TAD - Order Arrived today

[griffonwing]

Order 2014-12
It looks as though I will be busy this week tasting new blends, as every tin and bag shown are new to me, except for the large Squadron Leader. This will be promptly opened, and my SL tin refilled, and the rest jarred away for the cellar.

 

[griffonwing]

I started with Hearth & Home Black House. My pipe is a Stanwell Royal Guard, which is my Skiff/Squadron Leader/Charing Cross pipe. I gave it a good cleaning with a couple pipe cleaners, to remove the vast majority of flavorings so that I could get the full Black House.
On first opening the tin, the aroma was quite light. Not as pronounced as the tins from Pease. Also, the tobacco was far drier that I am used to seeing from other tobaccos. I packed it well and gave it a good char, then lit it proper. I must say that it is only reminiscent of the other balkans that I have tried, but it is wholly its own blend. I admit to only taking a few puffs, as i am in my computer room, and choose not to fill it with smoke, especially as I am renting the house.
There is a nice powder over the tobacco, so it burns very well. I felt no bite, as I normally do from drier tobaccos. My mouth is still tasting the flavors, and the room note.. if you could take a winter fireplace, and bottle up that aroma, this is what it would smell like.
It is 27 degrees outside (-3 Celsius), but I will be heading out after this post to finish the bowl. This is a most wonderful balkan blend. I will be ordering some more for the cellar.

 

[texmexpipe]

Some tastey ones in that haul!

 

[griffonwing]

rsuninv- Thanks for the heads-up. My SL tin is still 3/4 full, so it's all going in jars anyway. The way I smoke, it will be at least 6 months before my SL needs refilling anyway.

 

[griffonwing]

The pipe was already warm the from previous light, plus it had the inside house temperature of 64 degrees. If the pipe had been left inside the car all night and the pipe itself was frozen, then I most definitely would not light it up until it reached a stable warm temperature.

 

[mso489]

You're ready for the new year. Give us your read-out on Sixpence when you get to it, to

supplement the cogent review that already appeared in Forums.

 

[griffonwing]

I will be trying it out tomorrow on the way to work. Tonite i am still savoring Black House. It's been over an hour since the half bowl, and it's still enticing my taste buds.

 

[dottiewarden]

Ahhh, the pleasures of pipe smoking! To your health and the health of all the other pipe heads on this forum!

 

[griffonwing]

I tried Sixpence this morning. Granted, there are a few things working against me for this initial encounter. Firstly, I am unaccustomed to flake or rubbed flake. Secondly, driving an 82 Mercedes Diesel in 25 degree weather is not an ideal environment to savor and try to find nuances in tobacco, especially when you are trying to drive and keep it lit. Hehehe.
The tin aroma reminds me of the smell of apricot or plums. Not overly sweet, just a natural sweetness. There is also a light note of damp hay. Quite a charming aroma. As I mentioned, I wasn't able to really concentrate on the smoke smell, as the heater was on and blowing it away from me. But as I sit and write this, I can taste what it has left. The tobacco is full of flavor. The pipe, with its now cold tobacco, has a layer of white ash. The charred tobacco has a very nutty smell. It smells very much of Bit-o-Honey.
I will finish the bowl during lunch and I will update on the experience.

 

[griffonwing]

Update: This is a good smoke, but it will not be an everyday smoke for me. I will most likely put the tin away in the cellar for a few months. The only other Va/Per blends that I have tried in the past have been Peterson's Irish Oak and Mac Baren's HH Acadian Perique. While they have been good smokes, they were really not my cup o tea.
I guess I find my tastes are more towards English blends. Who knows. Perhaps after a few months, and perhaps with a certain beverage or mood this tobacco will find its place.

 

[daytonsean]

Black House is pretty good. I also noticed my tins of it have always been dry. But it does linger in a good way. The Sixpence blend hasn't caught my attention at all. It just doesn't sound good to me. And this is the second review of it that hasn't been overly in favor of it. Thanks for sharing your TAD.

 

[griffonwing]

Well, I took my 250g Squadron Leader, and proceeded to measure out 50g for half-pint jars, and my 5th jar only held 31g. It seems to be about 20g short. Is this normal?
I thought, perhaps, that my digital kitchen scales were not calibrated correctly, but I tried weighing my 1oz bag of Dunhill Nightcap, and it comes to 1.1oz, including the bag, so the scales can't be that off.
Is this something that is to be expected, or was it a fluke? Is this something I should inform Gawith of? It's almost half a tin short.

 

[griffonwing]

Another update.
Dunhill- My Mixture 965 and Nightcap - I will have to say that I was not really impressed with these two blends. I tried them couple weeks ago, then both yesterday and again today, using two different pipes. For me, the flavor and aroma are quite lacking. Nothing too specific, though. I have them jarred and I will try them again in the coming months. I will most likely pass on these.
Gawith H&Co - #25 Mixture - This one I do like. It is quite pleasant on the tongue and the room note is marvelous. This blend will be finding a place in my cellar.

 

[drennan]

Loved Nightcap and thought MM 965 was a bit meh.
I would have thought a 250g box of tobacco should contain 250g of tobacco.

 

[jah76]

Rsuninv gifted me some Squadron Leader. Very nasty, just a nice light, slightly creamy, sweet English. I will be ordering more.
I smoked Black House during the Black House madness two years ago. I liked it but it was a bit heavy for me. I normally smoke Vaper/Oriental blends, however Im going to tack some on my next order. I found myself smoking Lancer Slices this summer so Im going to give BH another go.
Drennan what the heck are you holding in your avatar? Looks like a fish crossed with a horse.

 

[griffonwing]

Thanks all. I will try the Nightcap again in a few weeks or so. It may possibly have been because I smoked the 965 right before. It may also be that the Dunhill blends are simply not to my taste.
I can definitely taste the similarity of the Gawith H&Co 25 with the Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader/Skiff. You can tell that the blenders are in the same family. Marvelous blend and a delightful smoke.

 

[griffonwing]

I can see it being a couple grams less, but 20? That's almost half a tin.

 

[griffonwing]

I did just send the company en email letting them know of the error, and that I wasnt looking for a replacements or the difference made up, but just so that they would be aware in case there is an issue with their processing. As it is, the purchase of the 250g was just over the cost of 3 tins, so I still bought 3 tins and received 1 and a half for free.