As some of you may have recently read in the “Birth Year Dunhill” thread, I was fortunate to bump into my now good friend, Jim (aka
@Grangerous) who helped me, after many years to fulfill my dream of owning a birth year (1956) Dunhill. Not only did he assist me in this but in the transaction he surprised me by including a sample of the three tobaccos that are in his regular rotation.
Please note that by choice, I am a Virginia, Vaper and occasionally English blend smoker. But, I have been wanting to branch out and sample more Burley based blends. Jim’s samples fit that to a tee as the three he sent were “quintessential” burley based blends: Granger, Pegasus and Winchester.
Out of respect for his generosity, I wanted to give my meager and humble assessment/review of what I experienced when smoking these blends…. So, here ‘tis….
Granger: A burley based “codger” blend for certain I found this to have a very pleasant room note with a good flavor from the start. I did pick up some sweetness that reminded me of a maple syrup essence but also some woody basics. I did not hit it hard but I got the feeling that if I had, I would have gotten a little tongue bite. I will say that I could notice more nicotine than I am used to but by going slow it was not bad and I really enjoyed the overall experience.
Pegasus: This blend, made by Cornell & Diehl, has multiple burley tobaccos in it and while not as pleasant on the room note as Granger, I still found it pretty good. I did read that it contains some Virginias as well and I could pick up on those pretty quick. It was a cool burn and the tanginess of the Virginias was enjoyable. I found myself smoking it a bit faster at first, but had no sensation of bite. I did have to relight it more often than the Granger, but not a problem. However….. with my hitting it a little faster, I got into deeper waters of nicotine before I knew what I was doing. So, with the head spinning a little, I laid it down and came back to ground zero before relighting and going easy. Smoking it this way, I found it to be very nice, indeed.
Winchester: This one is also made by C & D and is made up of Red Virginia, Burley and Black Cavendish. Again, I liked the room note and fragrance and when I lit it up, I could taste the Va’s and the burley and they all seemed to play well with the Cavendish and each other. I think I learned my lesson on the Pegasus to not go at it like I was “killing snakes” and to approach it slow and easy. It was wise to do this as the nicotine was very much there, but when taken in moderation, I really liked the experience. Burned cool and I tasted more of the syrup, the wood and maybe a nuttiness. Maybe because of my education with the other two, I smoked this with respect and patience. This may have been my favorite of the three.
I have learned that smoking Burleys is a different trip than doing Virginia’s and English blends and once one realizes that, they can really have a lot of fun weaving through the landscape of pipe tobaccos that are out there. My mom always said that as a kid, I would eat anything that was laid on my plate and I wanted to not smoke my pipe with “blinders” on but rather branch out and dabble in all of the offerings out there. I would encourage others to do the same, if they have not already.
Well, if JimInks happens to read this, he will feel no competition whatsoever in these tobacco reviews given my amateurish attempt, but I enjoyed doing it.
I will close by saying thanks again to
@Grangerous for sending me the samples to enjoy and for everything else.
