EN
JA
ZH
All New Pipes
Chris N.
Reviews
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Kendal Dark Vintage Cut
Pipe Chronicles - Embers of an Encounter with Gildor
Packs easy, lights easy. Smokes easy. No bite. Immediate nicotine strength relaxes if one is well settled. The bowl starts with the virginias slightly dominating the burley, though there's a sense of equal partnership. Hay, brown sugar, the sweet and sour virginia tang, resting comfortably on a mellow woodland floor of cocoa and dark fruits. There's a spiciness too, despite no perique, which could be a result of having smoked only Deluxe Navy Rolls out of this 1940s US Falcon for the last two weeks. A hint of cigar weaves in and out. It'd be a nice evening smoke once one is used to the strength, or perhaps smoked through a filtered pipe or churchwarden; I can imagine it'd be a nice reading tobacco. Imagine Sam and Frodo on the edge of the woods peering out at strange elven travelers crossing the meadow, feeling a dark sense of trepidation. Halfway through the bowl the virginias give way to the nutty burley after a short interlude of dark earthiness, that could be unsettling for some. The nuttiness is accompanied by rich cream and even a hint of popcorn. Throughout the bowl in the constant background feeling that if pushed too hard, things could take a turn for the worse. In the final third the virginias return to the front accompanied by the fullness that all pipe smokers will be familiar with when approaching this portion of their smoke. At this point a fine dance ensues between virginias and the burley, which is altogether pleasant, yet in the background remains a constant threat. A darkness that may be a little too close for comfort. Even at this stage, the briar of the Falcon is warm at best, but it takes little to send it over the edge. The smoke ends rather abruptly with fire and darkness akin to one of Frodo's visions of The Great Eye. Excellent value for money.