I’m not a fan of American burleys, but love IF.
I’d posit that the Scandi and other Euro blends use imperial leaf, because I really like them-from IF to the Gawiths, and right on down to the cheap stuff like 2Daughters Ryback.
Skippy's Blend of the Week
- Thread starter Skippy B. Coyote
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I’d posit that the Scandi and other Euro blends use imperial leaf, because I really like them-from IF to the Gawiths, and right on down to the cheap stuff like 2Daughters Ryback.
Great review—you inspired me to smoke some IF after a long gap in time (no real reason other than that I didn’t crack open a new tin when I finished the last one).
It’s just plain terrific.
Coming in a bit late this week, but this time around I've got two reviews to share! The first blend of the week for this week was very much not something I could smoke anytime so I grabbed a second blend from the shelf to smoke everyday as well.
And oh, before we get started I'd just like to take a moment to thank @SmokingInTheWind for his very generous donation of two gorgeous Country Gentleman cobs with Forever Stems to my pipe rotation! It's no secret that Country Gentlemans are possibly my all time favorite pipes and I'm thrilled to have a couple more to add to my rotation! You can see them in the second review below.
Blend of the Week #5: Mac Baren HH Bold Kentucky
For me both the tin note and flavor of HH Bold Kentucky are surprisingly subdued, it seems more like a mellow Kentucky than a bold one! It lacks the potent barbeque pit hickory smokey, spicy, sour flavor profile of it's less nicotine rich sibling blend HH Old Dark Fired, but what it does have instead is a softly woody and just slightly smokey flavor profile that isn't terribly complex and doesn't have much to offer beyond those two notes but still quite enjoyable.
It's dark and earthy yet still gentle and smooth, at least until you retrohale it; at which point this blend will quickly remind you just how strong it is with a powerful sting through the sinuses. The flavor actually reminds me quite a bit of Gawith Hoggarth's Dark Bird's Eye or Kendal Kentucky, which is probably due to both Bold Kentucky and the Gawith blends employing African dark fired leaf in addition to the American dark fired Burleys typically found in Dark Fired Kentucky based blends.
In terms of strength, on my nicotine content scale of mild to extra strong this one gets a well deserved "extra strong" rating that puts it right up there with all the Gawith ropes, twists, and dark flakes that contain enough nicotine to tranquilize an above average sized rhinoceros. After just 10 minutes of smoking HH Bold Kentucky I really have to put the pipe down and be done, since even with my pack-a-day nicotine tolerance and a good meal on my stomach I start getting pretty woozy feeling and my insides begin to feel a little unsettled if I continue smoking past the 10 minute mark. It's really rare for me to find a blend that feels too strong for me to handle, but HH Bold Kentucky is honestly a bit much for me and even those super short 10 minute smokes waylaid me with nicotine sickness a couple times this past week. This may actually be the strongest blend I've ever smoked in terms of nicotine content!
That leads me to a bit of a problem I had with this blend, in that it's too strong for me to smoke even a small bowl of in one sitting but it also doesn't relight terribly well and turns quite harsh if set down and relit an hour or two later. I don't recall ever having that problem with it's sibling blend Old Dark Fired, but Bold Kentucky gets a little too harsh for me to continue smoking if I put it down and try coming back to it later.
With the relight issue and it's absolutely kick-your-butt nicotine content in mind I'm sad to say that HH Bold Kentucky isn't a keeper for me, though I do recall really enjoying and not having any particular qualms with it's fairly easygoing yet strangely more flavorful companion blend HH Old Dark Fired; so I think that one might be a winner for me when I eventually get around to having it as a blend of the week!
Blend of the Week #6: Capstan Original Navy Cut (Blue)
There's many flavors a Virginia tobacco can have. Bright Virginias can taste grassy, hay-like, lemony or citrusy, like green or black tea, floral, and can even have wisps of sweetness that taste just like honey sometimes. Darker stoved Virginias can be bready and savory, fruity like a plum or other dark stone fruit, and often lean heavier into the green and black tea notes. Red Virginias have their own flavors too, and can be woody, tangy, ketchupy, vinegary, vegetal, or taste like the aroma of damp leaf litter in the autumn. There can be some crossover between the three as well, and which characteristics stand out most often comes down to how the manufacturer chooses to case or top the blend to accentuate different qualities of the leaf.
Capstan Blue is a rather complex Virgina blend that has many of those flavor notes! The primary note I get from both the tin aroma and the flavor of the smoke is a vegetal one, which reminds me a lot of a dark vegetable bullion without all the salt. I get the combined flavors of tomatoes, celery, carrots, and potatoes and it has a very natural carrot'y sweetness; but you can also find green and black tea as well as fresh baked or toasted white bread flavors and the occasional bit of lemon. The lemon becomes especially prominent through the last third of the bowl. In short though, Capstan Blue tastes like a whole bunch of things you can eat and it's no wonder Tolkien and many others have enjoyed this blend so much over the past century. It really drags your tongue through the garden!
I do suspect that a lot of the prominent vegetable flavors present come from whatever topping is used on Capstan Blue, since it's a really unique flavor combination that I've never tasted in any pure Virginia blends other than Capstan Blue and Gold and a fresh tin will be a lot more veggieful (I don't think that's a real word but I like it and am using it anyway) tasting than one that's been opened and aged in a Ball jar for a year; but it works really well and I don't think non-aromatic smokers would find it offensive at all. It's not one of those, "Eww, this has a topping!" sort of situations for smokers who are adverse to added flavors in their tobaccos, it's more of a, "Oh, this Virginia is a lot more vegetal tasting than most!" scenario. Whatever topping is in use here seems to just bring that particular natural flavor aspect of the Virginias to the forefront.
Mechanically it's a very well behaved blend, whether you choose to rub it out or just fold and stuff the flakes, smoking clean and dry and leaving very little moisture in the bowl, though as with all blends containing a significant quantity of bright Virginia you'll want to keep it burning slow and cool to avoid the acidity of the tobacco nipping at your tongue. The prominent vegetal note can turn acrid and unpleasant tasting if the tobacco gets burning too hot as well, so best to keep this blend smouldering low and slow. As with almost all pure Virginias the room note from Capstan Blue is quite pleasant, like bread baking in the oven with a little bit of toastiness, so you shouldn't get much in the way of complaints smoking this around others.
The nicotine content is on the lower end of medium and is pleasantly relaxing without ever becoming overbearing, even when multiple pipefuls are smoked back to back. It's a pretty standard pure Virginia in that regard, which is part of why I enjoy this genre of tobacco so much. It's something you can sip on all day and feel relaxed and at ease without ever having to worry about how long you've been smoking it for or the possibility of nicotine sickness creeping in.
All that said, after smoking it for a week is Capstan Blue a keeper for me? Honestly that's a toughie! On one hand I am an enjoyer of pure Virginias and Capstan Blue is a really unique one with the vegetal flavor it's got going on, but on the other hand that vegetal topping can turn a little acrid tasting now and then and I found it really off-putting every time it did. Considering that there are other pure Virginias I know I really like that don't have any added topping to potentially turn foul tasting I think I'm going to give Capstan Blue a pass, though it was pretty close to being a keeper and I think it would have been were there not other pure Virginias I prefer. I definitely get why so many people enjoy this blend though, and I'd consider mandatory to try at least once for anyone with a taste for pure Virginias!
