be welcome. Whichever, the combination is delicious.
I later rubbed out a slice and smoked it in a size 3 or so billiard with equally good results. Before work this morning, I cube cut a strip and packed my new pot, pictured above, a giant size 5 or 6. The results were mixed. It was hard keeping it lit in the big pot but did fine after frequent re-lighting during the first ten minutes. Once going, however, I was compensated with a richer smoke than experienced with the smaller pipes. I think I will rub out my next bowl for this big pipe and see if it works any better.
I've read that flakes and kakes perform better in small pipes. Your comments on this ongoing debate would be welcome. I do think a more narrow chamber is easier to manage than the wider bowled pots.
I also note that kakes are so dense that I think you get fewer bowls per ounce than you do with cut blends. At least my kake is disappearing fast.
I'm looking forward to my week with Five O'Clock Shadow.
Thank you all for your contributions. Mr. AngloPhile and other newcomers, whether to pipes or the crawl, your input is as valued as those of old timers. Fresh voices and insights are welcome. Don't hesitate to share your opinion. Without feedback from fellow crawlers, this exercise would be pointless.
Pax

 

[rblood]

Five O’clock Shadow:
I was really looking forward to this one, being a burley, VA and perique lover.
On cracking the tin the note suggests a hearty blend with notes of dry (not so sweet) hay and what I would describe as the “thick” sent of the cavendish and dark fired. There is a bit of a sharp / fermented / pepper note which I assume is the perique and/or dark fired.
The cake was just a little damper than I like, but I did not allow it to dry before packing – this did not seem to hamper the burn at all however. (Note, after two days in the open tin, it is just about right for me and will get transferred to a ball jar.)
Being a crumble cake you can choose just how fine you want to rub this out (as brass mentioned) and I rubbed it out very lightly leaving it “chunky” and stuffed it in a tall, small diameter billiard.

Lights easily and off you go with little need to fuss over it. My first reaction was how thick the taste was and how much smoke the blend produced.
The taste is that of fermenting hay, on top of what I can only describe as a thick bass-like earthy taste with very little sweetness. There is also a light black pepper taste (which is more of a feeling on the tongue and in nose exhale than a taste).

I was struck by just how balanced everything was all the way through the bowel with no one thing dominating but everything softly playing its part - very consistent throughout the bowl.
It is a hearty and satisfying smoke that at times reminded me of cigars. It almost seemed like the love child of Old Joe Krantz, HH Old Dark Fired and Brown Bogie (which I do mix when feeling the need to be kicked in the pants).

Wrapping up, FOS requires very little thought – no fussing with it to get it to burn right and really no surprises in the tastes – just light up and subconsciously puff away and let you mind wonder. Burns dry with few relights, nic was on the high medium side, the taste is full bodied and the room note will probably not be the favorite of a non-smoker.
Update: I did smoke this again in a Peterson 999 – low fat bowl. I did not enjoy this nearly as much in that pipe. It burned hot and harsh like a cheap cigar no matter how I paced it. So either this blend likes a smaller diameter bowl for me or I may have just been a little off for that smoke.

 

[jpmcwjr]

My first two bowls of FO'S leaves me wondering if burleys are just not right for me. Maybe the nicotine is higher than I can take. It burns fine, not too fast not too slow, but it's easy for me to get light headed, and I am still trying to learn to just put it down and walk away for a bit before i feel really nauseated.

 

[brass]

rblood, thanks for including the pipe descriptions. I think it helps to what kind of pipe is used when testing a blend.
JPMCWJR, this blend is high on nicotine, I think. I'm not nicotine sensitive, but I got a little adrenaline like shot from my morning smoke.
You might try this with a small bowl pipe.
Pax

 

[newbroom]

Only two bowls into my tin of 5 O'clock Shadow, so as with any blend it's too early to make much of a judgement.

My first came after opening the tin last evening. I don't know if it's me or what, but I thought the tin note was very subdued and reclusive.

The first bowl was done in a pipe I know smokes anything with aplomb, and is fairly large. Charring was smooth and promising. True light begins the journey more earnestly, and this tobacco is earnest. Pax called it a masculine smoke, and my first thoughts were, 'this is a man's smoke'. So smooth and even that you might not immediately realize that it's got some pretty good punch. I got half way through and let it go out. An hour later I finished the bowl and it was still smooth and I'm thinking, it doesn' TASTE like a cigar, but the way you appreciate it is as if it were a fine cigar.

This a.m. I looked in the bowl where I'd rubbed out that first flake I'd managed to cut and still leave the cake intact, and there was an amount that looked as if it might not be enough for anything, but I put it into a small Eaton cob and tapped it down a little, till it was only about halfway up the bowl. That thing smoked for over a half hour and delivered its smooth richness all the way to the bottom. I was afraid I would smoke down past the projected stem, burning it in the process, that small amount lasted so long. I wished for more.

 

[rblood]

newbroom, interesting comment - "...it doesn't TASTE like a cigar, but the way you appreciate it is as if it were a fine cigar."
I can't put my finger on why it reminds me of cigars. At first (see my comments above) I thought cigar taste or maybe because it produces such a thick full smoke or...? There is something familiar in this blend I just can't figure out.
In spite of my first impressions above, there may be a lot more complexity here than meets the eye.

