Skippy's Blend of the Week
- Thread starter Skippy B. Coyote
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Hmm I might have to try that Warhorse, I have a tin of red from something or other but I do enjoy Anise. Heck I think I'm one of the only folks I know who actually likes Malort.
I don’t know why everyone thinks WHG smells of mothballs, I pick up more of a “urinal cake” aroma 
But it’s a blend that when I’m in the mood for it nothing else will do.
But it’s a blend that when I’m in the mood for it nothing else will do.
Great plan, it's something I should do, but if I opened a new tin every week, there would be a heck of a lot of jarring needing to occur. I would have a lot left over no matter how much I loved it, even if I smoked it exclusively for whole week. I would learn my tastes (as you are) a lot faster but I'd have sooo many jars.
Good luck on it though.
On the other hand, if several were committed to the same type of plan, there could be a ready made group who could trade open tins minus 7 bowls....................
Good luck on it though.
On the other hand, if several were committed to the same type of plan, there could be a ready made group who could trade open tins minus 7 bowls....................
I love this idea. But I’ve committed to smoking at least two open jars empty before I open any new tins. I have about 60 jars of blends already underway, and some of them are aromatics that aren’t necessarily getting any better, so I need to get through them sooner rather than later…
That's "Urinal Kake."I pick up more of a “urinal cake” aroma
I hope STG's marketing department is keeping a hawk's eye on this thread. I can see it now: "A piss-forward aromatic, hearkening to the days of yore, when you missed seeing that game-winning home run because you drank way too much beer and soda! 50 tin limit."
Blend of the Week #3: Captain Black Original
Going into this week I already had a pretty solid idea of how I felt about Captain Black Original, and smoking it every day for a week didn't change my thoughts on it one bit. For about 50 years now Captain Black has been the best selling pipe tobacco in the United States, and I think there's a couple simple reasons for that. The first of which is that it's widely available, and the second is that it's surprisingly good!
As a pipe smoking hobbyist it might be tempting to look down on a mass produced drugstore aromatic, but I think there's genuinely a lot to like here. Captain Black Original is a relatively 50/50 mix of Burley and Black Cavendish with a smattering of bright Virginia here and there, and the tin note offers a nutty vanilla sweetened Burley aroma. It's a fairly moist aromatic but not drenched in sauce, and it packs and lights easily with no fuss just like one might expect from an OTC. Mechanically it's a very well behaved blend that requires few (if any) relights, isn't picky about smoking cadence or temperature, and you'd really have to freight train the heck out of it to get it to bite or turn harsh.
Flavor wise, Captain Black Original is a very sweet blend and it leaves a sugary sweet coating on your lips and tongue like a Swisher Sweet cigar on the charring light. Mingling with the sweetness is a prominent creamy vanilla flavor that is almost identical in taste to Coffee Mate Italian Sweet Creme coffee creamer, if you've ever had that. If you haven't then just imagine a really rich and decadent vanilla ice cream flavored coffee creamer and you'll have a pretty good idea of what Captain Black Original is all about. Along with that topping are some nutty, woody Burley notes and the occasional little touch of lemony bright Virginia to liven up the Burley and Cavendish.
Altogether I find it to be an extremely pleasant flavor profile, and bystanders seem to enjoy it even more than I do! I can say with absolute certainty that out of the nearly 100 pipe blends I've sampled at this point, Captain Black Original has by far the best smelling and most widely enjoyed room note of any pipe tobacco I've ever smoked! The room note from this one smells just like homemade sugar cookies baking in the oven and I've never had a bystander say anything about the aroma of the smoke other than to compliment how wonderful it smelled. This is one of the very few blends that I have full permission from everyone in my household to smoke indoors anytime I please. To put it simply, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't like the smell of Captain Black!
Another thing I appreciate about Captain Black Original is that it actually has a surprisingly satisfying nicotine content! It's on the low end of medium, but it's definitely there and noticably stronger than most other American aromatics and I'm certainly aware of it's presence by the end of the bowl; which I attribute to the fairly high percentage of Burley leaf in the mixture. Being a pack a day cigarette smoker for the past 26 years I like when a blend doesn't leave me wanting to rush out for a cigarette right after finishing a pipe, and Captain Black Original leaves me feeling satisfied and scratches that nicotine itch for a good while after smoking a pipe of it.