For next week I've got a pretty interesting blend lined up, in that it's an aromatic but one that isn't sweet! In fact, it's rather tart and a little sour, with a very realistic and true to life cherry flavor that isn't cough syrupy at all. Say hello to...
Mac Baren 7 Seas Red Blend
And oh, before we get started I'd just like to take a moment to thank @SmokingInTheWind for his very generous donation of two gorgeous Country Gentleman cobs with Forever Stems to my pipe rotation! It's no secret that Country Gentlemans are possibly my all time favorite pipes and I'm thrilled to have a couple more to add to my rotation! You can see them in the second review below.
Blend of the Week #5: Mac Baren HH Bold Kentucky
For me both the tin note and flavor of HH Bold Kentucky are surprisingly subdued, it seems more like a mellow Kentucky than a bold one! It lacks the potent barbeque pit hickory smokey, spicy, sour flavor profile of it's less nicotine rich sibling blend HH Old Dark Fired, but what it does have instead is a softly woody and just slightly smokey flavor profile that isn't terribly complex and doesn't have much to offer beyond those two notes but still quite enjoyable.
It's dark and earthy yet still gentle and smooth, at least until you retrohale it; at which point this blend will quickly remind you just how strong it is with a powerful sting through the sinuses. The flavor actually reminds me quite a bit of Gawith Hoggarth's Dark Bird's Eye or Kendal Kentucky, which is probably due to both Bold Kentucky and the Gawith blends employing African dark fired leaf in addition to the American dark fired Burleys typically found in Dark Fired Kentucky based blends.
In terms of strength, on my nicotine content scale of mild to extra strong this one gets a well deserved "extra strong" rating that puts it right up there with all the Gawith ropes, twists, and dark flakes that contain enough nicotine to tranquilize an above average sized rhinoceros. After just 10 minutes of smoking HH Bold Kentucky I really have to put the pipe down and be done, since even with my pack-a-day nicotine tolerance and a good meal on my stomach I start getting pretty woozy feeling and my insides begin to feel a little unsettled if I continue smoking past the 10 minute mark. It's really rare for me to find a blend that feels too strong for me to handle, but HH Bold Kentucky is honestly a bit much for me and even those super short 10 minute smokes waylaid me with nicotine sickness a couple times this past week. This may actually be the strongest blend I've ever smoked in terms of nicotine content!
That leads me to a bit of a problem I had with this blend, in that it's too strong for me to smoke even a small bowl of in one sitting but it also doesn't relight terribly well and turns quite harsh if set down and relit an hour or two later. I don't recall ever having that problem with it's sibling blend Old Dark Fired, but Bold Kentucky gets a little too harsh for me to continue smoking if I put it down and try coming back to it later.
With the relight issue and it's absolutely kick-your-butt nicotine content in mind I'm sad to say that HH Bold Kentucky isn't a keeper for me, though I do recall really enjoying and not having any particular qualms with it's fairly easygoing yet strangely more flavorful companion blend HH Old Dark Fired; so I think that one might be a winner for me when I eventually get around to having it as a blend of the week!
Blend of the Week #6: Capstan Original Navy Cut (Blue)
There's many flavors a Virginia tobacco can have. Bright Virginias can taste grassy, hay-like, lemony or citrusy, like green or black tea, floral, and can even have wisps of sweetness that taste just like honey sometimes. Darker stoved Virginias can be bready and savory, fruity like a plum or other dark stone fruit, and often lean heavier into the green and black tea notes. Red Virginias have their own flavors too, and can be woody, tangy, ketchupy, vinegary, vegetal, or taste like the aroma of damp leaf litter in the autumn. There can be some crossover between the three as well, and which characteristics stand out most often comes down to how the manufacturer chooses to case or top the blend to accentuate different qualities of the leaf.
Capstan Blue is a rather complex Virgina blend that has many of those flavor notes! The primary note I get from both the tin aroma and the flavor of the smoke is a vegetal one, which reminds me a lot of a dark vegetable bullion without all the salt. I get the combined flavors of tomatoes, celery, carrots, and potatoes and it has a very natural carrot'y sweetness; but you can also find green and black tea as well as fresh baked or toasted white bread flavors and the occasional bit of lemon. The lemon becomes especially prominent through the last third of the bowl. In short though, Capstan Blue tastes like a whole bunch of things you can eat and it's no wonder Tolkien and many others have enjoyed this blend so much over the past century. It really drags your tongue through the garden!
I do suspect that a lot of the prominent vegetable flavors present come from whatever topping is used on Capstan Blue, since it's a really unique flavor combination that I've never tasted in any pure Virginia blends other than Capstan Blue and Gold and a fresh tin will be a lot more veggieful (I don't think that's a real word but I like it and am using it anyway) tasting than one that's been opened and aged in a Ball jar for a year; but it works really well and I don't think non-aromatic smokers would find it offensive at all. It's not one of those, "Eww, this has a topping!" sort of situations for smokers who are adverse to added flavors in their tobaccos, it's more of a, "Oh, this Virginia is a lot more vegetal tasting than most!" scenario. Whatever topping is in use here seems to just bring that particular natural flavor aspect of the Virginias to the forefront.
Mechanically it's a very well behaved blend, whether you choose to rub it out or just fold and stuff the flakes, smoking clean and dry and leaving very little moisture in the bowl, though as with all blends containing a significant quantity of bright Virginia you'll want to keep it burning slow and cool to avoid the acidity of the tobacco nipping at your tongue. The prominent vegetal note can turn acrid and unpleasant tasting if the tobacco gets burning too hot as well, so best to keep this blend smouldering low and slow. As with almost all pure Virginias the room note from Capstan Blue is quite pleasant, like bread baking in the oven with a little bit of toastiness, so you shouldn't get much in the way of complaints smoking this around others.
The nicotine content is on the lower end of medium and is pleasantly relaxing without ever becoming overbearing, even when multiple pipefuls are smoked back to back. It's a pretty standard pure Virginia in that regard, which is part of why I enjoy this genre of tobacco so much. It's something you can sip on all day and feel relaxed and at ease without ever having to worry about how long you've been smoking it for or the possibility of nicotine sickness creeping in.
All that said, after smoking it for a week is Capstan Blue a keeper for me? Honestly that's a toughie! On one hand I am an enjoyer of pure Virginias and Capstan Blue is a really unique one with the vegetal flavor it's got going on, but on the other hand that vegetal topping can turn a little acrid tasting now and then and I found it really off-putting every time it did. Considering that there are other pure Virginias I know I really like that don't have any added topping to potentially turn foul tasting I think I'm going to give Capstan Blue a pass, though it was pretty close to being a keeper and I think it would have been were there not other pure Virginias I prefer. I definitely get why so many people enjoy this blend though, and I'd consider mandatory to try at least once for anyone with a taste for pure Virginias!
For next week I've got a pretty interesting blend lined up, in that it's an aromatic but one that isn't sweet! In fact, it's rather tart and a little sour, with a very realistic and true to life cherry flavor that isn't cough syrupy at all. Say hello to...
