Since I'm on a "sleeper" blend kick tonight, I figured I'd do some reviews of blends from Low Country, a small blending company that seems to fly under most smokers' radar despite having some of the finest products on the market today.
Low Country Tobaccos is the "house brand" of SmokingPipes.com in South Carolina and is manufactured/tinned by Cornell and Diehl (the same basic arrangement, I presume, that C&D has with GL Pease, Capt. Earle's, etc). They have four blends that I know of, and I've tried three of them. Each of them is distinctive and absolutely top-notch insofar as its ingredients go. Qualitatively, these are on par with any of Pease's blends or CD's tinned mixtures.
COOPER
This is a broken English flake, similar in presentation to Pease's Old London series (Meridian, Lagonda, etc). This blend straddles the line between a "Balkan" and an "English" blend. The latakia is just on the heavy side of medium, which is where I prefer it to be -- almost but not quite dominant. The other orientals used add a bit of spiciness, a bit of incense, and a sweet/smoky counterpoint to the Cyprian leaf. But what really sets this blend off, I think, are the red virginias. They are, in a word, impeccable. Bold, sweet, and very deep. They make a profound statement, and their interaction with the other tobaccos yields a subtle complexity that you really need a large bowl to enjoy.
In his review of this stuff, Pipestud described it as being the "best blend of this type" to come around in a very long time, and I agree. Pease and Oulette get a lot attention and respect -- and they have earned every bit of it -- but whoever blended this masterpiece created a blend that will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their best. Read the reviews over on TR -- it doesn't seem like many people have tried this compared to a lot of the better-known blends, but it seems like most of the guys who have tried it feel the same as I do. If you are into latakia blends, then you owe it to yourself to give this a whirl.
SANTEE
This is a light, mildly sweet apple aromatic built around a solid foundation of light virginias. There is not a hint of burley or cavendish in this stuff -- just virginias and whatever kind of apple flavor they use. The lack of burley and cavendish means this blend doesn't behave like most aromatics. It's not wet or goopy, and it doesn't reek of chemicals. Think Autumn Evening only with lighter virginias and apple rather than maple. If you have been looking for an aromatic but dislike most of the ones you've tried, give this a whirl.
WACCAMAW
This is an interesting little blending experiment that basically comes down to adding Izmir to a Va/Per. It's not one I smoke a lot, but that's mainly because I'm not a fan of Izmir (I love orientals, but it's my least favorite of the bunch, I think, especially when there's no latakia). This is a very high-quality blend. The Va/Per component looks, smells and tastes remarkably like Filmore, only with a light incense note added by the oriental. This stuff has a small but loyal following, and if you enjoy Va/Per blends with a twist then I would highly recommend this.
Low Country Tobaccos is the "house brand" of SmokingPipes.com in South Carolina and is manufactured/tinned by Cornell and Diehl (the same basic arrangement, I presume, that C&D has with GL Pease, Capt. Earle's, etc). They have four blends that I know of, and I've tried three of them. Each of them is distinctive and absolutely top-notch insofar as its ingredients go. Qualitatively, these are on par with any of Pease's blends or CD's tinned mixtures.
COOPER
This is a broken English flake, similar in presentation to Pease's Old London series (Meridian, Lagonda, etc). This blend straddles the line between a "Balkan" and an "English" blend. The latakia is just on the heavy side of medium, which is where I prefer it to be -- almost but not quite dominant. The other orientals used add a bit of spiciness, a bit of incense, and a sweet/smoky counterpoint to the Cyprian leaf. But what really sets this blend off, I think, are the red virginias. They are, in a word, impeccable. Bold, sweet, and very deep. They make a profound statement, and their interaction with the other tobaccos yields a subtle complexity that you really need a large bowl to enjoy.
In his review of this stuff, Pipestud described it as being the "best blend of this type" to come around in a very long time, and I agree. Pease and Oulette get a lot attention and respect -- and they have earned every bit of it -- but whoever blended this masterpiece created a blend that will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their best. Read the reviews over on TR -- it doesn't seem like many people have tried this compared to a lot of the better-known blends, but it seems like most of the guys who have tried it feel the same as I do. If you are into latakia blends, then you owe it to yourself to give this a whirl.
SANTEE
This is a light, mildly sweet apple aromatic built around a solid foundation of light virginias. There is not a hint of burley or cavendish in this stuff -- just virginias and whatever kind of apple flavor they use. The lack of burley and cavendish means this blend doesn't behave like most aromatics. It's not wet or goopy, and it doesn't reek of chemicals. Think Autumn Evening only with lighter virginias and apple rather than maple. If you have been looking for an aromatic but dislike most of the ones you've tried, give this a whirl.
WACCAMAW
This is an interesting little blending experiment that basically comes down to adding Izmir to a Va/Per. It's not one I smoke a lot, but that's mainly because I'm not a fan of Izmir (I love orientals, but it's my least favorite of the bunch, I think, especially when there's no latakia). This is a very high-quality blend. The Va/Per component looks, smells and tastes remarkably like Filmore, only with a light incense note added by the oriental. This stuff has a small but loyal following, and if you enjoy Va/Per blends with a twist then I would highly recommend this.