It's not all vanilla sunshine and ice cream rainbows though, there are a couple rather significant problems with this blend that I don't care for. The first is that while it is very mechanically well behaved while smoking, after the pipe is finished it leaves your bowl absolutely soaked in sticky goop. I mean completely DRENCHED! You'll definitely want to take a paper towel and wipe down the inside of your bowl several times after smoking Captain Black Original, and expect your pipe to still require two days of resting to dry out afterwards. I'd honestly recommend just using a cob if you're going to smoke this blend regularly, and expect to only get a year or so of daily smoking out of it before the amount of moisture produced by this tobacco and absorbed by the cob make it start cracking and falling apart. Captain Black will gunk up a pipe like nothing else!
The other major downside to this blend is that it really doesn't cellar well. After a year of storage sealed up in a Ball jar it'll have lost about half it's sweetness and most of the vanilla coffee creamer flavor, leaving you with a very mildly sweet and not terribly flavorful Burley forward mixture that doesn't produce nearly as pleasant of a room note either. Frankly, I wouldn't recommend keeping any more Captain Black Original on hand than you'll be able to smoke through in 6 months time; since past that the flavor starts degrading pretty rapidly. This is a "use it or lose it" blend and not at all suited to long-term storage or deep cellaring.
All that said, is Captain Black Original a keeper for me? Well, yes and no. It may not be a popular thing to admit in the cultured and sophisticated world of boutique pipe blend tasting, but Captain Black Original is probably one of my Top 5 all time favorite aromatics and every time I smoke it I feel like if every other pipe tobacco in the world suddenly disappeared one day and all there was left to smoke was Captain Black Original I'd just continue on happily smoking my pipe and not be overly bothered by the change. On the other hand, you really do need a dedicated and more or less disposable pipe to smoke it since over time it'll pretty much destroy whatever you smoke it in with how badly it gunks up a pipe; and since it loses it's flavor and aroma fairly rapidly you can't really cellar it for long-term enjoyment either.
So, my final thoughts on Captain Black Original are that I'll gladly smoke the couple pipefuls I have left in my jar then pick up a pouch now and again when I'm in the mood for it; but it's not a blend I'll keep in my regular cellar rotation. In some ways it's a great blend that I think everyone who enjoys aromatics should try at least once and it's continued popularity over the past half a century is well merited, but it's certainly not without it's faults.
For next week's blend of the week I was planning on doing a pure Virginia while it's still relatively warm and summery outside, but I've just been missing my good strong dark fired blends way too much these past couple weeks so the Virginias will have to wait! Next week's blend of the week is...
Peterson Irish Flake
Going into this week I already had a pretty solid idea of how I felt about Captain Black Original, and smoking it every day for a week didn't change my thoughts on it one bit. For about 50 years now Captain Black has been the best selling pipe tobacco in the United States, and I think there's a couple simple reasons for that. The first of which is that it's widely available, and the second is that it's surprisingly good!
As a pipe smoking hobbyist it might be tempting to look down on a mass produced drugstore aromatic, but I think there's genuinely a lot to like here. Captain Black Original is a relatively 50/50 mix of Burley and Black Cavendish with a smattering of bright Virginia here and there, and the tin note offers a nutty vanilla sweetened Burley aroma. It's a fairly moist aromatic but not drenched in sauce, and it packs and lights easily with no fuss just like one might expect from an OTC. Mechanically it's a very well behaved blend that requires few (if any) relights, isn't picky about smoking cadence or temperature, and you'd really have to freight train the heck out of it to get it to bite or turn harsh.
Flavor wise, Captain Black Original is a very sweet blend and it leaves a sugary sweet coating on your lips and tongue like a Swisher Sweet cigar on the charring light. Mingling with the sweetness is a prominent creamy vanilla flavor that is almost identical in taste to Coffee Mate Italian Sweet Creme coffee creamer, if you've ever had that. If you haven't then just imagine a really rich and decadent vanilla ice cream flavored coffee creamer and you'll have a pretty good idea of what Captain Black Original is all about. Along with that topping are some nutty, woody Burley notes and the occasional little touch of lemony bright Virginia to liven up the Burley and Cavendish.
Altogether I find it to be an extremely pleasant flavor profile, and bystanders seem to enjoy it even more than I do! I can say with absolute certainty that out of the nearly 100 pipe blends I've sampled at this point, Captain Black Original has by far the best smelling and most widely enjoyed room note of any pipe tobacco I've ever smoked! The room note from this one smells just like homemade sugar cookies baking in the oven and I've never had a bystander say anything about the aroma of the smoke other than to compliment how wonderful it smelled. This is one of the very few blends that I have full permission from everyone in my household to smoke indoors anytime I please. To put it simply, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't like the smell of Captain Black!
