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Patrick D.
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Cornell & Diehl - The Beast 2oz
There’s a reason this sells out so quickly.
Spicy and sweet. This is a perique lovers dream. There’s a spicy that provides a spicy background that grows and ebbs repeatedly throughout the smoke. A natural sweetness permeates and provides a sort of counterpoint to the peppery spiciness. There are almost hints of fruit, sort of like a dried fruit that may remind you of the fruit in fruit cake. Some smoky notes, BBQ like qualities crop up from time to time like a hint of sweet BBQ ribs. It’s just plain good.
Mac Baren - HH Pure Virginia 16oz
Just a good Virginia
As with all pure Virginias, there is no complexity or depth, but a consistent bready, grassy sweetness from start to finish. Burns well and remains consistent from char to the very end. I would highly recommend. Best to let it sit for about 6 or more months before smoking.
Drucquer & Sons - Blairgowrie 200g
Balanced and fairly complex, but nothing dominant.
This is a great blend, but it may be too balanced for my tastes. I normally prefer something being a dominant note in my smoke, but this one doesn’t seem to have it. There’s grassy virginias, spicy perique, smoky Latakia and fruity orientals, but all in a nearly perfect balance. The quality of the flake is exceptional, but since it’s all balanced out no notes take a drivers seat. This may appeal more to someone with a more nuanced sense of taste, but for me I need something the edges out the other flavors. Definitely worth trying though.
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Brown Irish X
A Perfect Tobacco?
No toppings, no complexity, no competing flavors; Just the most perfect smoking experience one could ask for. This is smooth, cool, slightly smoky and delectably sweet. The sweetness is purely natural and contains no hints of anything topping or artificial flavors. The room note is very pleasant, but not the same as aros. It’s by no means disagreeable to those in the area. The natural sweetness shines through with very slight woody, smoky, almost mushroom like notes. The amazing taste remains consistent from the charing light to the end of the bowl. Being a rope it holds moisture very well and one may need to dry it out after cutting it and rubbing it out, but I’ve not had to dry it for more than 15 minutes or so before loading up my bowl. If not allowed a little air time after prep it can be hard to keep lit. If I had only 1 tobacco to smoke for the rest of my life it would be this one and that’s a hard milestone to top. In the 30 years since I took up my hobby this tobacco is so good I find myself looking at my other reviews and having to consider notching them all down a star or so. What I had previously thought as a 5 star now only rates a 4 when compared to this beauty.
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Brown Flake Aromatic
Just Delicious
I picked up 500g boxes of both the brown aromatic and dark aromatic flakes from G&H. Had you asked me ahead of time which one I was likely to prefer I would have sworn the dark would have won out as I’m a far bigger fan of maple than of fig. While it turned out the dark was amazing, the brown however is superior. The room note is fantastic, but I expect that from aros. Smoking this is just wonderfully sweet and balanced. The virginia sweetness shines through, with subtle backing of the toppings enhancing the smoke for an almost desert like quality. Likely too sweet for an all day smoke, it’s just simply delicious and I find myself turning to it whenever I want a desert. Likely far healthier to smoke this than to actually eat something sweet. The sweetness is predominant, but not artificial in any way. It’s not gunky, just a wonderfully sweet virginia with mild flavoring. It’s not over the top in any way. This smoke is so delicious that the biggest issue I have is slowing down while smoking. This is something I would highly recommend you pick up and try. One reviewer described it as a superior tobacco with a robust sweetness and this description is very fitting. Unquestionable 5 of 5 stars on this one.
Cornell & Diehl - Nutty Irishman 8oz
A wonderfully delightful aromatic.
I picked up a tin of this because it sounded interesting, and wow am I glad I did. For aromatics I usually go for the mild variants with a predominant tobacco taste and this isn’t one of those. It’s creamy, nutty with the toppings clearly center stage. Unlike most heavy aros I’ve tried this one doesn’t goop up or smoke hot. While I don’t get the whiskey I do get some herbal tones, clear hazelnut flavoring and a creamy goodness that is just delicious. The room note is amazing and the flavoring consistent throughout the bowl. It’s an easy smoke and new pipe smokers should give this one a try. This aro doesn’t bite back. Easy enough to be an all day smoke. I’m a poor judge of nic levels but I’d consider this a low to medium nicotine strength. The burley nuttiness is the only tobacco notes I can detect. Smoking this is almost like drinking hazelnut flavored cream. Likely not for everyone, but definitely something everyone should try. Glad to see this one offered in bulk because this is something that I will keep consistently in stock now that I found it.
G. L. Pease - Cairo 8oz
An excellent introduction to orientals.
