So a little while ago, I went on the hunt for blends that satisfy both Mrs. Rookie and myself. That's a fairly tall order. I'm getting myself off cigarettes. Yay me, I guess. But it means the blend has to have a fairly decent amount of nicotine for me to notice. And if I'm smoking tobacco, I'm looking for some sort of vitamin N. Mrs. Rookie, on the other hand, is looking for me to smoke something that smells pleasant. So while she might love 7Seas, I'm more a Five Bros kind of guy. That internet search lead to, among other blends, Warhorse Bar Green. Which I've smoked about a half tin so far.
I've seen it reffered to as the Licorice Lakeland before, and that's a pretty apt description. The tin note ghosted my post office. That's not a bad thing at all for me, McCrystals Anise is easily my favorite nasal snuff. I'm sure there are other flavors in the tin note, but my pallette is nowhere near refined enough to find them. Again, in my book that's a feature and not a flaw.
Opening the tin, the presentation is beautiful. I'm greeted by a brownie looking cake. Dark brown tobacco mixed with darker brown pressed together with little flecks of light brown look very nice in a tin or jar. It breaks apart willingly enough. I'm not sure who makes it, but the cake breaks up like a C&D cake. Pinching off a pipe's worth and crumbling it up is a trivial exercise, stupid easy and not worth another word on it.
There's a decent bit of swelling with the charring light. I have found this blend to benefit from some drying time, but YMMV. Otherwise, it acts like a Lakeland in my pipe. It is tough for me to get a ember going, but once it's lit it smokes nicely. It takes its fair share of relights and can leave some wetter dottle at the bottom of the bowl when smoked as fast as I smoke it.
The taste is anise. Somewhere in the second third, a bit of tobacco taste starts to come in. The licorice never goes away, ever. But somewhere around the halfway point the tobacco starts to work with the flavoring to achieve something close to harmony. And the good news is there is nicotine in this blend. Not very much according to the guy who extremely recently quit a 2 pack a day habit, but if I'm feeling it that's a good sign. For others, I might suggest a full stomach before having a bowl.
The room note notes come from Mrs. Rookie. "I'm fine with it. It doesn't bother me. Strong licorice or anise but not unpleasant. It makes me want to buy a box of Good n Plentys."
My final thoughts. I'm glad I got this. But I'm not sure if I'll get another tin. It checks the boxes we needed checked without a doubt, that's not it. This is definitely an aromatic with some nicotine, which is exactly what I was looking for. But this is a blend which showed me the term "pallette fatigue". In short, it's harder for me to smoke a black jelly bean for a half hour or more. And if I'm looking for that nicotine after a good meal, well it'll deliver but at the expense of the meal.
Warning, this will ghost whatever you smoke it in. If you're interested in trying this, I'd recommend picking up a cob to go with it if you don't have a dedicated Lakeland pipe.
I've seen it reffered to as the Licorice Lakeland before, and that's a pretty apt description. The tin note ghosted my post office. That's not a bad thing at all for me, McCrystals Anise is easily my favorite nasal snuff. I'm sure there are other flavors in the tin note, but my pallette is nowhere near refined enough to find them. Again, in my book that's a feature and not a flaw.
Opening the tin, the presentation is beautiful. I'm greeted by a brownie looking cake. Dark brown tobacco mixed with darker brown pressed together with little flecks of light brown look very nice in a tin or jar. It breaks apart willingly enough. I'm not sure who makes it, but the cake breaks up like a C&D cake. Pinching off a pipe's worth and crumbling it up is a trivial exercise, stupid easy and not worth another word on it.
There's a decent bit of swelling with the charring light. I have found this blend to benefit from some drying time, but YMMV. Otherwise, it acts like a Lakeland in my pipe. It is tough for me to get a ember going, but once it's lit it smokes nicely. It takes its fair share of relights and can leave some wetter dottle at the bottom of the bowl when smoked as fast as I smoke it.
The taste is anise. Somewhere in the second third, a bit of tobacco taste starts to come in. The licorice never goes away, ever. But somewhere around the halfway point the tobacco starts to work with the flavoring to achieve something close to harmony. And the good news is there is nicotine in this blend. Not very much according to the guy who extremely recently quit a 2 pack a day habit, but if I'm feeling it that's a good sign. For others, I might suggest a full stomach before having a bowl.
The room note notes come from Mrs. Rookie. "I'm fine with it. It doesn't bother me. Strong licorice or anise but not unpleasant. It makes me want to buy a box of Good n Plentys."
My final thoughts. I'm glad I got this. But I'm not sure if I'll get another tin. It checks the boxes we needed checked without a doubt, that's not it. This is definitely an aromatic with some nicotine, which is exactly what I was looking for. But this is a blend which showed me the term "pallette fatigue". In short, it's harder for me to smoke a black jelly bean for a half hour or more. And if I'm looking for that nicotine after a good meal, well it'll deliver but at the expense of the meal.
Warning, this will ghost whatever you smoke it in. If you're interested in trying this, I'd recommend picking up a cob to go with it if you don't have a dedicated Lakeland pipe.
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