 

[newbroom]

Third bowl in...I go with the same small Eaton cob and this time I fill it right up. This blend is quickly growing on me. It burns like a dream and its flavors are melded to produce no bite whatsoever. I can see why it's Jeremy's first choice lately, as he stated in the video produced by Public Piper. WOW. Good stuff.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Thanks, brass. Small bowls it will be!

 

[brass]

I've been smoking FOS first thing in the morning and for my first evening smoke. I think this blend has legs. Still enjoying the full, satisfying blend. It does seem to have a little more nic kick than other blends.
Just a side note, I wanted something a little different last night, and found myself reaching for Autumn Evening. I don't think of myself as an aro fan and I don't like most but in two months I found myself very fond of the aro picks: H&H Classic Burley Kake and now, Autumn Evening.

 

[newbroom]

I've noticed some little paper bits in tins with cakes. I imagine there's some sort of cutter along the process that cuts multiple layers of the paper liners and that maybe not all tins but some catch some of the tiny pieces from the cutting, folding, and placement process. I had more in a tin of Private Stock than the FOS, but there was some in the FOS.

 

[beastkhk]

FOS
I love crumble cakes, crumble cakes do not always love me. I really like how the flavors blend together. A majority of cakes I have worked with though can seem tough to rub out and want to burn hot for me. That being said, FOS is probably one of the best burning crumble cakes I have encountered. It breaks apart easy, rubs out easy, takes flame easy, burns cool, and all the way down the bowl.(average amount of re-lights)
Nicotine is there, but not overwhelming.
Flavors seem to be developing more and more as I smoke this blend. The first bowl was kind of lackluster for me, I could tell it was a well balanced blend and quality tobacco was used, but nothing really came to the forefront for me. It tasted like I would have envisioned based on the description on the mix(and as far as I am concerned that is a good thing) The flavors seemed to all meld together, it reminded me of when a blend starts to transition between flavors, but it didn't; that was flavor. Playing around, I did find it neat that on a normal draw I could pull out the sweetness of the virginias followed by the zip of the perique/kentucky; but if I retrohaled, the flavor started with the zip of the perique/kentucky and finished with the sweetness of the virginias. It was a fully enjoyable smoke, but struck me more as one for smoking vs. pulling apart to review. That was the first bowl though.
Subsequent bowls have provided more and more distinction between the different tobaccos. There is still an overall meld, but now each flavor takes it turn to come in and out of the forefront(it is a nice sweet-spicy-savory transition). I don't know if it is due to airing out / drying out a little, or if my palette is adjusting, but I do find this more and more enjoyable with each bowl. I really enjoy the retrohale on this blend, gives just a little bit of a burn to let you know it is there.
The tin note is amazing. A nice, deep, rich tobacco note others had mentioned previously. My wife gave it a smell and thought it smelled and looked delicious.(Like a meaty brownie)
The room note was not as welcomed, seemed to permeate the air and linger similar to a cigar would. This was mentioned during a car ride, I am currently smoking in the living room and with the windows open nothing has been said.

 

[jkrug]

Just getting around to posting my thoughts on this blend now. I smoked my first bowls on Friday but was undecided on what I thought of Five O'clock Shadow. This is my first experience with a krumble kake tobacco. I've smoked 7 or 8 bowls thus far.
I smoked my first bowl Friday morning at 7 am when I got home from work. I found the tin note to be mild and pleasant with a hint of grassiness and raisins. I packed a wee bowl in a Bruyere St Claude Dux Depose billiard. I rubbed it out nicely and noticed it was a bit too moist but didn't let it dry as I was anxious to hit the sack. That was a mistake as it led to a gurgling pipe in short order. I also found that I had trouble keeping the pipe lit? My first impression of this tobaccos flavour was not overly impressive...I found it to be ashy and cigarette-ish. I got down to the half way point and was still struggling to keep the pipe lit so I decided to call it quits cuz I was getting cranky and not enjoying this smoke at all. I set the pipe down and headed off to bed.
Later when I got up I finished off the last half of the bowl. It stayed lit better now after sitting all day which was good. I still however wasn't crazy about the taste...still ashy and cigarette like with a tingly spiciness of the Perique on my tongue. As someone else mentioned, this was more of a feeling than an actual flavour.
I brought it to work with me that night and smoked a couple more bowls. I made sure to dry it a bit before smoking and this took care of the gurgling. I still had trouble keeping my pipe lit for about the first third of each bowl. Not sure if perhaps this is the way I'm packing it being new to krumble kake? Once I got past the first third the pipe stayed lit better and required fewer relights. At this point I'm still not crazy about the taste or the aftertaste.
I've smoked a couple bowls each day since Friday in different pipes with varying bowl sizes. I've also tried different packing techniques, firm, not so firm and gravity packing. The results have been about the same as far as relights go and up to this point this blend doesn't seem to suit my tastes. The flavour is very consistent and even from start to finish and the best results came from my Peterson Tankard which has a narrowish bowl diameter.
I plan to keep smoking this for the rest of the week and try it in a few different pipes including a couple cobs to see if it grows on me some? Time will tell.

 

[brass]

Great reviews, guys, whether FOS is for you or not. I'm liking it a lot. The dense flavor reminds me almost of a burley, rather than Virginians. To me, the figuring out what you like and don't like is one of the benefits of our crawl.