The orientals are strong with this blend but not so strong as to overpower the virginias. This is a wonderfully balanced blend with natural sweetness, breadiness and hay light virginia qualities marry with a natural tart, semi fruity taste of the orientals. This is one of my favorite blends, light enough to be an all day smoke, complex enough to keep me coming back wanting more.
Cornell & Diehl - Innsmouth 2oz
Similar to Miskatonic, but less sweet.
I’m a larger fan the Miskatonic as I believe the additional sweetness from the sweet black cavendish brings out and enhances the oriental flavors significantly, but this is a good smoke and I would recommend trying it out if you haven’t already. While I find the Miskatonic a better mixture, others may not feel the same way. This blend has a more dry creaminess akin to coconut milk.
Cornell & Diehl - Miskatonic Mixture 2oz
Similar to Innsmouth, but sweeter and tastier.
I purchased this and innsmouth at the same time. Both blends appear to be similar but the Miskatonic states it uses sweet black cavendish and it’s obvious in the blend. This blend has a slightly tart, full tasty smoke with hints of fruitiness. The slight sweetness of this mixture over Innsmouth adds a huge amount of depth.
Mac Baren - Vanilla Flake 16oz
Quality virginia with vanilla.
This is a nice mellow smoke for me. The virginia is evident throughout the smoke but never overwhelming. Room note is very pleasant like any aromatic should be. It would likely benefit from some age. The flakes rub out wonderfully and have about a perfect moisture content right out of the tin. This really is a fantastic smoke, but it’s not anything special. It’s exactly what a vanilla aromatic should be though.
Cornell & Diehl - Bayou Night 8oz
A very complex smoke with layers of smoky and spice.
The perique is obvious in this blend, but while it has spicy undertones I get a huge amount of complexity and flavors from this excellent blend. Not for the faint of heart, this blend has spicy, smokiness, subtle sweetness (think more like BBQ rib type sweet than candy) and the occasional tangy/tarty notes from the orientals. It’s incredibly well balanced in such a way that while each draw I know I’ll get smoky and spicy, but I also get hints of so much more that evolve slowly throughout the smoke. A full flavored smoke with plenty of nicotine. I’d highly recommend trying out a bit if you’re interested. They also sell 2 oz tins along with bulk too.
Cornell & Diehl - Bayou Morning 8oz
Sweet and Spicy.
With the high perique content in this tobacco it’s a powerful and spicy smoke. As with most VA/Pers it’s not incredibly complex, but then again most VA/Pers smokers aren’t looking for that. It has some sweet background notes common with virginias, along with some hay/bready taste but it’s the perique that shines on this one. This is a favorite but not something I find myself smoking daily. It’s best suited to those occasions where I’m looking for something spicy. Excellent smoke on warm nights with a good book or good company.
Samuel Gawith - Fire Dance Plug 8oz
One of my daily smokers
I love this stuff. It starts with notes of blackberry and a hint of brandy. The vanilla is barely noticeable but every now and then I get a hint of it. The notes of blackberry and brandy appear regularly throughout the smoke but remain very light and in no way take away or diminish from the virginias, which are clearly present throughout the bowl. The toppings serve to enhance the virginias and give a little bit of complexity to the smoke. Room note is very pleasant. I have not yet received a single complaint in regard to the room note. If you like virginias but are seeking a little more from your virginias try this one out.
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Bosun Plug
Heavy Clove Taste
First off, I love cloves. If you don’t like cloves you likely will hate this blend. But for clover lovers this stuff is amazing. It has a very prominent clove taste and room note with floral backgrounds. There is a background natural sweetness from the virginias that is present throughout the bowl. This tobacco has plenty of taste and an extremely pleasant aftertaste. It’s a rich smoke that burns wonderfully to the end leaving a fine grey ash. This is one of my favorite blends. Hopefully smokingpipes gets this back in stock soon. In the meantime I have 1000 grams of it cellaring and may update my review in a year or so to see how it ages. In the meantime it’s a wonderful tobacco right out of the bag.
Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation - Evening Flake
Excellent Virginia with a tad bit of Perique.
For a bulk VA/Per flake, this is about the best I’ve found. AS with most VA/Pers this will benefit with aging for some time. Perfect moisture content and the flakes can easily be folded or rubbed out. I always prefer to rub them out a bit over folding and stuffing into my bowl.Citrus tones are predominant when new with notes of hay, grass and freshly baked bread. A mild and very natural sweetness with every puff. There is definitely Perique in the background and it lends a light peppery undertone to the mix. Pleasant aftertaste. As with most VA/Pers this can bite if you get too excited while smoking, but this mellows out with some age. I’d recommend purchasing enough to cellar for a few years and smoke through the stages of aging.