Another thing I appreciate about Captain Black Original is that it actually has a surprisingly satisfying nicotine content! It's on the low end of medium, but it's definitely there and noticably stronger than most other American aromatics and I'm certainly aware of it's presence by the end of the bowl; which I attribute to the fairly high percentage of Burley leaf in the mixture. Being a pack a day cigarette smoker for the past 26 years I like when a blend doesn't leave me wanting to rush out for a cigarette right after finishing a pipe, and Captain Black Original leaves me feeling satisfied and scratches that nicotine itch for a good while after smoking a pipe of it.
It's not all vanilla sunshine and ice cream rainbows though, there are a couple rather significant problems with this blend that I don't care for. The first is that while it is very mechanically well behaved while smoking, after the pipe is finished it leaves your bowl absolutely soaked in sticky goop. I mean completely DRENCHED! You'll definitely want to take a paper towel and wipe down the inside of your bowl several times after smoking Captain Black Original, and expect your pipe to still require two days of resting to dry out afterwards. I'd honestly recommend just using a cob if you're going to smoke this blend regularly, and expect to only get a year or so of daily smoking out of it before the amount of moisture produced by this tobacco and absorbed by the cob make it start cracking and falling apart. Captain Black will gunk up a pipe like nothing else!
The other major downside to this blend is that it really doesn't cellar well. After a year of storage sealed up in a Ball jar it'll have lost about half it's sweetness and most of the vanilla coffee creamer flavor, leaving you with a very mildly sweet and not terribly flavorful Burley forward mixture that doesn't produce nearly as pleasant of a room note either. Frankly, I wouldn't recommend keeping any more Captain Black Original on hand than you'll be able to smoke through in 6 months time; since past that the flavor starts degrading pretty rapidly. This is a "use it or lose it" blend and not at all suited to long-term storage or deep cellaring.
All that said, is Captain Black Original a keeper for me? Well, yes and no. It may not be a popular thing to admit in the cultured and sophisticated world of boutique pipe blend tasting, but Captain Black Original is probably one of my Top 5 all time favorite aromatics and every time I smoke it I feel like if every other pipe tobacco in the world suddenly disappeared one day and all there was left to smoke was Captain Black Original I'd just continue on happily smoking my pipe and not be overly bothered by the change. On the other hand, you really do need a dedicated and more or less disposable pipe to smoke it since over time it'll pretty much destroy whatever you smoke it in with how badly it gunks up a pipe; and since it loses it's flavor and aroma fairly rapidly you can't really cellar it for long-term enjoyment either.
So, my final thoughts on Captain Black Original are that I'll gladly smoke the couple pipefuls I have left in my jar then pick up a pouch now and again when I'm in the mood for it; but it's not a blend I'll keep in my regular cellar rotation. In some ways it's a great blend that I think everyone who enjoys aromatics should try at least once and it's continued popularity over the past half a century is well merited, but it's certainly not without it's faults.
For next week's blend of the week I was planning on doing a pure Virginia while it's still relatively warm and summery outside, but I've just been missing my good strong dark fired blends way too much these past couple weeks so the Virginias will have to wait! Next week's blend of the week is...
Peterson Irish Flake
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My early thoughts on Irish Flake is that it's got a fantastic and complex flavor profile and a pleasantly sedating nicotine kick, though oh boy is it ever pummelling the heck out of my throat! For some reason (and I'm guessing it's the Burley in it, since my throat is rather sensitive to plain Burley but not DFK) this blend is just tearing up the back of my throat something fierce, so while I take a little break to let my throat recover from the Irish Flake I'll be using this week to do a fun comparison project of Mac Baren's three vanilla offerings!
Along with my review of Irish Flake on Saturday, expect a three way comparison of Mac Baren Vanilla Flake, Vanilla Cream Loose Cut, and Vanilla Roll Cake.
If you've ever had any (or all) of these three let me know what you thought of them!
Along with my review of Irish Flake on Saturday, expect a three way comparison of Mac Baren Vanilla Flake, Vanilla Cream Loose Cut, and Vanilla Roll Cake.
If you've ever had any (or all) of these three let me know what you thought of them!
Your review of Cpt Black had me craving an aromatic - so my morning smoke today is Lane 1Q.
Keep this series coming, this is fun to read!
Keep this series coming, this is fun to read!
A little bit of MacB Vanilla Cream bulk added to a an ounce or so of MacB VA#1 makes a very nice blend for me, but I’m not a fan of typical American flavored burley/cav “aromatics”.
Thanks for the kind words, and will do! It's funny though, because I almost smoked Lane 1-Q today too. I was pondering what I could smoke this week as an alternate blend to Irish Flake that would be really gentle and easy on the throat and almost picked 1-Q, but decided that I should probably do the comparison of all the Mac Baren Vanilla blends I've been meaning to do for awhile instead. I'll definitely be giving 1-Q a proper try the next time that the main blend pick for the week roughs up my throat though!