Mac Baren 7 Seas Red Blend
Blend of the Week #7: Mac Baren 7 Seas Red Blend
After a year in a Ball jar the cherry flavor has reduced a little in strength compared to what I remember when I had previously smoked it last autumn, though it's still quite present and very noticeable. There's no sweetness or cough syrup flavor to be found here though, the cherry used in this blend is a slightly tart and sour natural cherry flavor like taking a sip of unsweetened Montmorency or Morello cherry juice. It's not a sweet black cherry flavor, this is most definitely a tart cherry flavor like the kind used in baking pies but before any sugar is added.
Fairly equal in strength to the cherry flavor is a delightful mix of mellow Burleys and Virginias, which lends a bit of dark earthy nutty body to the blend along with brighter notes of grass and hay. It's all very well balanced and you taste the Burleys, Virginias, and tart cherry notes in every puff. It's a very different style of blend than most cherry aromatics where almost all you taste is the cherry topping, in 7 Seas Red you really get a lot of natural tobacco flavors working together harmoniously with the cherry top note.
Altogether the flavor reminds me a lot of a much more refined and higher quality version of Middleton's old discontinued Cherry Blend. It's got a very similar tart cherry profile but with more depth of flavor to the Burleys and Virginias, and none of the bite that Middleton's offering was practically synonymous with. Speaking of the mechanics, along with burning down to a clean white ash and leaving little to no moisture lingering in the bowl, 7 Seas Red is impeccably smooth like few other blends I've ever smoked. There are no rough edges whatsoever and my sinuses don't feel so much as a tingle even after retrohaling a large bowl for an hour straight. Even when puffed quite aggressively it refuses to turn harsh or develop any off flavors.
This is a true "all day smoke" for me, though the nicotine content may be a touch too high for the average pipe smoker to puff it all day. In a pleasant surprise for such a smooth and gentle aromatic, it's actually got a nicotine content that I'd rate as a solid medium and puffing on it for an hour will have you feeling very laid back. The room note is quite nice as well, toasty like fresh baking bread and very inoffensive to just about anyone you might choose to smoke it around. It's not going to turn heads and make anyone go, "Oooh, what is that!?" like Captain Black might, but I don't think it's going to bother anyone but the most belligerent anti-smoker either.
So is it a keeper for me? On paper it sure should be, since it's a blend that just gets everything right in my book, but after smoking it every day for a week I think I'm frankly kind of sick of the taste of it and don't have much desire to smoke it again. That seems to be par for the course for me though, since out of the 10 blends I've tried for Blend of the Week so far the only keeper has been Mac Baren Vanilla Flake (I ended up rescinding my verdict on Gawith Hoggarth Jamaican Flake after eventually deciding it was a little too bland for my liking) so I'm clearly difficult to please when it comes to tobacco. I do think that anyone who likes the idea of a cherry aromatic that's tart instead of sweet and non-cough syrupy tasting would do well to give Mac Baren 7 Seas Red Blend a try though! Fans of the dearly departed Middleton Cherry may also find a very good replacement blend in this one!
For next week it looks to be the last week of warm weather we're going to have for the year here in Minnesota, so it seems like a good week to smoke what thus far has been my all time favorite bright Virginia blend; and if this one isn't a keeper then I'll eat my own hat! Next week's blend of the week is...
Sutliff 507C Virginia Slices
After a year in a Ball jar the cherry flavor has reduced a little in strength compared to what I remember when I had previously smoked it last autumn, though it's still quite present and very noticeable. There's no sweetness or cough syrup flavor to be found here though, the cherry used in this blend is a slightly tart and sour natural cherry flavor like taking a sip of unsweetened Montmorency or Morello cherry juice. It's not a sweet black cherry flavor, this is most definitely a tart cherry flavor like the kind used in baking pies but before any sugar is added.
Fairly equal in strength to the cherry flavor is a delightful mix of mellow Burleys and Virginias, which lends a bit of dark earthy nutty body to the blend along with brighter notes of grass and hay. It's all very well balanced and you taste the Burleys, Virginias, and tart cherry notes in every puff. It's a very different style of blend than most cherry aromatics where almost all you taste is the cherry topping, in 7 Seas Red you really get a lot of natural tobacco flavors working together harmoniously with the cherry top note.
Altogether the flavor reminds me a lot of a much more refined and higher quality version of Middleton's old discontinued Cherry Blend. It's got a very similar tart cherry profile but with more depth of flavor to the Burleys and Virginias, and none of the bite that Middleton's offering was practically synonymous with. Speaking of the mechanics, along with burning down to a clean white ash and leaving little to no moisture lingering in the bowl, 7 Seas Red is impeccably smooth like few other blends I've ever smoked. There are no rough edges whatsoever and my sinuses don't feel so much as a tingle even after retrohaling a large bowl for an hour straight. Even when puffed quite aggressively it refuses to turn harsh or develop any off flavors.
This is a true "all day smoke" for me, though the nicotine content may be a touch too high for the average pipe smoker to puff it all day. In a pleasant surprise for such a smooth and gentle aromatic, it's actually got a nicotine content that I'd rate as a solid medium and puffing on it for an hour will have you feeling very laid back. The room note is quite nice as well, toasty like fresh baking bread and very inoffensive to just about anyone you might choose to smoke it around. It's not going to turn heads and make anyone go, "Oooh, what is that!?" like Captain Black might, but I don't think it's going to bother anyone but the most belligerent anti-smoker either.
So is it a keeper for me? On paper it sure should be, since it's a blend that just gets everything right in my book, but after smoking it every day for a week I think I'm frankly kind of sick of the taste of it and don't have much desire to smoke it again. That seems to be par for the course for me though, since out of the 10 blends I've tried for Blend of the Week so far the only keeper has been Mac Baren Vanilla Flake (I ended up rescinding my verdict on Gawith Hoggarth Jamaican Flake after eventually deciding it was a little too bland for my liking) so I'm clearly difficult to please when it comes to tobacco. I do think that anyone who likes the idea of a cherry aromatic that's tart instead of sweet and non-cough syrupy tasting would do well to give Mac Baren 7 Seas Red Blend a try though! Fans of the dearly departed Middleton Cherry may also find a very good replacement blend in this one!
For next week it looks to be the last week of warm weather we're going to have for the year here in Minnesota, so it seems like a good week to smoke what thus far has been my all time favorite bright Virginia blend; and if this one isn't a keeper then I'll eat my own hat! Next week's blend of the week is...
Sutliff 507C Virginia Slices
Blend of the Week #8: Sutliff 507C Virginia Slices
For anyone who has ever smoked Orlik Golden Sliced, I could simply say "Sutliff 507C Virginia Slices is bulk Orlik Golden Sliced without the Perique" and leave it at that. However, a one sentence review would be a rather massive disservice to one of my all time favorite blends—and there are a few little differences between this and Orlik Golden Sliced—so I should probably elaborate a little!
To start things off, this is without question the absolute brightest pure Virginia blend I've ever had! The predominant flavor is a lemon citrus one, and the smoke itself is very acidic like lemonade that went extra light on the sugar. Along with the bright acidic lemon you also get mild natural floral notes and the grassy hay-like flavors that bright Virginias are well known for. When you mix all those flavor notes together you get something that just tastes like summertime to me, like sipping lemonade under a tree in a warm sunny meadow and taking in all the aromas of the long grass and wildflowers.
