Pipes - Blind Review #1

[IHT]

no, not a contest like they do in the cigar area, just wanting to have some fun.

Stipulations:
1 - you must post a detailed review in this topic (i will revise the form i've been using)
2 - you must attempt to guess what the blend is at the end
3 - you don't win jack squat (other than a few 'oooohs' and 'ahs' from the onlookers), this is for fun
4 - i just wanted to make a 4th one, no real reason

the first 5 (five) active pipe forum members* to post that they want in will get a small sample from me. enough for 2 or 3 bowls.
*active pipe forum members = if you make real pipe related responses, take part in any of the PIF/MAW/Reviews/Tonights Smoke topics, then you're good to go - including newbs.

this is #1 because i may start doing this every month, if that's okay with you all/if we get a good turnout. if someone doesn't write a review, then they won't get in on any of the possible future blind reviews.
it may also morph into something else later on, right now we're just doing it to do it, cuz we can, i'm a grown ass man and don't need your permission.

List:
cquon
monsoon
JAK
croatan (parisian pimp)
solafid3

[cquon]

Oooh, oooh, I wanna play!

[monsoon]

Bring it on ... I'm in.

[SIZE="1"]What do I win ?[/SIZE]

[JAK]

Sounds like fun, I would love to give it a try

[IHT]

wow, surprised that more ppl aren't willing to write a review to get some free pipe tobacco??

that could prove a point to me: this ISN'T the cigar pass/bombs/trades forum!!


--edit--
doug, i'll give you your sample on saturday.
the other 2, i need your addresses.

[croatan]

Call me a huckleberry. I'll smoke some of your tobacco, Greg

[solafid3]

Wait, so I smoke, I review and don't name it? I thought I had to guess what you smoked. If that's the case, count me in.

[IHT]

Originally Posted by solafid3

Wait, so I smoke, I review and don't name it? I thought I had to guess what you smoked. If that's the case, count me in.

no, you HAVE to name it, or try to name it... read stipulation #2.

[solafid3]

ahhh ok, I'm game let's do this.

[IHT]

GOT 5.

need addresses PM'd to me. i'll try to send these out this weekend, and i'll work on the "review sheet" as well.

[IHT]

packages are... packaged.
will try to get them out on my way to a herf tomorrow. 4 of the 5 sent via mail, 1 in person.
i'll work on the review layout soon.

don't worry about being flowery with your descriptions. have fun, do the best you can, enjoy the tobacco. about midnight is when i figured out which tin i was going to open (then took me 20 minutes to get it open). smells awesome. i can't wait to have a few bowls myself.

[JAK]

It sounds like a lot of fun!

[IHT]

shipped (and 1 handed off).
no DC #s, the packages were too thin. but it's 1st class mail.

i'll give you all 1 hint, just so you know what kind of pipe to smoke it in... it's a Va/Per. monsoon said, "duh, coming from you..." and i had thought about sending you all some latakia stuff to throw you all off.
i haven't had any of this blend, but it smells amazing.
now time to work on the review sheet.

REVIEW SHEET, similar to the one i have used in other reviews. i took out some of the redundant stuff, things that i feel don't matter (tin appearance??), and adjusted the ratings to match the possible 100 pt outcome. so, copy/paste. use the 0-6, with 6 being best, and then the bottom is for any additional comments on flavors, problems with the burn, etc. (i understand you won't know the "tobacco", you can place your guess there)

Place & Date =
Tobacco =
Tobacco Cut =
Cut Width =
Cut Length =
Ingredients =

Evaluated Aspects scale of 0-6:
Appearance (tobacco):
Condition (humidity level):
Smell:
Packing (easy to difficult):
Lighting (easy to difficult):
Taste:
Room Note/Aroma:
Consistency of taste:
Combustion:
Humidity during smoke:
Tongue irritations:
Throat irritation:.
Satisfaction of smoke:
After-taste/Finish:
quality-price rapport:

Impressionistic Evaluation (choose one):
__this is one of the best of this genre.... (10 pts)
__I wouldn't mind paying for it... (7 pts)
__only if someone gave me a tin, etc (5 pts)
__I don't like it, but can understand other may (3 pts)
__one of the worst tobaccos I've ever smoked (0 pts)

TOTAL SCORE OUT OF 100:

Freeform Thoughts/Impressions:







just a "heads-up" bump that i moved this topic here.

[IHT]

Place & Date = my garage, 21Oct07
Tobacco = nunya
Tobacco Cut = ribbon
Cut Width = very thin
Cut Length = medium to long for ribbon
Ingredients = Va/Per

