Mapacho as Strong as Twist

[cobguy]

Here's what's coming...one side to each of you. Be kind to yourself. [8O]

Wow ... Thanks Stan!
I work with a girl whose from Peru and she told me a couple of stories about her Grandfather using Mapacho. She also referred to it as "Amazon Tobacco" and said it's "really strong sh&t". :P Anyway, she's going back to Peru in December and said she'd bring some varieties back. So, if others want to try this there should be more coming.
Also, FWIW, I was pronouncing it muh-PA-cho and she said it like mah-pa-CHO.
Alright ... get back to you as soon as I return to my body! ::

 

[beastinview]

So, what does it taste like?

Within the next week or so I'll have had the opportunity to partake of three different strains of N. rustica, and I'll write up a report and link here.

 

[cobguy]

Okay ... I've spent a little time with the Mapacho now and can say I like it a lot.
Besides the samples that mcitinner sent, I also received a different kind from jitterbugdude to compare.
The straight Mapacho is my favorite and I can see stocking some of this away. It is most close in flavor to a dark air cured burley crossed with a cigar leaf. Actually, it reminded me quite a bit of Fronto / Grabba leaf. There are deep, earthy tones but with ever-present natural floral notes. The sample from JBD was slightly more floral and almost reminded me of Semois. If they make a version of Mapacho that's been fire cured and has a smoky flavor, that would be great also.
The clove and cinnamon version is a much different story. Strong, almost astringent, flavors bordering on soapy and perfumed dominate this smoke. My tongue was left feeling "coated" with clove oil and reminded me of those Indian clove cigarettes that people used to smoke. I'm going to turn this one into snuff and see how that goes.
Overall, the nicotine hit is definitely there but not the monster I was expecting. If you are used to full, strong blends then this will sit right at home in the rotation.
Thanks again for this opportunity ... much appreciated! ::

 

[beastinview]

Interesting how similar our experiences were, cobguy!
I actually was surprised by how good the stuff was. I was expecting a harsh, novelty smoke, of an unusual leaf. What I got was a very robust, flavorful tobacco that I quite honestly enjoyed.
The nicotine is quite strong, but almost all of the blends I regularly smoke are consistently ranked as about as strong as it gets on the nic scale. The N. Rustica leaves are at this level, but not significantly beyond it--they are still smokeable for me--which is a good thing.
Full reviews: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/exploring-n-rustic-sacred-cornplanter-amp-3-kinds-of-mapacho#post-991161

 

[cobguy]

Interesting how similar our experiences were, cobguy!

Great pipes stink alike! ::

 

[hextor]

I have seen this on ebay, I wanted to buy some but got kind of scared when iread that the shamans use it to get visions of their dead relatives.