If that all sounds an awful lot like Orlik Golden Sliced, that's because it is. In fact, the only real difference I can find between Sutliff Virginia Slices and Orlik Golden Sliced is that the Sutliff leans more into the lemony citrus as it's primary flavor whereas the Orlik's main flavor note is the mild floral one and the lemon takes a bit of a backseat to it. The Orlik also has a very occasional subtle cracked peppercorn note on the retrohale from the smidgen of Perique that's absent here. They're extraordinarily similar blends though and if you like one you're almost guaranteed to like the other.
As far as the mechanics go, Virginia Slices comes in loosely pressed and slightly ragged looking flakes that are nicely dry and ready to smoke right away. They rub out easily but are perfectly fine to fold and stuff if you prefer, which may be useful if you plan on smoking outdoors on a windy day since when rubbed out this blend burns fairly warm and fast; and smoking the flakes folded and stuffed will slow down the burn for outdoor enjoyment. Either way this blend smokes clean and dry and leaves little to no moisture in the bowl, the nicotine content is a solid middle of the road medium, and if there is any topping here I sure can't detect it. The room note is a light and wispy fresh baked bread sort of aroma that most people, non-smokers included, should find quite pleasant.
My only cautionary note about Sutliff Virginia Slices is that the smoke is so bright and acidic that it can cause quite a sting on the soft palate if puffed too vigorously, and has the same effect in the sinuses if retrohaled too frequently. Think of it like smoking lemon juice, and you certainly wouldn't want lemon juice coming out your nose, so be careful with the retrohale on this one.
So, is it a keeper for me? You're darn right it is! I had no complaints at all about smoking this blend every day for a week, and I imagine I could smoke it every day for a few more weeks and not feel put out about it either. I'm a big fan of pure Virginias and, in my very subjective opinion, Sutliff 507C Virginia Slices is the absolute finest example of a bright Virginia blend there is. We'll get more into some darker Virginias like Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia, Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake, and G.L. Pease Union Square in the coming months; but as far as bright Virginias go I don't think I could ask for a more perfect blend than this. Don't let the bulk pricing or the Sutliff brand name that often gets associated with wet and goopy aromatics fool you, this is some world class tobacco and I sincerely hope it will remain available for many years to come! I know it'll be a staple blend in my cellar for as long as they keep producing it.
For next week's blend of the week it occurs to me that I haven't done any English blends yet, and since this will be the last week before we get into all the seasonal aromatic treats for October and the weather is starting to turn cool I think it's high time we have an English! Next week's blend of the week is...
Peterson Early Morning Pipe
For anyone who has ever smoked Orlik Golden Sliced, I could simply say "Sutliff 507C Virginia Slices is bulk Orlik Golden Sliced without the Perique" and leave it at that. However, a one sentence review would be a rather massive disservice to one of my all time favorite blends—and there are a few little differences between this and Orlik Golden Sliced—so I should probably elaborate a little!
To start things off, this is without question the absolute brightest pure Virginia blend I've ever had! The predominant flavor is a lemon citrus one, and the smoke itself is very acidic like lemonade that went extra light on the sugar. Along with the bright acidic lemon you also get mild natural floral notes and the grassy hay-like flavors that bright Virginias are well known for. When you mix all those flavor notes together you get something that just tastes like summertime to me, like sipping lemonade under a tree in a warm sunny meadow and taking in all the aromas of the long grass and wildflowers.
If that all sounds an awful lot like Orlik Golden Sliced, that's because it is. In fact, the only real difference I can find between Sutliff Virginia Slices and Orlik Golden Sliced is that the Sutliff leans more into the lemony citrus as it's primary flavor whereas the Orlik's main flavor note is the mild floral one and the lemon takes a bit of a backseat to it. The Orlik also has a very occasional subtle cracked peppercorn note on the retrohale from the smidgen of Perique that's absent here. They're extraordinarily similar blends though and if you like one you're almost guaranteed to like the other.
As far as the mechanics go, Virginia Slices comes in loosely pressed and slightly ragged looking flakes that are nicely dry and ready to smoke right away. They rub out easily but are perfectly fine to fold and stuff if you prefer, which may be useful if you plan on smoking outdoors on a windy day since when rubbed out this blend burns fairly warm and fast; and smoking the flakes folded and stuffed will slow down the burn for outdoor enjoyment. Either way this blend smokes clean and dry and leaves little to no moisture in the bowl, the nicotine content is a solid middle of the road medium, and if there is any topping here I sure can't detect it. The room note is a light and wispy fresh baked bread sort of aroma that most people, non-smokers included, should find quite pleasant.
My only cautionary note about Sutliff Virginia Slices is that the smoke is so bright and acidic that it can cause quite a sting on the soft palate if puffed too vigorously, and has the same effect in the sinuses if retrohaled too frequently. Think of it like smoking lemon juice, and you certainly wouldn't want lemon juice coming out your nose, so be careful with the retrohale on this one.
So, is it a keeper for me? You're darn right it is! I had no complaints at all about smoking this blend every day for a week, and I imagine I could smoke it every day for a few more weeks and not feel put out about it either. I'm a big fan of pure Virginias and, in my very subjective opinion, Sutliff 507C Virginia Slices is the absolute finest example of a bright Virginia blend there is. We'll get more into some darker Virginias like Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia, Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake, and G.L. Pease Union Square in the coming months; but as far as bright Virginias go I don't think I could ask for a more perfect blend than this. Don't let the bulk pricing or the Sutliff brand name that often gets associated with wet and goopy aromatics fool you, this is some world class tobacco and I sincerely hope it will remain available for many years to come! I know it'll be a staple blend in my cellar for as long as they keep producing it.
For next week's blend of the week it occurs to me that I haven't done any English blends yet, and since this will be the last week before we get into all the seasonal aromatic treats for October and the weather is starting to turn cool I think it's high time we have an English! Next week's blend of the week is...
Peterson Early Morning Pipe
Another excellent review! I agree with all your points especially about puffing too vigorously. As a newbie smoker I made that mistake. My mouth needed the rest of the day off
This entire thread is a delight to read, Skippy. Your thoughtfulness about what you’re smoking is evident and helpful for those of us who haven’t been smart enough to take the deep dive that you’re doing. Keep it up!
Hey there folks! Apologies for the lack of a review this past weekend, the patellar tendon in my right knee went kablooie last week so I haven't been able to get to my photography station to take pictures; and have been a little too distracted by life's problems to make time for pipe smoking every day. So, the Early Morning Pipe review will be coming this weekend instead!
In the meantime, here's a little teaser for next week's blend of the week.
In the meantime, here's a little teaser for next week's blend of the week.
Oh man Skippy! Take care of that knee. That injury is no joke.Hey there folks! Apologies for the lack of a review this past weekend, the patellar tendon in my right knee went kablooie last week so I haven't been able to get to my photography station to take pictures; and have been a little too distracted by life's problems to make time for pipe smoking every day. So, the Early Morning Pipe review will be coming this weekend instead!
In the meantime, here's a little teaser for next week's blend of the week.
View attachment 341007
Well, my plan to resume and keep up with Blend of the Week sure didn't go as planned! Between the knee injury making it hard to get around, the weather getting cold enough that I haven't wanted to sit outside and smoke too often, and getting a little weary of the structured routine of making time to smoke a pipe and write down my thoughts on the blend everyday I just burnt out on the project.