These are great! Nice project and thanks for sharing. 
I'm enjoying this very much Skippy. In depth reviews and thoughts and now i'm thinking i should pick up another cob and a pouch of Cpt Black.
I appreciate your review of Captain Black original. I dedicated a pipe to it and it really did gunk up the pipe. I couldn't even completely wipe out the bowl. After a pouch of CBO, it was off to the salt and alcohol bath. The smoke was good, however.
Blend of the Week Bonus: Mac Baren Vanilla Flake, Vanilla Cream Loose Cut, & Vanilla Roll Cake Comparison
I remember for a couple months last year I was smoking Mac Baren Vanilla Flake with my coffee every morning, and having it again this week I'm not sure why I ever stopped! If you're the sort who likes their coffee with a bit of cream and sugar then I can't think of a better blend to pair it with than this (as evidenced by the fact that all I had left of my tin to photograph was a few broken and partially rubbed out flakes).
Vanilla Flake is just a little sweet but not too sweet, and has a very natural and mellow creamy vanilla bean top note that compliments the warm, bready, slightly grassy Virginias in this flake so very well! It's a really harmonious blend of honest Virginia tobacco flavors with real vanilla and cream. Normally I like to rub out and dry my flake tobaccos before smoking, but I think Vanilla Flake smokes coolest and most flavorfully when just folded and stuffed straight from the tin or jar; which is particularly convenient in the morning when you're all groggy and can't be bothered to rub out and dry a flake.
Moving on to Vanilla Cream Loose Cut, what I can say straight off is that Vanilla Flake and Vanilla Cream Loose Cut are the same blend of tobaccos with the same top note; though there are some differences. The pressing of the tobaccos together in the flake cut version marries and intensifies the flavors of both the Virginia tobaccos and the vanilla topping, as well as softening the slightly rough edges and muting the flavors of the Burleys to make them disappear into the background and provide a smoother retrohale.
On the flip side, if you like more tobacco flavors and less vanilla with greater variety from puff to puff then the loose cut version would be the better choice. You can taste the Burleys more in the loose cut version and some puffs provide more Virginia, more Burley, or more creamy vanilla sweet Cavendish; whereas with the flake version it's the same Virginias plus vanilla and cream flavor profile in every puff from top to bottom.
Before we get on to Vanilla Roll Cake, it's worth noting that both Vanilla Flake and Vanilla Cream Loose Cut are very temperamental when it comes to heat. You really want to keep these blends burning slow and cool, because if they get burning just a little bit too hot then all that nice vanilla flavor is going to up and leave and all you'll get from the smoke is ashy tasting yuck. Thankfully it comes right back when the tobacco cools down and starts burning more slowly again, so if you could use a blend to help teach you how to smoke slow and sip your pipe gently then these would both be excellent teachers! They'll reward you greatly for smoking slow, but are quick to punish if you get puffing a little too aggressively. Vanilla Flake was actually the blend that taught me how to smoke slowly and sip my pipes way back when my pipe journey was just starting, and I still appreciate the lessons it taught me.
Vanilla Roll Cake is an entirely different blend than Vanilla Flake or Vanilla Cream Loose Cut, with a much more subdued vanilla in both the tin aroma and the flavor when smoked and none of the creaminess found in Flake and Loose Cut. This doesn't strike me as an aromatic like it's two siblings are, but more of a Virginia/Burley blend with a little something extra. There is a subtle sweetness to the smoke, but it's more of a honey sweetness with just the tiniest hint of vanilla.
Though it's not listed on the label I also suspect there to be a small amount of Dark Fired Kentucky in Vanilla Roll Cake, since it has that DFK spice as a background note and creates a powerful spicy zing through the sinuses when retrohaled; whereas Vanilla Flake and Vanilla Cream Loose Cut are both fairly smooth and gentle on the sinuses when retrohaled. The nicotine hit on the Roll Cake is noticeably stronger than the other two as well. I'd say it's on the strong side of medium whereas Flake and Loose Cut are both on the upper end of mild.
Altogether Vanilla Roll Cake reminds me very much of another coin cut Mac Baren blend, which is the current production version of Three Nuns. There's less Dark Fired Kentucky in Vanilla Roll Cake (if there is any at all and my tastebuds aren't just playing tricks on me), but it's got the same Virginia, DFK, and honey flavor notes as Three Nuns but with the addition of a very mild, delicate, and natural tasting vanilla topping. In short, this is an aromatic for people who don't generally like aromatics.
