I got through my selections of bright virginias, some with varying degrees of perique. The winners were PS400 and OGS, with st James flake as one with great flavor that i cant get a consistently good experience from quite yet, so ill come back to it later. After drying OGS to knock down the added flavoring, it and PS400 taste identical to me - both predominantly like a mouthful of sweet cashews. These are the first tobaccos that had me digging at the bottom to make sure there wasnt any left to enjoy.
Moving on to reds now, and the first one ive tried is Per Jensen Port Guardian, a tin produced August 2025. The tin note is an intense tangy dark fruit, like hibiscus and blood orange. VERY intense. I was so excited to try it because if it tasted anything like it smelled, i'd be very happy. Going very slowly at the start of the bowl, i can get some of that flavor but it was fleeting. It soon descends into something i'd describe as walnuts that have had all the flavorful oils pressed out of them, and you're just chewing on the chalky remnants. Or maybe tree bark. It is smooth, just not very flavorful and not sweet at all. I havent found many tobaccos i've tried to be overly astringent, but this stuff dries my mouth out to the point where i cant smoke it without a cup of water. Even with water, by the end of the session my tongue feels dry / raw, not like tongue bite, its not burning hot. It is just so drying. I should mention that this tobacco is relatively dry out of the tin, no air drying required.
The tin aroma and how it starts off slightly present in the smoke at the beginning and quickly dissipates makes me wonder if this has some added flavor/aroma. Has anyone else experienced this with Port Guardian?
Savinelli Juno is the next red on the list to try, hopefully it goes better than this one did!
Moving on to reds now, and the first one ive tried is Per Jensen Port Guardian, a tin produced August 2025. The tin note is an intense tangy dark fruit, like hibiscus and blood orange. VERY intense. I was so excited to try it because if it tasted anything like it smelled, i'd be very happy. Going very slowly at the start of the bowl, i can get some of that flavor but it was fleeting. It soon descends into something i'd describe as walnuts that have had all the flavorful oils pressed out of them, and you're just chewing on the chalky remnants. Or maybe tree bark. It is smooth, just not very flavorful and not sweet at all. I havent found many tobaccos i've tried to be overly astringent, but this stuff dries my mouth out to the point where i cant smoke it without a cup of water. Even with water, by the end of the session my tongue feels dry / raw, not like tongue bite, its not burning hot. It is just so drying. I should mention that this tobacco is relatively dry out of the tin, no air drying required.
The tin aroma and how it starts off slightly present in the smoke at the beginning and quickly dissipates makes me wonder if this has some added flavor/aroma. Has anyone else experienced this with Port Guardian?
Savinelli Juno is the next red on the list to try, hopefully it goes better than this one did!