I have still been smoking my pipe a couple times a week the past month, mainly puffing a few different straight Virginias that I've yet to review (Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia and C&D Yorktown for the most part) though tonight I'm trying out G.L. Pease Navigator for the first time; and surprised to find that it's kind of kicking my butt! I think my nicotine tolerance must have dropped a bit during my absence.
In any case, I hope to return to Blend of the Week soon as my knees continue to heal and you folks will be the first to know when I do! Take care and I hope you've all been having a pleasant and smokey autumn.
I have still been smoking my pipe a couple times a week the past month, mainly puffing a few different straight Virginias that I've yet to review (Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia and C&D Yorktown for the most part) though tonight I'm trying out G.L. Pease Navigator for the first time; and surprised to find that it's kind of kicking my butt! I think my nicotine tolerance must have dropped a bit during my absence.
In any case, I hope to return to Blend of the Week soon as my knees continue to heal and you folks will be the first to know when I do! Take care and I hope you've all been having a pleasant and smokey autumn.
Get that knee better!
I’ve enjoyed your commentary, but all in all, this is supposed to be enjoyable. Keep it as something you want to do, not something you feel you have to do.
GLP Navigator is awesome. Less rummy than Windjammer, and artfully blended so the Kentuckys fill the complexity of Windjammer’s Perique and Cav, with the mic punch of Jack Knife Plug.
I’ve enjoyed your commentary, but all in all, this is supposed to be enjoyable. Keep it as something you want to do, not something you feel you have to do.
GLP Navigator is awesome. Less rummy than Windjammer, and artfully blended so the Kentuckys fill the complexity of Windjammer’s Perique and Cav, with the mic punch of Jack Knife Plug.
You make a good point, that pipe smoking is supposed to be a leisure activity to relax and unwind, but after a couple months of doing Blend of the Week it started to feel more like work than fun so maybe it was time to take a step back and just smoke what I felt like smoking when I felt like smoking it. Which is exactly what I've been doing lately.
I think your description of Navigator is pretty spot-on too! It's a really pleasant darker Virginia mix with just the right amount of Dark Fired Kentucky to add a little spice and variety to the flavor (plus a pretty darn stout nicotine hit), and the rum is so lightly applied that I'm never sure whether I'm tasting the rum or if it's just the natural sweetness of the Virginias and the spice of the Kentucky. You can definitely smell the rum on the tin note, but it's rather elusive in the flavor of the smoke.
It's also got a surprisingly light and pleasant room note that's about the same as a pure Virginia, which I'm very pleased about since usually smoking anything containing Dark Fired Kentucky indoors is recipe for complaints from the other members of my household. Everyone seems to like Navigator though!
I agree. Id change the title to Skippy's Blend of When I Damn Well Please thread 
Keep it fun.
Keep it fun.
I thoroughly enjoyed your reviews, my favorite so far. If pipe smoking becomes work for you, then that is the price you should pay for my leisurely enjoyment.
I kid of course and I wish you nothing but the best smokes with maximum pleasure. May your knee heel swiftly.
I kid of course and I wish you nothing but the best smokes with maximum pleasure. May your knee heel swiftly.
I agree with the supportive comments above. Your reviews are informative but more than that, they are fun to read because it’s obvious you enjoy the process of analyzing the various blends in your cellar and sharing your observations. Don’t let a pleasurable pastime become a burden, we’ll happily read your great reviews and ogle at the great photography whenever you get a chance to post. Get well soon!
^This. I look forward to your reviews but don’t feel entitled to have them meet my schedule. Hope your knee heals up—as the years accumulate I often think of what my father told me: “getting old sucks—but it beats the alternative.”I agree. Id change the title to Skippy's Blend of When I Damn Well Please thread
Keep it fun.
Happy Thanksgiving to all the American pipe smokers out there! I hope all of you had a wonderful and relaxing day with family or friends and ate a whole heck of a lot of good food! Now that I've recovered from my own post-Thanksgiving food coma, I think it's time to get back on that horse and ride with a long overdue Blend of the Week review.
Blend of the Week #9: Peterson Early Morning Pipe
Oh boy it's Latakia time! For those unfamiliar with Latakia, it's made from any number of Oriental tobacco varieties that have been smoke cured over a fire pit of burning aromatic woods like cypress or cedar; and the smoke from those woods impart quite a bit of flavor to the tobacco. Think of it like an exotic version of Dark Fired Kentucky, though much much lighter in the nicotine department. In spite of it's strong flavor, Latakia is actually one of the lowest nicotine tobaccos there is! Speaking of flavor, the flavor of Latakia can vary greatly depending on the particular type of Oriental tobacco used and the woods it was smoke cured with. Some Latakia can taste like the aroma of a campfire, whereas others can be incense'y, spicy, leathery, or even musky in a way that reminds me far too much of body odor.
Thankfully, for my tastes at least, the Latakia in Early Morning Pipe is a very mild one that is pure campfirey goodness with none of the leatheriness or muskiness that can be found in other Latakia varieties. Along with that campfirey Latakia you get some mildly sweet, bready, slightly grassy Virginias and tangy slightly sour Oriental tobaccos that combine to form a fairly complex flavor that might not sound terribly appealing on paper but in practice is quite good! I also sometimes get a mild dark chocolate note from Early Morning Pipe, which I'm going to attribute to the particular variety of Latakia in use here.
Speaking of which, if you're a new pipe smoker or just unaccustomed to English blends (which at a rudimentary level are pretty much any blend containing Virgina, Oriental, and Latakia tobaccos) then the Latakia is probably all you're going to taste in this one at first, since even the mild Latakia used in this blend still packs quite a potent flavor, but as you grow accustomed to the Latakia you'll start to notice the Orientals behind it and then the Virginias bringing up the rear. I'm no expert when it comes to Oriental tobaccos so I couldn't tell you whether the Orientals used in Early Morning Pipe are Turkish, Samsun, Izmir, or some other variety; but what I can tell you is that they have a tangy and slightly sour flavor profile that compliments the smokey Latakia very nicely! So nicely in fact that I find myself missing them whenever I smoke any English blend that doesn't have the sour tang of Early Morning Pipe!
Another interesting aspect of Latakia is that it provides a soothing effect that can really smooth out the rough edges of a blend, and when used in larger quantities can actually lend a coolness to the smoke like taking in a breath of cold morning air. There's not enough Latakia in Early Morning Pipe to provide a noticable coolness, but it is a very smooth blend that's easy on the mouth and fairly retrohale friendly without any sting or discomfort until you get down to the bottom third of the bowl where the smoke becomes a little stronger.
Early Morning Pipe is a great blend for smoking outdoors, or for newer pipe smokers who haven't mastered their smoking cadence yet, because it absolutely refuses to bite or turn harsh or unpleasant tasting no matter how hot it gets burning or how aggressively you puff it. This is a very, very forgiving blend and you'd be hard pressed to get a bad smoke from it regardless of the weather conditions or your experience level as a pipe smoker. The nicotine content is on the lower end of medium so it's not going to overwhelm you either, and like most English blends it smokes clean and dry; leaving behind little to no moisture in the bowl. All around it's just a very non-fussy and enjoyable blend. The room note is a mild campfirey smokey burning leaves sort of aroma that I think most should find pleasant and remind them of the autumn, though it may not be for everyone and some folks might not care for it.