Comparing Mac Baren's three vanilla offerings side by side, Vanilla Flake has the strongest and most prominent aromatic aspects with a consistent melding of creamy vanilla and bready Virginia flavors in every puff. Next up in vanilla flavoring strength is Vanilla Cream Loose Cut, which has that same creamy vanilla flavor as the Flake but it's a little milder and the smoke often drifts between the Virginia, Burley, and vanilla flavors from puff to puff. Bringing up the rear in terms of vanilla'iness is Vanilla Roll Cake, which showcases a robust Virginia/Burley (and possibly a little Dark Fired Kentucky) blend as the main flavors with just a hint of honey sweetness and a subtle non-creamy wisp of natural tasting vanilla as a background note.
Personally my favorite of the bunch is Vanilla Flake, since I appreciate the way the stronger creamy vanilla top note compliments the Virginias in every puff, but they're all wonderful blends and easily the most refined and elegant vanilla aromatics I've ever smoked. It's a testament to their quality that I was able to smoke all three back to back in the same pipe several times this week and not have a single drop of moisture left in the bowl after any of them; just clean, dry, white ash. The flavors of all three showcase how well the light application of quality vanilla can compliment the natural flavors of good tobacco and produce a superior aromatic, wherein both the leaf and the top note can be appreciated in unison.
In less fancy pants words, they're all some darn good blends and if you like vanilla then you'll probably enjoy any of them! I like Vanilla Flake best, but those who prefer a little less vanilla flavor might want to go for the Loose Cut, and if you're the sort who doesn't usually like aromatics but are still curious what just a smidgen of natural tasting vanilla and honey might be able to add to a quality VaBur blend then give the Roll Cake a try!
I remember for a couple months last year I was smoking Mac Baren Vanilla Flake with my coffee every morning, and having it again this week I'm not sure why I ever stopped! If you're the sort who likes their coffee with a bit of cream and sugar then I can't think of a better blend to pair it with than this (as evidenced by the fact that all I had left of my tin to photograph was a few broken and partially rubbed out flakes).
Vanilla Flake is just a little sweet but not too sweet, and has a very natural and mellow creamy vanilla bean top note that compliments the warm, bready, slightly grassy Virginias in this flake so very well! It's a really harmonious blend of honest Virginia tobacco flavors with real vanilla and cream. Normally I like to rub out and dry my flake tobaccos before smoking, but I think Vanilla Flake smokes coolest and most flavorfully when just folded and stuffed straight from the tin or jar; which is particularly convenient in the morning when you're all groggy and can't be bothered to rub out and dry a flake.
Moving on to Vanilla Cream Loose Cut, what I can say straight off is that Vanilla Flake and Vanilla Cream Loose Cut are the same blend of tobaccos with the same top note; though there are some differences. The pressing of the tobaccos together in the flake cut version marries and intensifies the flavors of both the Virginia tobaccos and the vanilla topping, as well as softening the slightly rough edges and muting the flavors of the Burleys to make them disappear into the background and provide a smoother retrohale.
On the flip side, if you like more tobacco flavors and less vanilla with greater variety from puff to puff then the loose cut version would be the better choice. You can taste the Burleys more in the loose cut version and some puffs provide more Virginia, more Burley, or more creamy vanilla sweet Cavendish; whereas with the flake version it's the same Virginias plus vanilla and cream flavor profile in every puff from top to bottom.
Before we get on to Vanilla Roll Cake, it's worth noting that both Vanilla Flake and Vanilla Cream Loose Cut are very temperamental when it comes to heat. You really want to keep these blends burning slow and cool, because if they get burning just a little bit too hot then all that nice vanilla flavor is going to up and leave and all you'll get from the smoke is ashy tasting yuck. Thankfully it comes right back when the tobacco cools down and starts burning more slowly again, so if you could use a blend to help teach you how to smoke slow and sip your pipe gently then these would both be excellent teachers! They'll reward you greatly for smoking slow, but are quick to punish if you get puffing a little too aggressively. Vanilla Flake was actually the blend that taught me how to smoke slowly and sip my pipes way back when my pipe journey was just starting, and I still appreciate the lessons it taught me.
Vanilla Roll Cake is an entirely different blend than Vanilla Flake or Vanilla Cream Loose Cut, with a much more subdued vanilla in both the tin aroma and the flavor when smoked and none of the creaminess found in Flake and Loose Cut. This doesn't strike me as an aromatic like it's two siblings are, but more of a Virginia/Burley blend with a little something extra. There is a subtle sweetness to the smoke, but it's more of a honey sweetness with just the tiniest hint of vanilla.
