Hey, everybody, I'm Shane Ireland. Welcome to another episode of Tasting Notes. It's the middle of summer and very warm. For a lot of us pipe smokers, our smoking habits change this time of year. You actually can't see but I'm wearing my swim trunks right now. And I have something very exciting that is designed to fill the rotation during this time of year.

Midsommar is the latest entry into the Warped line of pipe tobaccos, blended by Kyle Gellis and Jeremy Reeves. This blend is designed to sort of fill that niche. I think it is definitely the kind of blend that could be an all-day smoke for a lot of smokers and will get back to that specifically in a moment. It's also something that can fill the rotation throughout the year. It's perfect in the heat and outside in the sun, and I think it's a decent blend to smoke in mixed company. Midsommar encapsulates all of the best qualities of an all-day, everyday smoke and is particularly well-suited for smoking this time of year.

The Components of Midsommar

So, what makes Midsommar such an interesting tobacco and such a great tobacco to smoke in the warmer months? It's a really interesting mix of Bright Virginias; this is Canadian Bright leaf from 2019, which is extremely high in sugar content — like in the 25% range, which is very, very high — and a very nice vintage of Kentucky White Burley from from 2014, so nearly 10 years old before being processed and turned into pipe tobacco. These components form a base for a bit of Izmir leaf from Turkey and a little Basma from Greece to add complexity and some floral notes, and really support the sweetness of the Virginias, tying the whole thing together. You end up with a bright — an overwhelmingly bright — mixture of Burley and Bright Virginias that has the complexity and the flavor and enough body to keep a seasoned smoker interested, even a cigar smoker.

The Benefits of Pressed Cakes

Before I get into exactly what I get on the palate here, let me talk a little bit about the tin note and drying time. As you can see, it's a lovely pressed cake, firm enough to be sliced if you wish or just pulled apart by hand, which I appreciate for its versatility. I also think the moisture content is absolutely perfect out of the tin. This is one of the few blends where I don't suggest any drying time at all. I often give blends anywhere from five to 10 minutes, depending on the moisture content. But this one performs extremely well right out of the tin and I think that is how it's best enjoyed. The complexity really comes through, especially with some of these more nuanced and elegant components.

Midsommar's Flavor Profile

The tin note is zesty and a little bit earthy. It is definitely as you might expect from a mixture of predominantly White Burley and Bright Virginia. It's on the zesty side, on the higher end of the spectrum. I get a little bit of similarity to graham cracker. There's a lot of sweetness that comes through in the tin note. There isn't much citrus — maybe a tiny, tiny bit of something zesty, maybe lemon zest, but it isn't very pronounced — there's just a hint, more like an iced tea with lemon than just straight-up citrus notes.

There's something very lightly chocolatey here, maybe even more like molasses, and some beautiful earthy tones — not necessarily like damp forest soil, but loamy; not those darker earthy tones, but something a little bit brighter, like you might find in a cigar. In fact, I do get some of the White Burley and especially the vintage White Burley from 2014. I'm getting some of those definite cigar-like tones with maybe a touch of leather — a little bit earthy, which I presume comes from the Izmir and the Basma. It could also be from the Burley as well, but I'm getting some floral notes and a bit of a herbaceous quality. Really, really nice overall. And like I said, a little more complex on the nose than I would expect; it's something made of White Burley and predominantly White Burley and Bright Virginias.

Lighting Up Midsommar

So straight out of the tin, it needs no drying time. Midsommar takes to the flame extremely well. You don't have Latakia, Dark-Fired Kentucky, Perique, or Black Cavendish. These sorts of components tend to slow the burn rate of the smoke, yet this one still burns with a nice spontaneity — and especially if you back off a little bit, it produces a ton of smoke.