All that said, is it a keeper for me? You can always tell that I really like a blend when there's barely any of it left in the jar to photograph at the end of the week, and that was definitely the case with Early Morning Pipe! I kind of knew it was going to be a keeper before this week even started though, because Early Morning Pipe has long been my personal favorite English blend and tends to be the gold standard by which I judge all others. For anyone looking to try an English blend for the first time, or for fans of milder English blends that are more Oriental forward, Early Morning Pipe gets my highest recommendation!
For next week's blend of the week we come to the crux of the problem for why I've been procrastinating on my blend reviews for the past two months. I was originally planning on doing Cult Blood Red Moon, but the fact of the matter is that I just haven't felt like smoking lightweight sugary aromatics for quite some time now and the whole lineup of blends I had planned to review for October and November were all of that persuasion.
Maybe I'll feel like returning to that category of blends at some point or maybe I won't, but for now that's just not what I'm in the mood to smoke and I've come to the conclusion that's better to smoke the blends I want to smoke any given week than lose my enthusiasm for pipe smoking from smoking stuff that just doesn't sound appealing. It's my party and I'll smoke dark-fired tobacco if I want to, so we're throwing the former blend review schedule out the window and next week's blend of the week is...
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Coniston Cut Plug
Blend of the Week #9: Peterson Early Morning Pipe
Oh boy it's Latakia time! For those unfamiliar with Latakia, it's made from any number of Oriental tobacco varieties that have been smoke cured over a fire pit of burning aromatic woods like cypress or cedar; and the smoke from those woods impart quite a bit of flavor to the tobacco. Think of it like an exotic version of Dark Fired Kentucky, though much much lighter in the nicotine department. In spite of it's strong flavor, Latakia is actually one of the lowest nicotine tobaccos there is! Speaking of flavor, the flavor of Latakia can vary greatly depending on the particular type of Oriental tobacco used and the woods it was smoke cured with. Some Latakia can taste like the aroma of a campfire, whereas others can be incense'y, spicy, leathery, or even musky in a way that reminds me far too much of body odor.
Thankfully, for my tastes at least, the Latakia in Early Morning Pipe is a very mild one that is pure campfirey goodness with none of the leatheriness or muskiness that can be found in other Latakia varieties. Along with that campfirey Latakia you get some mildly sweet, bready, slightly grassy Virginias and tangy slightly sour Oriental tobaccos that combine to form a fairly complex flavor that might not sound terribly appealing on paper but in practice is quite good! I also sometimes get a mild dark chocolate note from Early Morning Pipe, which I'm going to attribute to the particular variety of Latakia in use here.
Speaking of which, if you're a new pipe smoker or just unaccustomed to English blends (which at a rudimentary level are pretty much any blend containing Virgina, Oriental, and Latakia tobaccos) then the Latakia is probably all you're going to taste in this one at first, since even the mild Latakia used in this blend still packs quite a potent flavor, but as you grow accustomed to the Latakia you'll start to notice the Orientals behind it and then the Virginias bringing up the rear. I'm no expert when it comes to Oriental tobaccos so I couldn't tell you whether the Orientals used in Early Morning Pipe are Turkish, Samsun, Izmir, or some other variety; but what I can tell you is that they have a tangy and slightly sour flavor profile that compliments the smokey Latakia very nicely! So nicely in fact that I find myself missing them whenever I smoke any English blend that doesn't have the sour tang of Early Morning Pipe!
Another interesting aspect of Latakia is that it provides a soothing effect that can really smooth out the rough edges of a blend, and when used in larger quantities can actually lend a coolness to the smoke like taking in a breath of cold morning air. There's not enough Latakia in Early Morning Pipe to provide a noticable coolness, but it is a very smooth blend that's easy on the mouth and fairly retrohale friendly without any sting or discomfort until you get down to the bottom third of the bowl where the smoke becomes a little stronger.
Early Morning Pipe is a great blend for smoking outdoors, or for newer pipe smokers who haven't mastered their smoking cadence yet, because it absolutely refuses to bite or turn harsh or unpleasant tasting no matter how hot it gets burning or how aggressively you puff it. This is a very, very forgiving blend and you'd be hard pressed to get a bad smoke from it regardless of the weather conditions or your experience level as a pipe smoker. The nicotine content is on the lower end of medium so it's not going to overwhelm you either, and like most English blends it smokes clean and dry; leaving behind little to no moisture in the bowl. All around it's just a very non-fussy and enjoyable blend. The room note is a mild campfirey smokey burning leaves sort of aroma that I think most should find pleasant and remind them of the autumn, though it may not be for everyone and some folks might not care for it.
All that said, is it a keeper for me? You can always tell that I really like a blend when there's barely any of it left in the jar to photograph at the end of the week, and that was definitely the case with Early Morning Pipe! I kind of knew it was going to be a keeper before this week even started though, because Early Morning Pipe has long been my personal favorite English blend and tends to be the gold standard by which I judge all others. For anyone looking to try an English blend for the first time, or for fans of milder English blends that are more Oriental forward, Early Morning Pipe gets my highest recommendation!
For next week's blend of the week we come to the crux of the problem for why I've been procrastinating on my blend reviews for the past two months. I was originally planning on doing Cult Blood Red Moon, but the fact of the matter is that I just haven't felt like smoking lightweight sugary aromatics for quite some time now and the whole lineup of blends I had planned to review for October and November were all of that persuasion.
Maybe I'll feel like returning to that category of blends at some point or maybe I won't, but for now that's just not what I'm in the mood to smoke and I've come to the conclusion that's better to smoke the blends I want to smoke any given week than lose my enthusiasm for pipe smoking from smoking stuff that just doesn't sound appealing. It's my party and I'll smoke dark-fired tobacco if I want to, so we're throwing the former blend review schedule out the window and next week's blend of the week is...
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Coniston Cut Plug
I was hoping for a @Skippy B. Coyote review this morning and you delivered in a big way, since EMP is a favorite that has never left my rotation!
I agree with just about everything in your review, especially the “comforting” and “forgiving” descriptions. The only aspects that are different in my experience are that I don’t get the mild chocolate note you mention and I think the Orientals are way out in front, even for someone new to Latakia. To me, that’s the defining characteristic of EMP and the way I could identify it 99% of the time in a blind tasting—the char light always produces a burst of Oriental tanginess that I love and can recognize right away.
Very excited you’ll be reviewing Conniston Cut Plug next. I have some from a trade that is 22 years old and I’ve never tried it. This is the perfect reason to do so.
I agree with just about everything in your review, especially the “comforting” and “forgiving” descriptions. The only aspects that are different in my experience are that I don’t get the mild chocolate note you mention and I think the Orientals are way out in front, even for someone new to Latakia. To me, that’s the defining characteristic of EMP and the way I could identify it 99% of the time in a blind tasting—the char light always produces a burst of Oriental tanginess that I love and can recognize right away.
Very excited you’ll be reviewing Conniston Cut Plug next. I have some from a trade that is 22 years old and I’ve never tried it. This is the perfect reason to do so.
Thank you for the kind words! I know everyone tastes things a little differently and admittedly I don't have as much experience with English blends as I do Virginias and Burleys, so even with really Oriental forward Englishes like Early Morning Pipe the Latakia is still the thing I taste the most of; since I rarely smoke English blends and haven't acclimated my palate to Latakia enough to review an English blend as concisely as someone who smoked them all the time might be able to. Still, I do my best!
