Hello, these are some blends not often heard or seen here. The reason is clearly because they are handmade in one shop in Kiel, Germany. There are a lot of original blends there, a lot of which sound very alluring, the issue is the only way to make an order is by bank transfer which, although simple in this day and age, is still more involved than a simple paypal or card transaction.
Nevermind, always one to try new things, and having had a friend's recommendation I got:
Sweet crushed twist
Smell from the pouch is typical VaPer with warm and sweet spice, and a hint of fermentation/vinegar. Cutting a side of it to rub out shows a lot of dark tobacco under the surface, looks and smells like Perique. I can't believe all this dark tobacco is Perique though based on the taste. The taste is typical VaPer, the spices are not heard much, but there's plenty of sweetness from the golden Virginia. It's not quite an all day smoke as it is fairly full tasting and satisfying. It burns relatively cooler than other VaPers, with more spice and pepper than fruits, hay or sweetness. It's not too strong but, strong enough and full-tasting to satisfy a pig like me. Sorry, I don't do subtle flavours!
Hallo twist
Typical VaPer here too, somehow warmer, sweeter and spicier than the twist above - maybe I got them mixed up? I don't think I did as I jarred immediately and labeled the jars not to make a mistake. Nevermind, either that or the other, they're both great. The taste is classic VaPer, on the sweet side, not very complex but consistent, cool-smoking and long-smoking.
Dark twist - that'll put hairs on your chest
The smell of this one is...dung, really. My wife made a snide comment about ordering dung from abroad
This is a crazy blend, it shouldn't work, but it does. 50% Dark Fired Kentucky and 50% Perique. That's all. Apparently there is some baking involved, however the first taste is pretty close to Toscano cigars which are 100% Dark Fired (Italian and American). I love Toscano cigars! From then on it's a warp, a journey. An eyewatering blast of nicotine and BIG flavours. No sweetness. Tons of pepper, wood, some BBQ smoke, hints of cigar - Toscano - and a weird metallic taste which I haven't tasted before, like sucking on a coin. The retrohale is like breathing fire. Ears ringing, hiccups - the very first time I get hiccups, and I used to chain smoke, I've used snus, cigars and several pipe blends considered strong. This is stronger than 1792 flake, miles stronger than Old Dark Fired (no Virginia or the MacBaren process to temper the DFK with the twist), stronger than brown and black Gawith ropes, as well as stronger than Rustica. So is it good? For me it shot up my top 5 with the first bowl, and I've had 5 bowls so far (one per day, it really keeps you full). I don't even know how to describe it in more detail, I kind of got lost in the bowl, and it was my smallest bowl. Cool and long smoking. The room note...would probably scare thieves away!
In summary, ordering 200g of each of these three twists, including having to do a bank transfer, was a shot in the dark, thankfully it was a success, I really like all three and will be ordering more for more long-term storage. Tom Darasz, the current owner and blender of Motzek (Tabak Aus Kiel) is a friendly guy to boot. The VaPers are classic, the combination works, I haven't had a VaPer I didn't like, and I like these two a lot. The Dark one, is unique, will be getting more of it too. It's not in any way an all-day smoke, but one small bowl at the end of the day to take the edge off is enough, and the taste is somehow sublime, despite being brutal.
Current top five for this discerning pig are:
Nevermind, always one to try new things, and having had a friend's recommendation I got:
- Sweet crushed twist: Virginia/Perique + baking spices
- Hallo (hello) twist: Virginia/Perique
- Dark twist: Dark Fired Kentucky/Perique
Sweet crushed twist
Smell from the pouch is typical VaPer with warm and sweet spice, and a hint of fermentation/vinegar. Cutting a side of it to rub out shows a lot of dark tobacco under the surface, looks and smells like Perique. I can't believe all this dark tobacco is Perique though based on the taste. The taste is typical VaPer, the spices are not heard much, but there's plenty of sweetness from the golden Virginia. It's not quite an all day smoke as it is fairly full tasting and satisfying. It burns relatively cooler than other VaPers, with more spice and pepper than fruits, hay or sweetness. It's not too strong but, strong enough and full-tasting to satisfy a pig like me. Sorry, I don't do subtle flavours!
Hallo twist
Typical VaPer here too, somehow warmer, sweeter and spicier than the twist above - maybe I got them mixed up? I don't think I did as I jarred immediately and labeled the jars not to make a mistake. Nevermind, either that or the other, they're both great. The taste is classic VaPer, on the sweet side, not very complex but consistent, cool-smoking and long-smoking.
Dark twist - that'll put hairs on your chest
The smell of this one is...dung, really. My wife made a snide comment about ordering dung from abroad
This is a crazy blend, it shouldn't work, but it does. 50% Dark Fired Kentucky and 50% Perique. That's all. Apparently there is some baking involved, however the first taste is pretty close to Toscano cigars which are 100% Dark Fired (Italian and American). I love Toscano cigars! From then on it's a warp, a journey. An eyewatering blast of nicotine and BIG flavours. No sweetness. Tons of pepper, wood, some BBQ smoke, hints of cigar - Toscano - and a weird metallic taste which I haven't tasted before, like sucking on a coin. The retrohale is like breathing fire. Ears ringing, hiccups - the very first time I get hiccups, and I used to chain smoke, I've used snus, cigars and several pipe blends considered strong. This is stronger than 1792 flake, miles stronger than Old Dark Fired (no Virginia or the MacBaren process to temper the DFK with the twist), stronger than brown and black Gawith ropes, as well as stronger than Rustica. So is it good? For me it shot up my top 5 with the first bowl, and I've had 5 bowls so far (one per day, it really keeps you full). I don't even know how to describe it in more detail, I kind of got lost in the bowl, and it was my smallest bowl. Cool and long smoking. The room note...would probably scare thieves away! In summary, ordering 200g of each of these three twists, including having to do a bank transfer, was a shot in the dark, thankfully it was a success, I really like all three and will be ordering more for more long-term storage. Tom Darasz, the current owner and blender of Motzek (Tabak Aus Kiel) is a friendly guy to boot. The VaPers are classic, the combination works, I haven't had a VaPer I didn't like, and I like these two a lot. The Dark one, is unique, will be getting more of it too. It's not in any way an all-day smoke, but one small bowl at the end of the day to take the edge off is enough, and the taste is somehow sublime, despite being brutal.
Current top five for this discerning pig are:
- MacBaren HH Old Dark Fired
- Gawith Hoggarth Sweet Rum Twist
- Samuel Gawith 1792 Flake
- Motzek Tom's Dark Twist
- position vacant
