I have never reviewed a blend before, because I considered it to be a subjective matter. But I have discovered this recently and I had to write a few lines. I am not sure whether this is a review or not, I guess it's more of a sharing a personal opinion and hoping to start a conversation here, based on various peoples experience.
I got this truly by mistake, I actually wanted something else but I compromised as the supplier was out of stock and I had to raise the package to a certain value. It was quite an expensive little bugger, but the reviews on tobaccoreveiw.com were pretty good, so I was like whatever let's try something new. As an almost exclusively English blend smoker, I am trying to broaden my horizons since of late I hate some revelations with virginias. So here goes:
I opened the tin, to find a turd looking lot of tobacco. Unlike the stuff that my dog lets out, this one smelled encouraging. It kind of smelled like Dunhill Royal Yacht - a blend I absolutely love, so I was excited. I got home, and cut the rope to size, rubbed it a tad and put it straight into my pipe, left no time for drying. Fellows ... let me tell you I had to hold my breeches because I was in for a heck of a ride. First off, it is very strong - nic hit so big that I got hick ups 1/4 through the bowl. The strength was like a smack over my head. The pipe I used was a Czech church warden, no filter, just a short stinger. Flavor otherwise, overwhelming. A tad sweet, a bit of reminder of fired Kentucky, but mostly sweet and some sort of fruit bouquet that I cannot put my finger on. Above all VERY rich flavor, I mean just a small sip and I felt like I had a mouth full of something very tasty. For my second smoke, I switched to filter, and a smaller sized bowl. The same impression, the filter hardly alters the taste (I have used the plain carbon Peterson filters), the only difference being that my stomach wasn't as upset (for some reason some virginias and most perique or burley heavy blends do not sit well with my IBS and my sensitive stomach). The second time around, the tobacco had a chance to dry a bit, which was better when it came to relights. It still needed fire quite frequently, but not as much as the first smoke. Yes, this ones eats up matches - which is not necessarily a bad thing. I have realized I cannot smoke a bowl of this from start to finish, the fact that it goes out every so often is actually a welcome break. I read some reviews that if it dries out too much it can have a bitter taste throughout the second half of the bowl. I did not find this to be true.
I must experiment some more, but next time most definitely after a rich dinner. Any thoughts on this blend? Recommendations?
I got this truly by mistake, I actually wanted something else but I compromised as the supplier was out of stock and I had to raise the package to a certain value. It was quite an expensive little bugger, but the reviews on tobaccoreveiw.com were pretty good, so I was like whatever let's try something new. As an almost exclusively English blend smoker, I am trying to broaden my horizons since of late I hate some revelations with virginias. So here goes:
I opened the tin, to find a turd looking lot of tobacco. Unlike the stuff that my dog lets out, this one smelled encouraging. It kind of smelled like Dunhill Royal Yacht - a blend I absolutely love, so I was excited. I got home, and cut the rope to size, rubbed it a tad and put it straight into my pipe, left no time for drying. Fellows ... let me tell you I had to hold my breeches because I was in for a heck of a ride. First off, it is very strong - nic hit so big that I got hick ups 1/4 through the bowl. The strength was like a smack over my head. The pipe I used was a Czech church warden, no filter, just a short stinger. Flavor otherwise, overwhelming. A tad sweet, a bit of reminder of fired Kentucky, but mostly sweet and some sort of fruit bouquet that I cannot put my finger on. Above all VERY rich flavor, I mean just a small sip and I felt like I had a mouth full of something very tasty. For my second smoke, I switched to filter, and a smaller sized bowl. The same impression, the filter hardly alters the taste (I have used the plain carbon Peterson filters), the only difference being that my stomach wasn't as upset (for some reason some virginias and most perique or burley heavy blends do not sit well with my IBS and my sensitive stomach). The second time around, the tobacco had a chance to dry a bit, which was better when it came to relights. It still needed fire quite frequently, but not as much as the first smoke. Yes, this ones eats up matches - which is not necessarily a bad thing. I have realized I cannot smoke a bowl of this from start to finish, the fact that it goes out every so often is actually a welcome break. I read some reviews that if it dries out too much it can have a bitter taste throughout the second half of the bowl. I did not find this to be true.
I must experiment some more, but next time most definitely after a rich dinner. Any thoughts on this blend? Recommendations?
