Herbinedave asked me to review Park-Lane Turkish Mystery. My first thoughts were: "Ok sure. Why not?" My second thought... "I don't smoke enough English blends to pick up on the nuances of the blend." Third thought... "Maybe that's a good thing."
I began by reviewing some of the characteristics embodied by the various tobaccos used in this blend. Virginias are medium sweet, a type of tobacco with which I am familiar. Perique; commonly called "peppery" but is rather a spicy-light-vinegar-tannin filled flavor. (I love me some Perique, and something I know intimately), Latakia; with its typically smoky/campfire aroma. Lastly; Turkish tobaccos characteristically have a light citrusy, slightly acidic flavor, with low nicotine content as a result of it being a sun-cured tobacco. Now that I’m familiar with the potential flavor and aromatic characteristics of this blend’s elements, it’s time to proceed.
That done, the next step would be take a look and assess its appearance and moisture. Generally a very dark brown and black Virginia, Latakia, and Perique interspersed with the light/bright brown sun-cured Turkish tobaccos. Thin ribbon cut, clumps when pinched so I would call this Medium-moist, and has a remarkably silky feel.
The pouch note:
I took several deep inhalations before I could began to distinguish the various elements. This particular combination of tobaccos produces an amalgam of campfire, lemon-zest, earthy, and sweetness. Each element of the blend adds its particular characteristic to the blend and balances well. While the Latakia is defiantly present, it was the loamy-earthy-tannins of the Perique that to me characterize the basic note. The sweetness of the Virginia and the citrusy Turkish are present and work well together not in contrast to, but in concert with the Latakia and Perique.
While considering how to proceed I decided on smoking two bowls, each to be packed with the three step method. One straight out of the pouch, the second dried for at least an hour. The reasoning behind this decision is a simple one. In general terms most English smokers prefer to smoke their tobaccos on the drier side, and being primarily an Aromatic smoker I tend to smoke without drying. So, I decided to try both dry and moist in a medium sized bowl. The un-dried tobacco is to be smoked in my Bjarne Free Form. The dry is to be smoked in my Aldo Velani Bulldog. Wooden matches. I decided on bottled water to drink.
The Un-dried:
The Char-light was a little stubborn, but had a full-on flavor of Perique. Tamp then the True-light. It was not so problematic. Almost immediately, all the elements sprang to life. It was slightly sweet, with a mild citrus "twang", smoky, and spicy. The smoke was dense and flavorful with no bite, moderate nicotine content and very satisfying. About half way through the bowl the Latakia seems to be taking over, but the sweetness of the Virginia is still present. Perique seems to be no longer present, and the Turkish seems to have diminished its influence as well. What remained was a small amount of dottle and mostly white ash over the dottle. Not too bad, but not what I'd call a home run either, and I did have a bit of gurgle which reminded me to slow down.
The dry:
I decided to wait a bit longer than an hour because the tobacco didn’t dry as quickly as one might have expected... Then again we did have a very powerful and slow moving thunderstorm this evening. The temperature dropped more than twenty degrees but the humidity climbed to 100 % out of doors, and 53% in doors... Not a comfortable evening.
The Char-light was different than the un-dried, in-as-much-as the initial flavor profile was much sharper, more of the Latakia was evident. The Perique I believe suffers from the drying process. The mouth feel of the smoke was much drier, and it required a lot more hydration on my part. The True-light wasn’t much better. I smoked the blend as comfortably as I could. I did enjoy it, but not as much as the un-dried. The flavors were basically the same, except I didn't taste as much of the Perique as I did with the un-dried. And, there was a soapy element that emerged that I hadn't noticed when I smoked the first bowl, probably from the Latakia. I do have one more observation to make. When I puffed then released the smoke through my nose... it burned a bit. I didn't have that sensation while smoking the un-dried. The character of the Turkish Mystery, to me, was diminished by allowing the tobacco to dry.
Conclusions:
Overall; I enjoyed Park-Lane Turkish Mystery very much. I prefer it moist. It was earthier and definitely milder when smoked straight out of the pouch. This could be attributable to my affinity for Perique (which loses some flavor potency when it becomes too dry). It was easier to light and smoke, but I believe the flavor profile suffers a bit when smoked dry. The overall taste was loamy, smoky, lightly-sweet and had an accent/hint of citrus from the Turkish tobacco (no mystery there). If I were to use a five point scale; I'd say... Pouch note 4.5, Room note (depends on who you ask) The War Department 0.5, my daughter's friend 5.0, my personal overall opinion... 4.0+. In My Humble Opinion a good go-to smoke for those who prefer English blends. And, for us Aromatic smokers Park-Lane Turkish Mystery is a nice change of pace and worth keeping a few ounces on hand.
