Yo lad
RussO wasn't able to attend the last Lehigh Valley PC meeting, but his colleague DanC (Gabrieli Pipes) brought a packet of this cherry blend. Although the late departed Middleton Cherry Blend was one of my first blends back in the '60s, I don't think I finished the pouch. When I discovered Peretti's and Leavitt & Pierce, and also Dunhills and Sobranie 759, the pouches of various blends obtainable at the school bookstore became orphans, despite the obvious appeal of the pleasant room notes. But then, I puffed for my own pleasure, the sensibilities of chicks and bystanders be damned.
That said, I sample all sorts of blends just to see what's out there, and when Russ developed the Missouri Meerschaum series, I thought his Great Dane was the best cherry, and for that matter, fruit flavored blend I had ever come across. The cherry let the tobacco flavors come through, and yet the cherry flavor itself in the smoke was consistent with the tin (bag) note. The cherry flavor also didn't disappear at first light - it remained present throughout the bowl.
This Lane Dark Red is more dramatic in its cherryness, and it similarly doesn't fade as the bowl progresses. The cherry taste was fairly complex, with notes of vanilla adding other dimensions of flavor. One salient characteristic is the smoothness of the whole smoke, with a full black cavendish character. There was no chemical taste, which I sometimes find in lesser aromatics. I'm betting you will like this blend.
hp
les