Though it's not listed on the label I also suspect there to be a small amount of Dark Fired Kentucky in Vanilla Roll Cake, since it has that DFK spice as a background note and creates a powerful spicy zing through the sinuses when retrohaled; whereas Vanilla Flake and Vanilla Cream Loose Cut are both fairly smooth and gentle on the sinuses when retrohaled. The nicotine hit on the Roll Cake is noticeably stronger than the other two as well. I'd say it's on the strong side of medium whereas Flake and Loose Cut are both on the upper end of mild.
Altogether Vanilla Roll Cake reminds me very much of another coin cut Mac Baren blend, which is the current production version of Three Nuns. There's less Dark Fired Kentucky in Vanilla Roll Cake (if there is any at all and my tastebuds aren't just playing tricks on me), but it's got the same Virginia, DFK, and honey flavor notes as Three Nuns but with the addition of a very mild, delicate, and natural tasting vanilla topping. In short, this is an aromatic for people who don't generally like aromatics.
Comparing Mac Baren's three vanilla offerings side by side, Vanilla Flake has the strongest and most prominent aromatic aspects with a consistent melding of creamy vanilla and bready Virginia flavors in every puff. Next up in vanilla flavoring strength is Vanilla Cream Loose Cut, which has that same creamy vanilla flavor as the Flake but it's a little milder and the smoke often drifts between the Virginia, Burley, and vanilla flavors from puff to puff. Bringing up the rear in terms of vanilla'iness is Vanilla Roll Cake, which showcases a robust Virginia/Burley (and possibly a little Dark Fired Kentucky) blend as the main flavors with just a hint of honey sweetness and a subtle non-creamy wisp of natural tasting vanilla as a background note.
Personally my favorite of the bunch is Vanilla Flake, since I appreciate the way the stronger creamy vanilla top note compliments the Virginias in every puff, but they're all wonderful blends and easily the most refined and elegant vanilla aromatics I've ever smoked. It's a testament to their quality that I was able to smoke all three back to back in the same pipe several times this week and not have a single drop of moisture left in the bowl after any of them; just clean, dry, white ash. The flavors of all three showcase how well the light application of quality vanilla can compliment the natural flavors of good tobacco and produce a superior aromatic, wherein both the leaf and the top note can be appreciated in unison.
In less fancy pants words, they're all some darn good blends and if you like vanilla then you'll probably enjoy any of them! I like Vanilla Flake best, but those who prefer a little less vanilla flavor might want to go for the Loose Cut, and if you're the sort who doesn't usually like aromatics but are still curious what just a smidgen of natural tasting vanilla and honey might be able to add to a quality VaBur blend then give the Roll Cake a try!
Blend of the Week #4: Peterson Irish Flake
For the main blend of the week this week we've got a good strong one! Irish Flake is one of those blends you hear mentioned in hushed whispers on account of the many pipe smokers it's purported to have put on the floor, but is it really a blend to be scared of? I guess we'll have to find out!
First off, Irish Flake is just an amazing melange of flavors! The nutty chocolatey Burley is the main player, followed closely by the barbecue pit smokey Dark Fired Kentucky, and the grassy citrusy naturally sweet bright Virginia isn't far behind. You can taste them all in good measure in every puff and it's a very well balanced blend that gives each component space to shine. There is a very subtle anise topping coupled with a more prominent floral Lakeland-style essence, but it isn't soapy at all and has a bright and refreshing sort of effervescence to it. This isn't the grandma's underwear drawer sort of floral, it's more like dandelion lemon lime soda and I think it adds something really wonderful to the blend. Altogether Irish Flake has one of those flavor mixes that might sound bizarre on paper, but then you taste it and go, "Wow! This is fantastic!"
Getting back to the opening topic though, the thing that most often comes up when discussing Irish Flake is the nicotine strength; and it does indeed pack quite a punch! On the scale of mild to extra strong I'd put Irish Flake towards the upper end of "strong". There are stronger blends than Irish Flake out there but not too many of them, and the ones that are almost all have "Gawith" in their names. To give you a good frame of reference I'd put Irish Flake at about the same nicotine strength level as another popular Peterson blend, Nightcap. I can smoke it for half an hour or so without risking any ill effects, whereas with some of the more potent Gawith blends like 1792 Flake I have to put the pipe down after 15 or 20 minutes if I don't want to get nicotine sickness. So, Irish Flake may not be the strongest blend out there, but it's certainly no slouch in the Vitamin N department and should be enjoyed with a bit of respect and caution.
