Praise to Peretti

[SBC]

Just tried Cambridge Flake as well (a latakia crumble cake, not a VA flake).

Very impressed. I like it better than Omega.

Some have said that it's similar to Penzance. No clue where they're coming from -- it's nothing like Penzance. But both are delicious in different ways.

Most have said that it's Oriental forward. To me, the latakia and Oriental seem very balanced in this. To my taste, the campfire and meaty flavors of the latakia were primary, with Oriental playing strong support.
(Royal, by contrast, would be their Oriental forward blend with latakia playing support.)

I'm normally a VA smoker, but when I do want latakia, I'd say that Cambridge Flake will now be right beside Magnum Opus and Northwoods for me.

I believe that @LotusEater is a fan of this as well.

 

[rsshreck32]

Just tried Cambridge Flake as well (a latakia crumble cake, not a VA flake).

Very impressed. I like it better than Omega.

Some have said that it's similar to Penzance. No clue where they're coming from -- it's nothing like Penzance. But both are delicious in different ways.

Most have said that it's Oriental forward. To me, the latakia and Oriental seem very balanced in this. To my taste, the campfire and meaty flavors of the latakia were primary, with Oriental playing strong support.
(Royal, by contrast, would be their Oriental forward blend with latakia playing support.)

I'm normally a VA smoker, but when I do want latakia, I'd say that Cambridge Flake will now be right beside Magnum Opus and Northwoods for me.

I believe that @LotusEater is a fan of this as well.

Hmmmm, Cambridge Flake and Omega are two more that I've been considering on my next order. How would you compare the strength of those two (taste and nicotine).

 

[LotusEater]

Just tried Cambridge Flake as well (a latakia crumble cake, not a VA flake).

Very impressed. I like it better than Omega.

Some have said that it's similar to Penzance. No clue where they're coming from -- it's nothing like Penzance. But both are delicious in different ways.

Most have said that it's Oriental forward. To me, the latakia and Oriental seem very balanced in this. To my taste, the campfire and meaty flavors of the latakia were primary, with Oriental playing strong support.
(Royal, by contrast, would be their Oriental forward blend with latakia playing support.)

I'm normally a VA smoker, but when I do want latakia, I'd say that Cambridge Flake will now be right beside Magnum Opus and Northwoods for me.

I believe that @LotusEater is a fan of this as well.

Glad to hear you liked Cambridge Flake. It is just a really excellent English Flake in my opinion. It’s very well balanced as you have said. It’s not a lat bomb- there is plenty of Oriental and Virginia flavor in there.
I can smoke Cambridge all day long and not get tired of it.

 

[SBC]

Hmmmm, Cambridge Flake and Omega are two more that I've been considering on my next order. How would you compare the strength of those two (taste and nicotine).

I should try them side by side to be sure, but off the cuff I think that Cambridge is a tad sweeter and has a touch more of a "bbq" note that Omega doesn't have.

But Omega was my favorite English for years. I later wound up liking Magnum Opus a just a hair better, but it was a close call. I'd now put Cambridge next to MO.

If you're putting in an order to Peretti anyway, and you want to try Englishes and Balkans, definitely try an ounce of Omega and Royal in addition to Cambridge. Our tastes are all slightly different, and these three are all variations on the same thing, and one might represent the proportions that hit you best.

(I love the orientals in Royal, I just wish that it were a touch sweeter.)

 

[SBC]

Just had another bowl of Ampersand. For whatever reason I tasted it with far more clarity this time. Maybe the pipe was better suited to it.

It's a lovely, mild, sweet VA which foregrounds notes of honeyed green hay -- sweet grass.

Those are not the sorts of VA notes that I typically gravitate towards -- I like stewy-figgy notes usually -- but boy, this is probably the most enjoyable "grassy" VA I've ever had.

It's kinda/sorta in the Newminster 400 realm, sweet like that, but without the artificial butterscotch kind of note ... an extremely natural tasting stweetness more like honey, infusing the sweet green hay flavors.

I imagine this being a springtime sort of blend. It makes me think of fresh, verdent, spring hayfield before the first cutting.

 

[SBC]

Hmmmm, Cambridge Flake and Omega are two more that I've been considering on my next order. How would you compare the strength of those two (taste and nicotine).

I just had Omega, Royal, and Cambridge side by side, in order to compare and contrast.

I'm no longer so sure that I like Omega less. I don't believe that one is better than the other -- they're different, and I'd prefer each of them at different times.

Royal foregrounds an array of flavorful orientals, and backgrounds a little latakia. The dominant flavor is Yenidje, what Jim always describes as an "unflavored soda" note, which to me is very medicinal (in a nice way) on the retrohale. There are also some some musty pages notes, and a little green wood and a little smokiness underneath.

Omega foregrounds the "musty pages" note, with some balancing latakia smokiness. I do not detect the Yenidje in this one (although some folks do), nor do I get those green wood notes. The nice "mustiness" really dominates this one, but with a higher percentage of VAs and latakia (relative to Royal) to make it really well rounded.

Cambridge Flake is like if the woodsmoke scent of your campfire was slightly sweetened by a marshmallow falling off into it, or like frying bacon that you'd first coated in brown sugar. Sweet campfire and sweet bacon.

All three are excellent and different, and I'd choose among them based on mood or circumstance.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

Re: Peretti’s Cuban Mixture.
The description on TR claims mint flavoring. For those who have tried the blend, how "minty" is it?

Smoked a tin of it years ago and didn’t notice any mint at all. ️

 

[tirefire]

I just had Omega, Royal, and Cambridge side by side, in order to compare and contrast.

I'm no longer so sure that I like Omega less. I don't believe that one is better than the other -- they're different, and I'd prefer each of them at different times.

Royal foregrounds an array of flavorful orientals, and backgrounds a little latakia. The dominant flavor is Yenidje, what Jim always describes as an "unflavored soda" note, which to me is very medicinal (in a nice way) on the retrohale. There are also some some musty pages notes, and a little green wood and a little smokiness underneath.

Omega foregrounds the "musty pages" note, with some balancing latakia smokiness. I do not detect the Yenidje in this one (although some folks do), nor do I get those green wood notes. The nice "mustiness" really dominates this one, but with a higher percentage of VAs and latakia (relative to Royal) to make it really well rounded.

Cambridge Flake is like if the woodsmoke scent of your campfire was slightly sweetened by a marshmallow falling off into it, or like frying bacon that you'd first coated in brown sugar. Sweet campfire and sweet bacon.

All three are excellent and different, and I'd choose among them based on mood or circumstance.

Nice summary . . . I tried Cambridge Flake, Royal, and Tashkent over a few months. All were very good but the latakia/oriental balance of Cambridge Flake hit my palate the best - Bought a half-pound paint can of it. Your description of Omega tells me that I need to try an ounce of it.