The Latakia blend is a field crowded with stellar offerings. Gaslight, Quiet Nights, Margate, Pembroke, and Penzance come to mind. Variations like Squadron Leader and SG Navy Flake beg to be included.
Back in the day, I would occasionally watch the Miss America Pageant or the Miss Universe event. I think anyone with an objective eye would have to agree that difference in beauty between first place and also contended, was minuscule, if at all.
I feel that way about English/Balkan blends. Depending on my mood, any of the above mentioned blends are spectacular. Now, I'll have to make room for one more star in my constellation of stellar Lats.
Magnum Opus is a wonderfully balanced, creamy, full bodied, textured and ever changing smoke that satisfies. It is ribbon cut, which makes for easy packing. In my experience, flakes and kakes are more intensely, deeper flavored and MO will not make me change my mind regarding this preference.
But intensity is just one element of judging a smoke and can be easily overdone, especially with Latakia. Now, I enjoy the occasional Latakia bomb but they are too one dimensional for a steady diet.
I've sampled somewhere between a half dozen to a dozen Oullette creations. I think I'm beginning to understand his style. Russ seems to favor balance and riposte between his ingredients, rather than having one element dominate through the smoke. The various tobaccos in his blends seem to appear for a few moments in the spotlight on the little stage in your bowl, then as quickly exit the stage, as another element comes to the forefront. This occurs almost randomly, although there is a predictable profile as the smoke progresses. Keep this in mind when you try his other samples this month and see if you don't agree that ever-changing, dancing flavors are not a significant part of his signature.
In Magnum Opus, the Latakia is always present but seems to step out of the limelight, giving the orientals a turn to shine. The Perique pirouettes in and out, lending a welcome dash of excitement. The Perique becomes more prominent in the second third to final third of the bowl. The Virginias are more steady, the sweet notes always present in a supporting role to the other players.
When I try a new blend in our Tobacco Crawls, I like to practice what I call immersion smoking of the blend. I smoke the blend almost exclusively, at different times of the day, in different pipes, with different beverages.
I'm working on my fourth bowl as I write this review. I started with a Savinelli Collectors 2000, a large size 4 billiard. This was a good match for this tobacco. The flavors exploded out of the pipe and the burn was even, requiring little fiddling. I accompanied this smoke with plain water.
I loaded a Stanwell Stack, maybe a size 3, after dinner. This match wasn’t as successful. The flavors were delicious but muted. Perhaps it would be a good morning match. I had a coke with this bowl and don’t think it was a particularly boon companion.
For my last evening smoke, I used a medium sized Savinelli, a bent apple with a large surface area. The smoke was much improved over the stack, producing billows of flavors. I took this bowl straight with no beverage.
I’m now smoking a Missouri Meerschaum Freehand, which is a large pipe, probably a size 5. It too works well with the Magnum Opus, producing lots of creamy, full bodied smoke. My black coffee is a terrific mate.
I detected little tongue bite no matter how fast or slow, I smoked this blend. You get different effects from smoking slowly versus a faster paste. For me, I got more flavor from deeper puffs than I did sipping.
These bowls were smoked while in seclusion. I look forward to smoking another bowl tonight with some friends, accompanied by a couple of fingers of 18 year old Glenfiddich.
One of the things I appreciate most about our tobacco crawls is that it forces me out of my comfort zone and exposes me to tobaccos that I would not have tried, left to my own devices. Magnum Opus is one such tobacco. It wasn't even on my radar. It is a bit early to say but I think this is another blend that will earn a place in my ever expanding rotation.
Pax
Back in the day, I would occasionally watch the Miss America Pageant or the Miss Universe event. I think anyone with an objective eye would have to agree that difference in beauty between first place and also contended, was minuscule, if at all.
I feel that way about English/Balkan blends. Depending on my mood, any of the above mentioned blends are spectacular. Now, I'll have to make room for one more star in my constellation of stellar Lats.
Magnum Opus is a wonderfully balanced, creamy, full bodied, textured and ever changing smoke that satisfies. It is ribbon cut, which makes for easy packing. In my experience, flakes and kakes are more intensely, deeper flavored and MO will not make me change my mind regarding this preference.
But intensity is just one element of judging a smoke and can be easily overdone, especially with Latakia. Now, I enjoy the occasional Latakia bomb but they are too one dimensional for a steady diet.
I've sampled somewhere between a half dozen to a dozen Oullette creations. I think I'm beginning to understand his style. Russ seems to favor balance and riposte between his ingredients, rather than having one element dominate through the smoke. The various tobaccos in his blends seem to appear for a few moments in the spotlight on the little stage in your bowl, then as quickly exit the stage, as another element comes to the forefront. This occurs almost randomly, although there is a predictable profile as the smoke progresses. Keep this in mind when you try his other samples this month and see if you don't agree that ever-changing, dancing flavors are not a significant part of his signature.
In Magnum Opus, the Latakia is always present but seems to step out of the limelight, giving the orientals a turn to shine. The Perique pirouettes in and out, lending a welcome dash of excitement. The Perique becomes more prominent in the second third to final third of the bowl. The Virginias are more steady, the sweet notes always present in a supporting role to the other players.
When I try a new blend in our Tobacco Crawls, I like to practice what I call immersion smoking of the blend. I smoke the blend almost exclusively, at different times of the day, in different pipes, with different beverages.
I'm working on my fourth bowl as I write this review. I started with a Savinelli Collectors 2000, a large size 4 billiard. This was a good match for this tobacco. The flavors exploded out of the pipe and the burn was even, requiring little fiddling. I accompanied this smoke with plain water.
I loaded a Stanwell Stack, maybe a size 3, after dinner. This match wasn’t as successful. The flavors were delicious but muted. Perhaps it would be a good morning match. I had a coke with this bowl and don’t think it was a particularly boon companion.
For my last evening smoke, I used a medium sized Savinelli, a bent apple with a large surface area. The smoke was much improved over the stack, producing billows of flavors. I took this bowl straight with no beverage.
I’m now smoking a Missouri Meerschaum Freehand, which is a large pipe, probably a size 5. It too works well with the Magnum Opus, producing lots of creamy, full bodied smoke. My black coffee is a terrific mate.
I detected little tongue bite no matter how fast or slow, I smoked this blend. You get different effects from smoking slowly versus a faster paste. For me, I got more flavor from deeper puffs than I did sipping.
These bowls were smoked while in seclusion. I look forward to smoking another bowl tonight with some friends, accompanied by a couple of fingers of 18 year old Glenfiddich.
One of the things I appreciate most about our tobacco crawls is that it forces me out of my comfort zone and exposes me to tobaccos that I would not have tried, left to my own devices. Magnum Opus is one such tobacco. It wasn't even on my radar. It is a bit early to say but I think this is another blend that will earn a place in my ever expanding rotation.
Pax
