Initial reactions to Deep Hollow:
I smoked a couple of bowls of Deep Hollow, and for me, it was a relatively mild tobacco in taste, and while an aromatic, the room notes weren't overbearing.
Opening the tin, the case note were sweet. I would describe the smell as vaguely vanilla and Karo syrup, not much natural tobacco smell to it. The tobacco was just a bit sticky and slightly moist. It packed well in my newly broken-in Falcon, took a couple of charring lights, then lit evenly, and burned consistently requiring just a couple of lights. The draw in the Falcon was tight but I traced that back to the pipe, as I had no problems with draw in my Savinelli author.
It was a sweet smoke, not very complex, but burned wet. I had some gurgling, which I had not previously experienced in either pipe with other blends. I also detected some bite developing, and this morning I was aggravated to discover that I had indeed incurred a slight case of tongue bite. The problem with the draw on the Falcon may have contributed to the bite problem.
The ash was fine, but unlike the VaBurs we smoked last month, left a little dottle - but not nearly as much or as messy as drug store aromatics.
I haven't smoked many quality aromatics. As a matter of fact, the only other was 7 Seas Black. I liked 7 Seas a bit better and don't remember getting any bite from it. But both are far superior to the drug store pouches.
I'll have to rest the tongue for a day or two before going back to Deep Hollow, and will make a point of smoking it a bit slower. I also think I'll air dry the tobacco for a while, before packing. Or just pack a bowl and set it aside for a half hour so before smoking.
I'm not going to rate this blend yet until I have tried different preparations and in pipes that are functioning properly.