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WSTEVEN

About Me:

Just loving maturity: photography, hiking, camping, backpacking, trekking, dachshunds, cooking, and pipes. In beautiful Utah - married to Dawn for 35 years.

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Reviews

Peter Stokkebye - PS306 English Oriental Supreme
Great Summertime Blend
I really appreciate this blend most on the hot days of summer - it’s very light and citrusy upon lighting, with the sweet Virginia front and center - you can get a little toasted flavor from the Latakia, but it’s not very pronounced until you get past the halfway point in the bowl - the orientals provide interest, but really just enhance the bright, lemony flavors of this blend And give a slight incense aroma - really enjoyable if you want a lighter smoke but want to stay in the English family of flavors and don’t want to go to a vaper - the ribbon cut is kinda wet and clumps together a bit, so just a little spread on a tray to air it and separate it a bit works for me. I think it’s better than the Proper English and not quite as rich as the Englis Luxury of the Stokkeby English blends - very good smoke!

Cornell & Diehl - Mountain Camp
Delicious and well-rounded
Currently smoking a large bowl in an old Chacom pot with a strong English tea - it’s delicious!!! Yes, it has a lot of components but they blend so well together - the Latakia is forward, but definitely not a ‘bomb’ - I was worried about the perique but it’s very slight here - the burley and oriental leaf just round out the blend - in fact ‘roundness’ is the adjective that keeps coming to me. It’s a little above average in strength I would say, but less so than a strong Balkan blend - mildly Smokey and nutty like cashew butter. Smokes cool and burns evenly right out of the bag - just a little nic hit by the end of the bowl, but not too bad - certainly nothing like Nightcap to me. I’ll probably be adding it too my reorder list.

Peterson - Irish Whiskey 50g
Subtle
I think the operative word in the description of this blend is ‘hint’ of Irish Whiskey - it’s very subtle in taste, a bit more pronounced in the room note (along w/rich fruitcake and caramel scents), and great in the tin note - certainly not heavily flavored like some aromatics are, so if you’re expecting that level of concentration of whiskey flavoring it will miss the mark. Still, a good smoke as the component tobaccos are top shelf and the cut is great - smoked well w/only a couple of relights for me. Ever-so-slightly moist out of the tin so I won’t jar it right away. I found the nic to be a little stronger than average despite what some other reviewers noted. Good smoke as a change up to my regular English blends, but probably not a go to tobacco for me.

Cornell & Diehl - London Squire
Nicely Balanced
Smells nice out of the bag: earthy, mossy, BBQ, campfire, but not as much as many English blends - the Latakia definitely plays a secondary role here. Nice ribbon cut, if a bit stemmy. Ready to smoke out of the bag and takes a light easily, I get mostly nutty, bready, and sour, even though there are no orientals in this, and a very mild sweetness. A great balance - nothing out of line - to me it was mild despite the ‘hearty’ description - very low on the mic. Enjoyable and well balanced - solid choice, but a bit tame. Probably a good place to start for those wanting to try an English blend.

Peter Stokkebye - PS17 English Luxury
Rich and Earthy - Luxury Indeed
This is a very nice blend, second only to Father Dempsey of the new English I’ve been smoking - it has a rich and earthy note in the bag: first vinegar, then fresh baked raisin bread, Spanish moss, smoke from a campfire...very nice - Latakia is very noticeable and the orientals fruity. Pretty consistent ribbon with only a few stems to pick out. Moisture was perfect for me - burns slow and cool with hardly any relights required, just the occasional tamp. It likes a rather loose pack. The smoke isn’t quite as rich as Father Dempsey, and it’s more Latakia forward in flavor as well, with the sweet & sour a distant echo, at least to me - kinda ‘bready’ as well. It has a bit less ‘sweet’ aroma as well, but not bad. Overall a great smoke and one I’ll return to.

Kramer's - Father Dempsey
Love...but takes a bit of work at first
I’m in love with this blend - it just checks all the boxes for me. I order in bulk and the bag aroma is very satisfying: rich, natural sweetness of dried fruit, followed by the toasty campfire of the Latakia - there isn’t that vinegary aroma that some heavy Latakia blends have...much more subtle here. It’s a gorgeous ribbon cut, a little broader than say a Dunhill ribbon - some have complained of an excess of stems, but I haven’t seen that. It’s moist, but not wet - damp enough to make it a bit of a chore to light right out of the bag. Even after drying a few minutes, it still takes some coaxing to get it lit for a ribbon cut. Once you do, the flavors and smoke are incredible - not at first tho. The first 1/4 bowl is not exceptional to me, with mostly the Latakia coming through and the smoke a little wispy. But after that you really get the sweetness from the VA and the rich fruitiness of the oriental, and it only takes a very small effort to get the most creamy, billowy smoke. The room note is the best of any English I have smoked (my wife’s thinks it smells better than 1Q which she loves). Low nicotine, big flavors, hasn’t bit me once. It is among my most enjoyable tobaccos. Cheers!

Lane Limited - 1-Q
Camping Season
I normally prefer Latakia forward English blends to aromatics, but I make an exception for camping season - at the end of a long day of backpacking in the Uinta Mountains of Utah, or in the gray dawn hours before anything is stirring (humans at least), I love this blend. I often do solo trips and when I meet other people in the backcountry when smoking my pipe, I often get a funny look, until they smell this aroma: it is absolutely lovely, and I tend to get favorable nods and smiles...at times compliments even. The moose, elk, and the inevitable campsite chipmunks don’t seem to mind either - so...just some thoughts on this wonderful blend - it’s not going to put you deep in thought with complex flavors, just a good accompaniment to what nature provides already - happy smoking!

Peterson - Early Morning Pipe 50g
My Everyday Blend
I love this blend - just the right notes in every aspect: taste, tin note, room note. Earthy but not too heavy with mainly the Latakia coming through at first, but the fruity orientals coming forward as it smokes down - it is a little heavier on the nic than some have noted, at least to me - wish they’d bring it back in bulk - cheers!

Balkan Sasieni - Balkan Sasieni 50g
Great
I love this blend, especially as my evening after dinner smoke - tin note is amazing: smoky, rich vinegar, incense - burns nice and slow and tastes so savory - highly recommended!