And the time has come to sample the coveted Semois tobacco, introduced just this month to the U.S. market by The Pipe Guys. Good people worked hard to bring this from Belgium to us, so I'd better get to it.
I decided to devote one unsmoked pipe to this tobacco because I have an unused pipe on hand, but changed my mind when I realized its bowl is on the large side. Like a Group 4. (It's a Big Ben Presidential Select 188 with a sandblast finish.) Having read this tobacco is a strong one, reminiscent of a full-bodied cigar, I want a small bowl that'll allow me to focus on discerning the flavors.
Luckily I have this very lightly smoked Savinelli 202 churchwarden. Perfect.
In reading up on Semois, I learned it is a tobacco that is dry, and sure enough what's inside this package is dry. Not dried out, as in not at all humidified, but dry as in a deliberate style. Not unlike a Dutch cigar. As you can see from the packaging, it does not come in any kind of hermetically sealed tin or pouch; it is simply wrapped in a heavy foil paper. No need for airtight integrity, although I will store it inside a mason jar out of habit.
The color of the tobacco is a light to medium brown. "Claro" in cigar parlance. This brick of Semois is cut into ribbon. That and its inherent dryness means it burns quickly. My first bowl went in the few minutes it took to write this. There is no chasing the ember here; it burns hastily, especially if puffed heavily. By opting for the slightly unwieldy churchwarden shape, I am making an effort to not puff absentmindedly, and to be deliberate with this.
First impression of the taste: Yes, cigar-like, but not full-bodied. For me, full-bodied cigars are of the Cuban, Honduran, and sometimes Nicaraguan varieties. That's what I go for. Rather this reminds me more of a medium-bodied Dominican cigar, like the original line of Dominican Montecristos (the yellow box) or the Pleiades of the 1990s. I would liken one of Semois’ flavors to the Cameroon tobacco of cigar wrapper leaf.
Or, frankly, a potent cigarette, like the Dunhill reds of my teen years. I dabbled only briefly; as much as I liked those cigarettes, I felt like a moron smoking cigarettes. Also, I would say the room note of Semois reminds me of those Dunhills: slightly acrid, but with a sweetness too.
Noteworthy: This is a pipe tobacco one actually could enjoy during a quick smoke break at work, or during some similarly brief opportunity.
I suppose this could be a roll-your-own cigarette tobacco, albeit a pricey one.
Semois reduces to a very fine and very dark gray ash.
In conclusion, I smoked two bowls in less than thirty minutes, taking my time. I’ll be smoking a lot more.
I decided to devote one unsmoked pipe to this tobacco because I have an unused pipe on hand, but changed my mind when I realized its bowl is on the large side. Like a Group 4. (It's a Big Ben Presidential Select 188 with a sandblast finish.) Having read this tobacco is a strong one, reminiscent of a full-bodied cigar, I want a small bowl that'll allow me to focus on discerning the flavors.
Luckily I have this very lightly smoked Savinelli 202 churchwarden. Perfect.
In reading up on Semois, I learned it is a tobacco that is dry, and sure enough what's inside this package is dry. Not dried out, as in not at all humidified, but dry as in a deliberate style. Not unlike a Dutch cigar. As you can see from the packaging, it does not come in any kind of hermetically sealed tin or pouch; it is simply wrapped in a heavy foil paper. No need for airtight integrity, although I will store it inside a mason jar out of habit.
The color of the tobacco is a light to medium brown. "Claro" in cigar parlance. This brick of Semois is cut into ribbon. That and its inherent dryness means it burns quickly. My first bowl went in the few minutes it took to write this. There is no chasing the ember here; it burns hastily, especially if puffed heavily. By opting for the slightly unwieldy churchwarden shape, I am making an effort to not puff absentmindedly, and to be deliberate with this.
First impression of the taste: Yes, cigar-like, but not full-bodied. For me, full-bodied cigars are of the Cuban, Honduran, and sometimes Nicaraguan varieties. That's what I go for. Rather this reminds me more of a medium-bodied Dominican cigar, like the original line of Dominican Montecristos (the yellow box) or the Pleiades of the 1990s. I would liken one of Semois’ flavors to the Cameroon tobacco of cigar wrapper leaf.
Or, frankly, a potent cigarette, like the Dunhill reds of my teen years. I dabbled only briefly; as much as I liked those cigarettes, I felt like a moron smoking cigarettes. Also, I would say the room note of Semois reminds me of those Dunhills: slightly acrid, but with a sweetness too.
Noteworthy: This is a pipe tobacco one actually could enjoy during a quick smoke break at work, or during some similarly brief opportunity.
I suppose this could be a roll-your-own cigarette tobacco, albeit a pricey one.
Semois reduces to a very fine and very dark gray ash.
In conclusion, I smoked two bowls in less than thirty minutes, taking my time. I’ll be smoking a lot more.
.