The Frozen Mixed Bag

[frozenchurchwarden]

I need a place to put my experiments without messing up reviews in progress, so I figured this would be as good a place as any.
Today's blend was basically just to dip my toes in the Latakia river (or would that be a cannonball?).
-Cornell & Diehl Latakia mixed 50/50 with G.L. Pease Cairo, and one flake each of Brigham Klondike Gold (basically fresh) and Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake (aged six months), and a pinch of Perique. 35g total.

Kind of nuts but at nearly 50% Latakia I knew it was really only headed in one direction.

It was a little hard to light but was ok once it got going (I was also smoking a little heavy to keep the mosquitoes at bay).

The flavour was smoke with a fair bit of spice, and that's pretty much it besides a tiny hint of some sweet virginia at the very start of my second bowl.

Oddly enough, even with some gross puffing abuse I couldn't describe any part of it as harsh, it's a different kind of smokiness from that, and the immediate aftertaste is a bit savoury.
I can't say it was a horrible experience, but as I'm normally in love with only the sweetest aromatics I just don't know if I can describe it as "desirable". I would probably be more up-beat if I didn't treat Latakia like a hazardous substance and thought it would be ok to smell like smoked ham all the time.

So I guess that would be a rating of "not bad".
(I smell some English Oriental Supreme in my future)

 

[matchstickman]

If you're finding it hard to like the full on, bold flavor of latakia, you might try something like one of the Frog Morton blends or some Sillem's Black, maybe Boswells Northwoods. All are good introductions to Latakia as they are very mild and don't have that "face full of wet dog and burnt leaves" flavor. Some folks like Latakia, some don't, it's just a matter of smoke what you like and like what you smoke. Me, you can't make a blend with enough latakia for me, I'm really curious to smoke straight blend latakia at some point in time, but I normally don't smoke sweet aromatics. Nothing wrong with any of these blends, mind you, they're just not my thing. Keep experimenting and you'll eventually find something that's right up your alley.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I've had a second bowl now, this time with the Latakia percentage greatly reduced (from about 50% to 25%), and I have to say it was a much more interesting smoke. Sometimes it tasted more like G.L. Pease Cairo (now the main component), and others it was closer to the pure smoke I got last time, and at the end it definitely left much less of a spice flavour than before.

The aftertaste is again savoury, quite good compared to the taste of ash left by some tobacco.

I'm starting to figure out why a person should use Latakia. Maybe in future I'll pin down the flavour component, but for the time being I have to say the aroma alone is reason enough (and half of tasting is smelling anyway).

A few days ago I lit a small camp fire, discovering that Latakia almost perfectly replicates it, and in that moment I couldn't help but think of how much I do like that smell.

It's not something I would want every day, for fear that my senses would be dulled to it, rather the point seems to be that it so strongly contrasts all the ordinary smells you're normally surrounded with
The best part is now I know how to use up all the tobacco I've tried but wasn't a big fan of. You could probably use nearly anything short of 1Q to dilute your Latakia with.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Tonight my experiment was MacBaren Seven Seas Regular with Latakia at a 5/1 ratio of MacBaren to Latakia.

The first half of the bowl was pretty good, mostly the aromatic sweetness with a couple of pockets of Latakia, which tasted quite strongly of salt.

The second half of the bowl was not so pleasant. MacBaren Regular is worse than most aromatics once the flavour is gone (smells more like a regular tobacco), and the addition of Latakia to that didn't help.

 

[lordnoble]

The ONLY blend I've found that I would classify as an aromatic containing latakia, is Two Friends English Chocolate, and man is it tasty. Anything else and I'd be skeptical of how good it would be. Keep posting to this. I'm curious to see what you come up with.
-Jason

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Cornell & Diehl Long Cut Perique in at least a 50/50 mix with assorted scraps of Full Virginia Flake and Luxury Twist flake, probably heavy on the Perique side.

Definitely hard to light.

Interesting, not a taste or smell I associate with usual "strong" tobacco types. I think "earthy" is the correct word to describe the flavour, mostly uneventful though with a level of spice going anywhere from "none" to "moderate", and a very occasional hint of sweetness that probably came from the Virginia.

Though this was immediately following a bowl of Frosty Mint, I had plenty of carbonated beverage to cleanse my pallet so it's hard to say how much effect that actually had.

 

[phil22]

As Mentioned, Sillem's Black is an aromatic with Latakia. It is a wonderful blend that I believe does not receive enough attention. I enjoy it very much.