On a recent thread where we were discussing different cuts of tobacco, I happened to mention I had yet to experience any plug tobaccos. Hours later I found I had a PM from forum member David, aka 'Oldreddog' offering to post me a sample of Condor Plug and of Erinmore Plug if I was interested.
Well, Condor Long Cut (flake) is my favourite tobacco and Erinmore Flake within my top ten favourites so to be offered Condor Plug and Erinmore Plug was double delight for me. After an inordinately long time (I wondered if HM Customs had snaffled the package) it finally dropped onto my doormat.
I eagerly opened her up and was delighted to find not only what he had offered me but also a generous hunk of Jack Knife Plug and a few other loose tobaccos (HU Director's Cut, Maltan Ready Rubbed and a couple of flakes of Peterson's UF!). I was in tobacco heaven!
First to trial was the Condor Plug. Out came my vintage Sheffield made (the best in the world) super sharp carbon steel pocket knife. Now though I had no experience of plugs, I had read enough about their preparation to know what to do but one thing I wasn't quite expecting was how damned hard this stuff was...it was hard as wood! I managed to shave off several very thin sheets which by themselves broke apart into something resembling a very fine cube cut. So far so good.
I loaded up my Mcquade bent bulldog and gravity fed my loose cubes whilst pressing gently. Fully loaded I lit up. Immediately I recognized the distinct Condor flavour and settled down to enjoy the smoke. As an aside, I used to buy Condor Ready Rubbed until I discovered their Long Cut (flake), the latter being a much more flavoursome smoke so now only buy that. The plug is very similar flavourwise but slightly more intense with the 'floral' topping being perhaps a little more pronounced. I thoroughly enjoyed that smoke which seemed to last forever and the same with subsequent smokes, a very enjoyable way to pass an hour or so. A couple of relights were required but I put that down to the freshness of the baccy (it came to me factory sealed.
Condor Plug...
Second up was the much vaunted Jack Knife Plug. This was a different beast altogether being somewhat dry it was therefore harder to cut. Also I did need to be careful here as the layers were starting to delaminate themselves and it wasn't easy to get even flakes but I did manage to get enough for a bowl with judicious cutting.
Fired up and puffed away and immediately got the gorgeous dark fired Kentucky flavours that I love so much. Further into the smoke there was an earthy nuttiness with the lightest hint of bitter chocolate. This really is a multi flavoured blend and I find each smoke to be slightly different from the last. I put this down to the uneven layering of the component leaves.
Jack Knife Plug...
Finally it was time for the Erinmore Plug. This very dark, almost oily 'brick' cut just as well as the Condor giving me small sheets that I broke into smaller chunks. Loaded and lit I got that Erinmore Flake flavour but much more intensely, I hate using the word 'awesome' but it really was awesome. The flavours really came out after only a few tugs and they really sang right until the end.
One huge difference here twixt the flake and the plug is that one gets far more tobacco flavour from the plug version despite the 'plum/berry' topping being ever present.
Erinmore Plug...
In conclusion I would also add that each of the three plugs were extremely slow burners with hour long smokes being easily achievable even for a fast puffer like me and their flavours were very intense indeed and what initially appears to be a small amount of tobacco actually goes a heck of a long way.
My huge thanks to David (Oldreddog) for introducing me to plug tobacco in such a way, such generosity to total strangers seems to be an ongoing theme on this forum and I am humbled to have been gifted these plugs plus the other blends. I hope to repay that kindness in the near future.
I hope some of you managed to get to the end of this without falling asleep :
:
Regards,
Jay.
Well, Condor Long Cut (flake) is my favourite tobacco and Erinmore Flake within my top ten favourites so to be offered Condor Plug and Erinmore Plug was double delight for me. After an inordinately long time (I wondered if HM Customs had snaffled the package) it finally dropped onto my doormat.
I eagerly opened her up and was delighted to find not only what he had offered me but also a generous hunk of Jack Knife Plug and a few other loose tobaccos (HU Director's Cut, Maltan Ready Rubbed and a couple of flakes of Peterson's UF!). I was in tobacco heaven!
First to trial was the Condor Plug. Out came my vintage Sheffield made (the best in the world) super sharp carbon steel pocket knife. Now though I had no experience of plugs, I had read enough about their preparation to know what to do but one thing I wasn't quite expecting was how damned hard this stuff was...it was hard as wood! I managed to shave off several very thin sheets which by themselves broke apart into something resembling a very fine cube cut. So far so good.
I loaded up my Mcquade bent bulldog and gravity fed my loose cubes whilst pressing gently. Fully loaded I lit up. Immediately I recognized the distinct Condor flavour and settled down to enjoy the smoke. As an aside, I used to buy Condor Ready Rubbed until I discovered their Long Cut (flake), the latter being a much more flavoursome smoke so now only buy that. The plug is very similar flavourwise but slightly more intense with the 'floral' topping being perhaps a little more pronounced. I thoroughly enjoyed that smoke which seemed to last forever and the same with subsequent smokes, a very enjoyable way to pass an hour or so. A couple of relights were required but I put that down to the freshness of the baccy (it came to me factory sealed.
Condor Plug...
Second up was the much vaunted Jack Knife Plug. This was a different beast altogether being somewhat dry it was therefore harder to cut. Also I did need to be careful here as the layers were starting to delaminate themselves and it wasn't easy to get even flakes but I did manage to get enough for a bowl with judicious cutting.
Fired up and puffed away and immediately got the gorgeous dark fired Kentucky flavours that I love so much. Further into the smoke there was an earthy nuttiness with the lightest hint of bitter chocolate. This really is a multi flavoured blend and I find each smoke to be slightly different from the last. I put this down to the uneven layering of the component leaves.
Jack Knife Plug...
Finally it was time for the Erinmore Plug. This very dark, almost oily 'brick' cut just as well as the Condor giving me small sheets that I broke into smaller chunks. Loaded and lit I got that Erinmore Flake flavour but much more intensely, I hate using the word 'awesome' but it really was awesome. The flavours really came out after only a few tugs and they really sang right until the end.
One huge difference here twixt the flake and the plug is that one gets far more tobacco flavour from the plug version despite the 'plum/berry' topping being ever present.
Erinmore Plug...
In conclusion I would also add that each of the three plugs were extremely slow burners with hour long smokes being easily achievable even for a fast puffer like me and their flavours were very intense indeed and what initially appears to be a small amount of tobacco actually goes a heck of a long way.
My huge thanks to David (Oldreddog) for introducing me to plug tobacco in such a way, such generosity to total strangers seems to be an ongoing theme on this forum and I am humbled to have been gifted these plugs plus the other blends. I hope to repay that kindness in the near future.
I hope some of you managed to get to the end of this without falling asleep :
:Regards,
Jay.