Considering how strong this blend is it's also surprisingly smooth, and as long as you keep the tobacco burning cool and slow it's fairly retrohale friendly; though it can sting the sinuses a bit if it gets burning too hot. The room note is dense and heavy, with a pungent tobacco'y aroma that I enjoy but I don't think most non-smokers would find to be pleasant. That seems to be the case with every heavily Dark Fired Kentucky based blend I've tried though, so nothing out of the ordinary here. Smoking any sort of Dark Fired Kentucky mix in public spaces isn't likely to make you new friends.
Unfortunately for me though there are a couple particular varieties of tobacco that just don't work with my mouth chemistry and irritate the everliving daylights out of my throat, leaving me with an awfully sore and scratchy feeling throat every time I smoke them; which are most Burleys and Perique. Both bright and red Virginias as well as Dark Fired Kentucky, Latakia, and the majority of Orientals don't seem to bother me at all; but generally speaking anything containing a significant quantity of Burley that hasn't been heavily cased in something sweet or any sort of Perique is a no-go for me. There are a couple exceptions that don't seem to bother me, like Gawith Hoggarth's steam pressed brown Burley flakes as well as the extra mellow Burleys used in some OTC blends and aromatics, but for the most part unadulterated Burley and any amount of Perique are to be avoided for me.
When I decided to try Irish Flake I was thinking of it as a Dark Fired Kentucky blend, but after doing a bit of reading up on it there's apparently equal amounts of DFK, Virginia, and Burley in this one; and the Burley pretty severely irritated my throat every time I smoked it. So, as much as I enjoy the flavor and strength of Irish Flake it's not a keeper for me. There's plenty of good strong Dark Fired Kentucky blends without throat irritating Burley in them, so there's no sense in smoking something that doesn't agree with my mouth chemistry and beats up my throat when there's a wide variety of other similar blends to choose from that don't.
It's a darn shame though because I really enjoyed this blend on many levels and I'd recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good strong Burley or Dark Fired Kentucky flake, but we don't get a whole lot of say in what agrees with our mouth chemistry and what doesn't so it's on to the next one for me!
Speaking of which, next week's blend of the week is another dark fired blend that (hopefully) based on the ingredients of just pure Dark Fired Kentucky and Virginia will work out much better for me. I've never had it before though and will be cracking open a fresh tin with a year of age on it to give it a try, so wish me luck! Our next blend of the week is...
Mac Baren HH Bold Kentucky
For the main blend of the week this week we've got a good strong one! Irish Flake is one of those blends you hear mentioned in hushed whispers on account of the many pipe smokers it's purported to have put on the floor, but is it really a blend to be scared of? I guess we'll have to find out!
First off, Irish Flake is just an amazing melange of flavors! The nutty chocolatey Burley is the main player, followed closely by the barbecue pit smokey Dark Fired Kentucky, and the grassy citrusy naturally sweet bright Virginia isn't far behind. You can taste them all in good measure in every puff and it's a very well balanced blend that gives each component space to shine. There is a very subtle anise topping coupled with a more prominent floral Lakeland-style essence, but it isn't soapy at all and has a bright and refreshing sort of effervescence to it. This isn't the grandma's underwear drawer sort of floral, it's more like dandelion lemon lime soda and I think it adds something really wonderful to the blend. Altogether Irish Flake has one of those flavor mixes that might sound bizarre on paper, but then you taste it and go, "Wow! This is fantastic!"
Getting back to the opening topic though, the thing that most often comes up when discussing Irish Flake is the nicotine strength; and it does indeed pack quite a punch! On the scale of mild to extra strong I'd put Irish Flake towards the upper end of "strong". There are stronger blends than Irish Flake out there but not too many of them, and the ones that are almost all have "Gawith" in their names. To give you a good frame of reference I'd put Irish Flake at about the same nicotine strength level as another popular Peterson blend, Nightcap. I can smoke it for half an hour or so without risking any ill effects, whereas with some of the more potent Gawith blends like 1792 Flake I have to put the pipe down after 15 or 20 minutes if I don't want to get nicotine sickness. So, Irish Flake may not be the strongest blend out there, but it's certainly no slouch in the Vitamin N department and should be enjoyed with a bit of respect and caution.
Considering how strong this blend is it's also surprisingly smooth, and as long as you keep the tobacco burning cool and slow it's fairly retrohale friendly; though it can sting the sinuses a bit if it gets burning too hot. The room note is dense and heavy, with a pungent tobacco'y aroma that I enjoy but I don't think most non-smokers would find to be pleasant. That seems to be the case with every heavily Dark Fired Kentucky based blend I've tried though, so nothing out of the ordinary here. Smoking any sort of Dark Fired Kentucky mix in public spaces isn't likely to make you new friends.