As far as the Coniston Cut Plug goes, I'm really enjoying it so far but I do fear my review of the current production Coniston that I picked up about 6 months ago may be vastly different than a review of previous year's productions would be. I have read that Gawith changed the topping proportions for many of their blends the past couple years, and based on what I've experienced so far with Coniston compared to reviews of previous year's productions I'm quite certain it has changed significantly. So, don't be surprised if the Coniston I'll be reviewing this weekend is quite different than your 22 year old batch!
Forward: This Coniston Cut Plug was acquired from SmokingPipes in July of 2024 and reflects the current production version, which I've been told has undergone significant changes to the toppings compared to the Coniston Cut Plug of years past. My review reflects the current topping formulation.
Blend of the Week #10: Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Coniston Cut Plug
I don't usually talk too much about tin notes in my reviews, but this one is kind of wild and I really love it! Upfront there's the dark-fired Virginias, which provide a very different aroma (and flavor) than dark-fired Kentucky in that they're not hickory or barbeque pit scented but instead more neutrally woody and earthy like charred oak or the scent of an old oak table that's been warmed in the sun coming in through the window all afternoon on a hot summer's day. Behind that warm woody aroma is the herbaceous vanilla'y scent of tonquin bean, which is also accompanied by a rich dark chocolate note and something vaguely fruity smelling that I can't quite identify. Red wine maybe? Lastly, bringing up the rear is a very faint and soft floral aroma that almost gets lost behind all the other olfactory delights; but it is there to remind you that this is indeed a Lakeland blend.
When smoked, the flavor fairly well mirrors the tin aroma; particularly if you smoke the flakes freshly rubbed out with no dry time. There's the rich earthy mildly spicy yet smooth charred woody flavor of the dark fired Virginias upfront with an occasional nutty chocolatey Burley note or tangy dark fruity red Virginia hint here and there, with that distinctly herbal vanilla'y tonquin topping trailing far behind as a mild supplemental note, and a very subtle rosey floral note lingering far in the background that would probably go unnoticed if you weren't actively looking for it. Occasionally a little hint of licorice pops up here and there as well. If I'm just sipping the smoke absent-mindedly and not over analyzing it I mainly just get the mellow charred wood and soft understated tonquin bean flavors, which do work very well together, and the Lakeland essence in the background just disappears.
When it comes to the nicotine strength though, absent-minded puffing might not be the best idea with Coniston Cut Plug. If you've ever had any of Gawith Hoggarth or Samuel Gawith's other dark blends like Dark Flake, Kendal Dark, Dark Bird's Eye, or 1792 Flake you'll already know pretty much what to expect here since they're all on relatively the same, "Holy cow that's some seriously strong stuff!" sort of plane and among the most nicotine rich pipe blends out there. I do think that Coniston is a fair bit milder and less heavy hitting than 1792, Dark Flake, or Kendal Dark, but it's still no slouch in the Vitamin N department and definitely deserves to be counted among the dark range.
If the highest peaks of Mt. Nicotine are where you want to go then any of Gawith's dark blends, Coniston included, will ferry you to your destination in relatively short order! I've always found the dark Gawith blends to be rather sneaky in terms of their Vitamin N content though, since they tend to be so smooth and gentle to smoke that they don't appear nearly as strong as they actually are, and it's easy to go from "What are you talking about, I don't feel anything!" to suddenly finding yourself Googling remedies for nicotine sickness around the half hour mark.
With that in mind I'd recommend smoking Coniston Cut Plug in a small bowl and setting the pipe down every 10 minutes or so to take a few minutes to evaluate how you're feeling before continuing, at least if you're not already acquainted with Gawith's other dark delights and their effects on you. It also wouldn't hurt to keep a sugary soda, chocolate bar, or a few pieces of candy handy, since a little bit of chocolate or anything sugary and sweet tends to be quite effective at relieving the symptoms of nicotine sickness if you accidentally overdo it; which even with the nicotine tolerance of a pack-a-day cigarette smoker isn't terribly difficult to do with Gawith's dark blends. You'd be hard pressed to find anything else that's both as strong and as delightfully smooth in the world of pipe tobacco as Gawith's dark range, and personally I feel quite satisfied after 30 minutes or so of sipping on a pipe of Coniston. Any more than that is risking nicotine sickness for me.
It is a lovely 30 minutes though, as this is a quite well behaved blend! Rubbed out flakes take to the flame easily even when smoked fresh without any dry time (which is how I recommend smoking this blend, since drying it out really mutes the flavors often to the point of blandness) and requires a fairly average number of relights. The smoke is soft and gentle on the mouth, tongue, and throat; though it can moderately sting the sinuses when retrohaled. It is a blend I can smoke several times in a day and never have to worry about it giving me a sore throat, since in spite of it's strength it has a very smooth and non-abrasive character. It also relights quite well and doesn't turn harsh if you set the pipe down and return to it an hour or two later, which is a much appreciated quality to have in a blend that I likely won't finish an entire bowl of in one sitting. When the pipe is done it leaves the bowl clean and dry with little to no moisture or residue to speak of and no ghost whatsoever from the mild Lakeland essence.
As with most predominantly dark-fired blends the room note of Coniston Cut Plug is dense, heavy, and cigar-like. This isn't a pure Virginia where the aroma of it burning could be mistaken for bread or some sort of confection baking in the oven, the strong scent of the smoke from Coniston is unmistakably that of burning tobacco. I think it's a rather lovely aroma myself, but non-smokers may find it to be a noxious odor (since the only real difference between an aroma and an odor is whether or not ya like it).
All in all Coniston Cut Plug is a unique addition to Gawith's dark lineup, in that it's not a completely non-aromatic blend with no toppings like Kendal Dark, Dark Bird's Eye, Kendal Kentucky, or Dark Flake Unscented, but the tonquin and floral toppings that have been applied to Coniston Cut Plug are vastly milder and much more subtle than the toppings on any of the aromatic dark blends I've tried like 1792 Flake or Dark Flake Aromatic. Coniston Cut Plug is in the middle ground where there is just a smidgen of topping applied, but not enough to make it a full-on Lakeland aromatic. I'd call it a semi-aromatic, and I think it would be a great introduction for a non-aromatic smoker curious about dark Lakelands but who might also be wary of the floral aspect; since the floral note is so light here that you really have to search your palate to notice it and the tonquin topping is quite subdued as well.
Moving on to the big question though, is it a keeper for me? After all my talk of how mild the toppings are compared to other dark Lakelands you might be inclined to think that I didn't like Coniston Cut Plug, but I actually found it to be a wonderful all day anytime smoke! The base dark-fired tobacco blend is very tasty, the mild tonquin and floral toppings add a couple extra dimensions of flavor interest without ever becoming obtrusive, and the nicotine content is plenty enough to satisfy but not so much that I have to be really cautious smoking it like I do with the stronger blends in Gawith's dark range. I also greatly appreciate how smooth and gentle on the mouth and throat it is, and that it never turns harsh or abrasive even when the pipe is set down and relit hours later or the next day.
There was never a time in my week of testing when a pipe of Coniston didn't sound good, and I often had two or three pipefuls in a day, which is rare for me since I usually just have one pipe of my blend of the week then move on to old favorites for the rest of the day. Suffice it to say, Coniston Cut Plug has well earned it's place as a new addition to my favorites list and is a definite keeper!
