This is my first flake tobacco, and it's a broken flake. I used the "Cutting into Cubes" method as demonstrated here. The tobacco was very moist, almost sticky. After I cut it, I let it dry for a couple of hours.
It was the easiest pipe load so far; I just dumped in the cut and let gravity settle the tobacco. A few taps against the side of the bowl and I was set.
The tobacco took the char easily, and lit just as well. A clean grey ash formed on top, and I settled in for the smoke; in my Mastersen's "Cut 29" it took about an hour and twenty minutes. Throughout the smoke, I got the taste and smell of prunes, black pepper, damp alfalfa hay, blackstrap molasses, nag champa, hard wood smoke, and allspice. A small amount of dottle was left in the very bottom of the bowl (it tapers quite a bit), but the remainder burned to a fine ash. I relight twice.
It was a satisfying and dense smoke, and remained interesting throughout the bowl and at times, the flavours bordered on overwhelming. That's not a knock against it in any sense, it was, in fact, the perfect smoke for a cool, cloudy evening where I had the time to just let the world pass me by.
The tin states this is a blend that is designed to age, so I'll go back to it from time to time over the next year to see what changes.
It was the easiest pipe load so far; I just dumped in the cut and let gravity settle the tobacco. A few taps against the side of the bowl and I was set.
The tobacco took the char easily, and lit just as well. A clean grey ash formed on top, and I settled in for the smoke; in my Mastersen's "Cut 29" it took about an hour and twenty minutes. Throughout the smoke, I got the taste and smell of prunes, black pepper, damp alfalfa hay, blackstrap molasses, nag champa, hard wood smoke, and allspice. A small amount of dottle was left in the very bottom of the bowl (it tapers quite a bit), but the remainder burned to a fine ash. I relight twice.
It was a satisfying and dense smoke, and remained interesting throughout the bowl and at times, the flavours bordered on overwhelming. That's not a knock against it in any sense, it was, in fact, the perfect smoke for a cool, cloudy evening where I had the time to just let the world pass me by.
The tin states this is a blend that is designed to age, so I'll go back to it from time to time over the next year to see what changes.