Unfortunately for me though there are a couple particular varieties of tobacco that just don't work with my mouth chemistry and irritate the everliving daylights out of my throat, leaving me with an awfully sore and scratchy feeling throat every time I smoke them; which are most Burleys and Perique. Both bright and red Virginias as well as Dark Fired Kentucky, Latakia, and the majority of Orientals don't seem to bother me at all; but generally speaking anything containing a significant quantity of Burley that hasn't been heavily cased in something sweet or any sort of Perique is a no-go for me. There are a couple exceptions that don't seem to bother me, like Gawith Hoggarth's steam pressed brown Burley flakes as well as the extra mellow Burleys used in some OTC blends and aromatics, but for the most part unadulterated Burley and any amount of Perique are to be avoided for me.
When I decided to try Irish Flake I was thinking of it as a Dark Fired Kentucky blend, but after doing a bit of reading up on it there's apparently equal amounts of DFK, Virginia, and Burley in this one; and the Burley pretty severely irritated my throat every time I smoked it. So, as much as I enjoy the flavor and strength of Irish Flake it's not a keeper for me. There's plenty of good strong Dark Fired Kentucky blends without throat irritating Burley in them, so there's no sense in smoking something that doesn't agree with my mouth chemistry and beats up my throat when there's a wide variety of other similar blends to choose from that don't.
It's a darn shame though because I really enjoyed this blend on many levels and I'd recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good strong Burley or Dark Fired Kentucky flake, but we don't get a whole lot of say in what agrees with our mouth chemistry and what doesn't so it's on to the next one for me!
Speaking of which, next week's blend of the week is another dark fired blend that (hopefully) based on the ingredients of just pure Dark Fired Kentucky and Virginia will work out much better for me. I've never had it before though and will be cracking open a fresh tin with a year of age on it to give it a try, so wish me luck! Our next blend of the week is...
Mac Baren HH Bold Kentucky
Looks like you have the same type of mentally aberrant organizational disease I have. I can't seem to stop it, either. I don't have as many tobaccos as you do because of Canadian governmental theft, but I try.Hey there folks! My name is Skippy and I have a problem. Tobacco Acquisition Disorder affects us all to one degree or another, and oh boy have I ever had a bad case of it!
I'm going into my third year of pipe smoking at this point and my cellar has reached just shy of 100 blends stashed away in 8 ounce Ball jars or unopened tins, and I'd really like to thin it down to just the ones I enjoy the most. After sorting through them all there were 28 blends that I knew I had no desire to ever smoke again, so they went into an sell/giveaway box, but that still left 68 blends that I never really smoked enough of to properly evaluate.
So, I decided to make a year and a half long project out of it and every Sunday pick a blend in my cellar and smoke that blend every day for a week. If I'm not sick of it and am still enjoying smoking it after a week then it's a keeper, and if not then it goes in the sell/giveaway box; but either way there will be a review of it posted in this thread at the end of the week!
Thus far the only blend I've determined to be definite keeper is Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia, and I am allowing myself to smoke verified keepers for my second or third smoke of the day after having the blend of the week so I can continue enjoying favorite blends while I work my way through this mountain of jars.
It'll be a long process going through them all, but this thread will chronicle the journey and I figure smoking a blend every day for a week should be enough time to properly evaluate it. When the project is done in a year and a half or so I'll have a much more manageable cellar, and a pretty solid idea of what I'd like to deep cellar for long-term enjoyment!
I hope you'll come along and join me on this journey, and share your thoughts on each week's blend of the week as well if you've ever had it before! My first blend of the week is Gawith Hoggarth Jamaican Flake (formerly Rum Flake) and you can expect a thorough review of it on Saturday along with an announcement for what next week's blend of the week will be!
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Is your larder arranged alphabetically, alphabetically by type, by price, or what? Enquiring minds want to know!
The only tobaccos I will no longer buy are limited editions. I managed to snag two tins of C&D Steamworks, one of the nicest tobaccos I've ever smoked. When it's finished I'll probably commit suicide or go into a massive depression.
Best of luck with your disorders!
PM me if you find a solution.
It's really strange, I have a tough time with many codger blends, which tend to be burley-based. They leave my mouth super dry and coated with something, and irritate my throat a bit. So I've been avoiding burley-forward blends with that in mind.
But Irish Flake and I get along famously. I, too, have been thinking of it as a DFK blend, and just skipped over the burley in the ingredient list, and I smoke at least one bowl a week of it with no ill effects on my mouth or throat.
Perhaps it's something in the casing or topping of the codgers, and not the burley at all. Oh dear. I'd hate to think that burleys are now open to me, because I've been saving so much by not even considering burley blends for my TAD...