Evaluated Aspects scale of 0-2-4-6:
Appearance (tobacco): 4 - very stringy, can easily be balled up, some took some rubbing.
Condition (humidity level): 4 - freshly opened the night before, i let it sit out for about 45 minutes. wasn't nearly dry enough.
Smell: 6 - i think this could be addicting. totally amazing aroma. figs, raisins, some spices of some sort that i can't put my finger on, but love.
Packing (easy to difficult): 6 - very easy, but be careful, due to the thin ribbon, you could easily pack it too tight.
Lighting (easy to difficult): 4 - this is simply because it was a tad too moist. mid-bowl, i walked in the back yard with the dogs, gentle breeze allowed me to "sip" while the light wind kept the fire going.
Taste: 6 - wow. amazing. i can't wait to hear what you others think. that flavor, whatever it is in the smell, you taste it throughout the bowl. i'm going to order more very soon.
Room Note/Aroma: 6 - to me, it smelled very good. i asked my wife, who's quit smoking this summer and enjoyed pipe tobacco aroma, and she said it's not her favorite, but not bad, "i like the aromatics."
Consistency of taste: 4 - i don't know how to grade this. also being an ex-cuban cigar guy, you want the tobacco to change flavor, become complex, keep you on your toes. this seemed to change as the bowl went down, becoming more smokey... you could grade it a 2 if you wanted the first taste to remain throughout the bowl, but it changes slightly to a heavier feel.
Combustion: 6 - it was on fire... i should give it a 4, but it burned without problem once going.
Humidity during smoke: 4 - my fault again, but even being too moist, it didn't cause much condensation in the bowl (CS forum pipe). i did push a cleaner down in there twice, just in case.
Tongue irritations: 4 - if you puff too hard/fast, like i normally do, then you may get some bite. if you have the chance to dedicate to this bowl, focus on the smoke, you won't have a problem.
Throat irritation: 6 - none. i only leave this category in here cuz it helps with the math and i figure some may very well have throat issues with a tobacco - i've never heard of it though.
Satisfaction of smoke: 6 - very satisfied.
After-taste/Finish: 2 - not as good as i'd hoped, been about 15 minutes since i stopped... not like what the smoke actually tasted like. but putting my hand over my goattee, i can smell it once again, and it's good.
quality-price rapport: 6 - quality stuff.

Impressionistic Evaluation (choose one):
_X_this is one of the best of this genre.... (10 pts)
___I wouldn't mind paying for it... (7 pts)
___only if someone gave me a tin, etc (5 pts)
___I don't like it, but can understand other may (3 pts)
___one of the worst tobaccos I've ever smoked (0 pts)

TOTAL SCORE OUT OF 100: 84??

Freeform Thoughts/Impressions:
surprised it only scored an 84??!! just shows you that some of the bulljive in this form really shouldn't be in there. appearance?? who cares, it could look like susan sarandons toe jam for all i care. it's the flavor, the quality and easy of burning... that's what i care about. aroma is always good as well. but throat irritation?? whatever. i'll have to revise this some more.
the tin aroma was AMAZING. even better than the best tin of Escudo that i can remember, very similar only stronger with that fig/spice mix that's intoxicating. i've never sat there drawing on a packed yet unlit pipe for more than a few draws until tonight. first half the bowl tasted like the aroma.

gents, i think you will be pleased, and when you are all done, i'm going to place my order before i let you know what it was.

[monsoon]

Place & Date = My ass on the couch, watching an old (and not very good) B&W flick, circa 1963, called "House of the Damned".
Tobacco = ?????? GLP Cumberland ??????
Tobacco Cut = Mixed ribbon and flake
Cut Width = Quite thin .. 3 mm ribbon 8mm flake ??
Cut Length = 6" flake 3" ribbon (hard to tell ... the ribbon is prety bunched up & torn)
Ingredients = Golden Virginia ribbon & stoved red Virginia flake. *maybe* a touch of perique.

Evaluated Aspects scale of 0-6:
Appearance (tobacco): (4) No uniformity to blend. Large chunks of flake, haphazardly mixed with the ribbon. I questioned how much flake-to-ribbon this blend was supposed to consist of.
Condition (humidity level): (6) Near perfect. Light and springy to the touch/pinch.
Smell: (6) Swet VA, raisins, walnuts, figs ?
Packing (easy to difficult): (6) Used the "Frank Method" for the first time....went a lot easier than I expected it to go. Top of bowl was tight, yet the draw was still perfect.
Lighting (easy to difficult): (4) I used wooden matches to start with, but could not get the thing going past the initial char stage. I tamped it, put the business end of a Ronson jet in the middle of the bowl, tamped again, relit wih the Ronson torch and the bowl finally lit very well.
Taste: (6) Sweet VA, raisins and walnuts come across in the smoke, consistant with the initial smell. Very nice !!
Room Note/Aroma: (6) Like a Fig Newton factory.
Consistency of taste: (6) Consistant throughout the bowl, top to bottom.
Combustion: (5) Took a few lights to get it burning, but once it caught, it burned well & burned fully. No middle-only burning with this one ... the tobacco burned fully across the surface of the bowl, but with a good measure of unburned leaf at the very bottom. I think I like this "Frank Method" a lot !!!
Humidity during smoke: (6) I only had the need to pass a cleaner through the pipe twice, in well over an hour of smoke time. (started when the movie started, ended when the movie ended.) The tobacco burned well, with only very little moisture in the pipe.
Tongue irritations: (6) No bite found here. I did, however, have a cold iced tea handy and that may have helped matters.
Throat irritation: (6) none.
Satisfaction of smoke: (6) Sweet, tart and full, through & through.
After-taste/Finish: (4) Tangy, very dry, and just a little bitter. It really pays to keep a drink handy with this one.
quality-price rapport: (6) Top notch quality. I have no price reference.

Impressionistic Evaluation (choose one):
___this is one of the best of this genre.... (10 pts)
_X_I wouldn't mind paying for it... (7 pts)
___only if someone gave me a tin, etc (5 pts)
___I don't like it, but can understand other may (3 pts)
___one of the worst tobaccos I've ever smoked (0 pts)

TOTAL SCORE OUT OF 100: 90

Freeform Thoughts/Impressions Filled my belly with a Quick Trip hot dog & had beside me, a bottle of Gold Peak sweetened iced tea. Loaded up my Nording 1/4 bent dublin(ish), trying the "Frank Method" of packing for the first time. I rubbed out the flake & mixed in the ribbon at about a 2/3 ribbon to 1/3 flake ratio.

Thanks for the oppertunity to do this, Greg !! ... I'm looking forward to finding out what this was !