Again, given that you're predominantly talking about White Burley and Bright Virginias, it's fairly dense on the palette, definitely rich, with some definite depth, but most of the notes are hitting on the mid- and higher-end of the spectrum. Again, not really grassy or citrusy in the way that I associate with a lot of Bright Virginia blends. The Burley, especially this 2014 vintage, nearly 10-years-old, really, balances this extra-sweet bright Canadian leaf from 2019 and you end up with something that is, like I said, a lot more like graham crackers, iced tea, and herbal — it's definitely herbal.

There are some greener notes — I would say it's something closer to arugula, kind of nutty, almost spicy, with leafy greens and some dry herbs. There's something very interesting that I'm trying to put my finger on but can't quite get. Again, these earthy notes and floral qualities are coming through a little bit more now and the sweetness is starting to build an intensity from the first third of the bowl all the way to the bottom. You're going to get more and more sweetness as you tamp and relight. Again, very high sugar from the Bright leaf from Canada and that almost molasses-like undertone is also getting a little bit more pronounced and coming forward.

A Great Crossover Blend For Cigar Smokers

As I'm progressing into this bowl, I realize just how much I think this is actually a great crossover blend for a cigar smoker — particularly a cigar smoker who likes mild-to-medium bodied and mild-to-medium flavored cigars: The Cuban-esque profile is what we call it most of the time. The funny thing is that there's no cigar leaf in this blend at all, but the way that Jeremy and Kyle have blended Midsommar, the air-cured White Burley from Kentucky, especially being nearly 10 years old, sort of plays that role. It adds body to the creaminess.

I get a little bit of a white-pepper character on the retrohale. It's not spicy, but there's a little something there in the woody character. Like I said, it plays really, really well off the extremely high-sugar content of the Bright leaf. And the Orientals — the Izmir and the Basma — they're providing just a little bit of intrigue, a little bit of complexity. I do get maybe some incense-like notes, definitely some earthy qualities, lightly floral, lightly herbaceous, and something a little sour, maybe a little tangy — which again sort of offsets these nutty molasses and graham cracker notes. This has a lot of baked goods too, but mostly mildly sweet, not overly sweet.

Despite the high-sugar content, nothing about this blend is cloying. Again, I think it would fit equally well into the rotation for basically any all-day Virginia smoker, somebody who smokes heavier Virginia/Perique blends throughout the year and wants a little break from that during the summer months. And even, like I said, a cigar smoker who is used to mild-to-medium cigars — Connecticut shade stuff, Cuban-esque profiles — this is going to fit into your rotation really well.

Midsommar in a Meerschaum: A Complex Smoking Experience

Today I'm smoking Warped Midsommar out of an IMP nosewarmer. I chose this because I knew there was going to be a lot of nuance in this blend and I wanted to understand how these components fit together, so I've been smoking it mostly in my meerschaum pipes. I think it will perform well in a variety of pipes, but I really wanted to try to wrap my head around this; the good news is that I'm still trying to do that and I always take that as a positive. When a blend has the kind of complexity and intrigue that takes more than a 2oz tin to fully understand, it's likely to keep my attention and stay in the rotation longer.

Aging Potential

Lastly, I know I've become the boy who cried cellar but I truly believe that Midsommar is in a unique position to age very well in the long term and maybe dispel the rumor that Burleys don't age. Again, you have Bright Virginia, 2019 Bright Canadian with a high sugar content, Izmir, Basma, and this White Burley component; I keep talking about the White Burley because that 2014 vintage is really interesting. People say that Burley doesn't age as well as Virginias. I actually think that that's not true. I think it just has longer legs, maybe? It takes a little bit longer for the changes to be noticeable. But in a blend, I think what it can do is provide the support in the body to carry something like Bright Virginia well into the future and still give it some body, still give it some creaminess and weight on the palate, and make sure that it's not losing its oomph. So, again, you already have nearly a 10-year-old component, plus other components that are very well aged.

I think the combination of those, and pressing Midsommar into a cake, is designed to last a very long time and it's going to get even better. So, cellar away. See you guys next time.