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I began by reviewing some of the characteristics embodied by the various tobaccos used in this blend. Virginias are medium sweet, a type of tobacco with which I am familiar. Perique; commonly called "peppery" but is rather a spicy-light-vinegar-tannin filled flavor. (I love me some Perique, and something I know intimately), Latakia; with its typically smoky/campfire aroma. Lastly; Turkish tobaccos characteristically have a light citrusy, slightly acidic flavor, with low nicotine content as a result of it being a sun-cured tobacco. Now that I’m familiar with the potential flavor and aromatic characteristics of this blend’s elements, it’s time to proceed.
That done, the next step would be take a look and assess its appearance and moisture. Generally a very dark brown and black Virginia, Latakia, and Perique interspersed with the light/bright brown sun-cured Turkish tobaccos. Thin ribbon cut, clumps when pinched so I would call this Medium-moist, and has a remarkably silky feel.
The pouch note:
I took several deep inhalations before I could began to distinguish the various elements. This particular combination of tobaccos produces an amalgam of campfire, lemon-zest, earthy, and sweetness. Each element of the blend adds its particular characteristic to the blend and balances well. While the Latakia is defiantly present, it was the loamy-earthy-tannins of the Perique that to me characterize the basic note. The sweetness of the Virginia and the citrusy Turkish are present and work well together not in contrast to, but in concert with the Latakia and Perique.
While considering how to proceed I decided on smoking two bowls, each to be packed with the three step method. One straight out of the pouch, the second dried for at least an hour. The reasoning behind this decision is a simple one. In general terms most English smokers prefer to smoke their tobaccos on the drier side, and being primarily an Aromatic smoker I tend to smoke without drying. So, I decided to try both dry and moist in a medium sized bowl. The un-dried tobacco is to be smoked in my Bjarne Free Form. The dry is to be smoked in my Aldo Velani Bulldog. Wooden matches. I decided on bottled water to drink.
The Un-dried:
The Char-light was a little stubborn, but had a full-on flavor of Perique. Tamp then the True-light. It was not so problematic. Almost immediately, all the elements sprang to life. It was slightly sweet, with a mild citrus "twang", smoky, and spicy. The smoke was dense and flavorful with no bite, moderate nicotine content and very satisfying. About half way through the bowl the Latakia seems to be taking over, but the sweetness of the Virginia is still present. Perique seems to be no longer present, and the Turkish seems to have diminished its influence as well. What remained was a small amount of dottle and mostly white ash over the dottle. Not too bad, but not what I'd call a home run either, and I did have a bit of gurgle which reminded me to slow down.
The dry:
I decided to wait a bit longer than an hour because the tobacco didn’t dry as quickly as one might have expected... Then again we did have a very powerful and slow moving thunderstorm this evening. The temperature dropped more than twenty degrees but the humidity climbed to 100 % out of doors, and 53% in doors... Not a comfortable evening.
The Char-light was different than the un-dried, in-as-much-as the initial flavor profile was much sharper, more of the Latakia was evident. The Perique I believe suffers from the drying process. The mouth feel of the smoke was much drier, and it required a lot more hydration on my part. The True-light wasn’t much better. I smoked the blend as comfortably as I could. I did enjoy it, but not as much as the un-dried. The flavors were basically the same, except I didn't taste as much of the Perique as I did with the un-dried. And, there was a soapy element that emerged that I hadn't noticed when I smoked the first bowl, probably from the Latakia. I do have one more observation to make. When I puffed then released the smoke through my nose... it burned a bit. I didn't have that sensation while smoking the un-dried. The character of the Turkish Mystery, to me, was diminished by allowing the tobacco to dry.
Conclusions:
Overall; I enjoyed Park-Lane Turkish Mystery very much. I prefer it moist. It was earthier and definitely milder when smoked straight out of the pouch. This could be attributable to my affinity for Perique (which loses some flavor potency when it becomes too dry). It was easier to light and smoke, but I believe the flavor profile suffers a bit when smoked dry. The overall taste was loamy, smoky, lightly-sweet and had an accent/hint of citrus from the Turkish tobacco (no mystery there). If I were to use a five point scale; I'd say... Pouch note 4.5, Room note (depends on who you ask) The War Department 0.5, my daughter's friend 5.0, my personal overall opinion... 4.0+. In My Humble Opinion a good go-to smoke for those who prefer English blends. And, for us Aromatic smokers Park-Lane Turkish Mystery is a nice change of pace and worth keeping a few ounces on hand.
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