For next week's blend of the week I've been so enjoying the dark Lakelands lately that I think I'm going to do another! If Coniston Cut Plug didn't have a heavy enough dose of tonquin for your liking then I think you'll get all the tonquin you could possibly want from...
Samuel Gawith 1792 Flake
Blend of the Week #10: Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Coniston Cut Plug
I don't usually talk too much about tin notes in my reviews, but this one is kind of wild and I really love it! Upfront there's the dark-fired Virginias, which provide a very different aroma (and flavor) than dark-fired Kentucky in that they're not hickory or barbeque pit scented but instead more neutrally woody and earthy like charred oak or the scent of an old oak table that's been warmed in the sun coming in through the window all afternoon on a hot summer's day. Behind that warm woody aroma is the herbaceous vanilla'y scent of tonquin bean, which is also accompanied by a rich dark chocolate note and something vaguely fruity smelling that I can't quite identify. Red wine maybe? Lastly, bringing up the rear is a very faint and soft floral aroma that almost gets lost behind all the other olfactory delights; but it is there to remind you that this is indeed a Lakeland blend.
When smoked, the flavor fairly well mirrors the tin aroma; particularly if you smoke the flakes freshly rubbed out with no dry time. There's the rich earthy mildly spicy yet smooth charred woody flavor of the dark fired Virginias upfront with an occasional nutty chocolatey Burley note or tangy dark fruity red Virginia hint here and there, with that distinctly herbal vanilla'y tonquin topping trailing far behind as a mild supplemental note, and a very subtle rosey floral note lingering far in the background that would probably go unnoticed if you weren't actively looking for it. Occasionally a little hint of licorice pops up here and there as well. If I'm just sipping the smoke absent-mindedly and not over analyzing it I mainly just get the mellow charred wood and soft understated tonquin bean flavors, which do work very well together, and the Lakeland essence in the background just disappears.
When it comes to the nicotine strength though, absent-minded puffing might not be the best idea with Coniston Cut Plug. If you've ever had any of Gawith Hoggarth or Samuel Gawith's other dark blends like Dark Flake, Kendal Dark, Dark Bird's Eye, or 1792 Flake you'll already know pretty much what to expect here since they're all on relatively the same, "Holy cow that's some seriously strong stuff!" sort of plane and among the most nicotine rich pipe blends out there. I do think that Coniston is a fair bit milder and less heavy hitting than 1792, Dark Flake, or Kendal Dark, but it's still no slouch in the Vitamin N department and definitely deserves to be counted among the dark range.
If the highest peaks of Mt. Nicotine are where you want to go then any of Gawith's dark blends, Coniston included, will ferry you to your destination in relatively short order! I've always found the dark Gawith blends to be rather sneaky in terms of their Vitamin N content though, since they tend to be so smooth and gentle to smoke that they don't appear nearly as strong as they actually are, and it's easy to go from "What are you talking about, I don't feel anything!" to suddenly finding yourself Googling remedies for nicotine sickness around the half hour mark.
With that in mind I'd recommend smoking Coniston Cut Plug in a small bowl and setting the pipe down every 10 minutes or so to take a few minutes to evaluate how you're feeling before continuing, at least if you're not already acquainted with Gawith's other dark delights and their effects on you. It also wouldn't hurt to keep a sugary soda, chocolate bar, or a few pieces of candy handy, since a little bit of chocolate or anything sugary and sweet tends to be quite effective at relieving the symptoms of nicotine sickness if you accidentally overdo it; which even with the nicotine tolerance of a pack-a-day cigarette smoker isn't terribly difficult to do with Gawith's dark blends. You'd be hard pressed to find anything else that's both as strong and as delightfully smooth in the world of pipe tobacco as Gawith's dark range, and personally I feel quite satisfied after 30 minutes or so of sipping on a pipe of Coniston. Any more than that is risking nicotine sickness for me.
It is a lovely 30 minutes though, as this is a quite well behaved blend! Rubbed out flakes take to the flame easily even when smoked fresh without any dry time (which is how I recommend smoking this blend, since drying it out really mutes the flavors often to the point of blandness) and requires a fairly average number of relights. The smoke is soft and gentle on the mouth, tongue, and throat; though it can moderately sting the sinuses when retrohaled. It is a blend I can smoke several times in a day and never have to worry about it giving me a sore throat, since in spite of it's strength it has a very smooth and non-abrasive character. It also relights quite well and doesn't turn harsh if you set the pipe down and return to it an hour or two later, which is a much appreciated quality to have in a blend that I likely won't finish an entire bowl of in one sitting. When the pipe is done it leaves the bowl clean and dry with little to no moisture or residue to speak of and no ghost whatsoever from the mild Lakeland essence.
As with most predominantly dark-fired blends the room note of Coniston Cut Plug is dense, heavy, and cigar-like. This isn't a pure Virginia where the aroma of it burning could be mistaken for bread or some sort of confection baking in the oven, the strong scent of the smoke from Coniston is unmistakably that of burning tobacco. I think it's a rather lovely aroma myself, but non-smokers may find it to be a noxious odor (since the only real difference between an aroma and an odor is whether or not ya like it).
All in all Coniston Cut Plug is a unique addition to Gawith's dark lineup, in that it's not a completely non-aromatic blend with no toppings like Kendal Dark, Dark Bird's Eye, Kendal Kentucky, or Dark Flake Unscented, but the tonquin and floral toppings that have been applied to Coniston Cut Plug are vastly milder and much more subtle than the toppings on any of the aromatic dark blends I've tried like 1792 Flake or Dark Flake Aromatic. Coniston Cut Plug is in the middle ground where there is just a smidgen of topping applied, but not enough to make it a full-on Lakeland aromatic. I'd call it a semi-aromatic, and I think it would be a great introduction for a non-aromatic smoker curious about dark Lakelands but who might also be wary of the floral aspect; since the floral note is so light here that you really have to search your palate to notice it and the tonquin topping is quite subdued as well.
Moving on to the big question though, is it a keeper for me? After all my talk of how mild the toppings are compared to other dark Lakelands you might be inclined to think that I didn't like Coniston Cut Plug, but I actually found it to be a wonderful all day anytime smoke! The base dark-fired tobacco blend is very tasty, the mild tonquin and floral toppings add a couple extra dimensions of flavor interest without ever becoming obtrusive, and the nicotine content is plenty enough to satisfy but not so much that I have to be really cautious smoking it like I do with the stronger blends in Gawith's dark range. I also greatly appreciate how smooth and gentle on the mouth and throat it is, and that it never turns harsh or abrasive even when the pipe is set down and relit hours later or the next day.
There was never a time in my week of testing when a pipe of Coniston didn't sound good, and I often had two or three pipefuls in a day, which is rare for me since I usually just have one pipe of my blend of the week then move on to old favorites for the rest of the day. Suffice it to say, Coniston Cut Plug has well earned it's place as a new addition to my favorites list and is a definite keeper!
For next week's blend of the week I've been so enjoying the dark Lakelands lately that I think I'm going to do another! If Coniston Cut Plug didn't have a heavy enough dose of tonquin for your liking then I think you'll get all the tonquin you could possibly want from...
Samuel Gawith 1792 Flake