Pipe Forum - Blind Review #2

[dogsplayinpoker]

Tobacco = blind review #2
Place & Date = My car and smoker's bench at work.
Tobacco Cut & Appearance = shag and plug pieces
Ingredients = Got to be Virginias, fire cured(?), no casing
Smoking Conditions = 75 degrees around 3 pm
Evaluated Aspects scale of 0-8:
Smell in Tin: 8 - smells like 1792, from what I remember
Packing : 8- didn't have any issues with moistness
Lighting : 5 - for some reason I had to relight a few times, a 5 just because it wasn't a pleasant taste, kinda like sucking on charcoal
Taste Quality: 8 - the first bowl was not good but I think this was due to the cob I used. 2nd bowl in a briar dedicated to strong tobaccos was very good
Room Note/Aroma: 8 - did not skunk up my car, suprised me. I kept smelling fig or fermented raisin which wasn't a bad thing
Overall Burning Quality: 6 - had to relight quite a few times to catch the edges
Tongue irritations: 8 - none
Nose irritation: 8 - none
Satisfaction of smoke: 8
After-taste/Finish: 7- left the inside of my mouth coated as often is the case with stronger blends, round on the palate

Impressionistic Evaluation (choose one):
___this is one of the best of this genre.... (20 pts)
_X_I wouldn't mind paying for it... (15 pts)
___only if someone gave me a tin, etc (10 pts)
___I don't like it, but can understand other may (5 pts)
___one of the worst tobaccos I've ever smoked (0 pts)

TOTAL SCORE OUT OF 100: 89...want some

Freeform Thoughts/Impressions: My first bowl was awful(I actually smelled armpit at one point) but as I stated that was probably the pipe. Fared much better the 2nd bowl. I didn't find this over-powering in strength. I smoked it with some respect, I knew it could overwhelm me if I puffed it like an engine and maybe slow and steady is the way to appreciate this tobacco. Similar to 1792 but a more palatable finish. Not raw in any way. A fine full tobacco, straight forward. No extraneous flavors. Would have been awesome with a stout or some rye, but no drinky at work
My guess, from my experiences and some hints: Kendal Kentucky by Gawith Hoggarth

[uncballzer]

Since I've just got started in pipe tobacco, I have no clue when it comes to "official terms," so I'm gonna describe it as best as possible using descriptive terms (lets see, can I remember 7th grade english now . . . . )

Tobacco = blind review #2
Place & Date = 12/9/2007, my apartment
Tobacco Cut & Appearance = very dark long thin strips and twists of the strips
Ingredients = Latakia? Not sure what else it could be at time moment, give me a few more years before I could say for sure.
Smoking Conditions = around 65 degrees while trying to study

Evaluated Aspects scale of 0-8:
Smell in Tin: bulk; wow, love the smell--heavy dowsed campfire smell --8
Packing : Hadn't packed any like this before, so it was definitely something new to figure out how to pack this one. It wanted to tangle in with itself when trying to get it into the bowl. Little too long for my tastes on packing--6
Lighting : May have been a little wetter than should have been when I lit it; the baccy expanded a lot more than expected on the second light--6
Taste Quality: First impression, really spicy. Almost as much as a Pepin cigar. I like that though, if in the mood--8
Room Note/Aroma: Unable to tell d/t congestion, therefore will give neutral #--4
Overall Burning Quality: Had to relight a couple of times, but that may just be from an inexperienced smoker--6
Tongue irritations: Doesn't really have any tongue irritations, allows me to keep tasting the tobacco longer--8
Nose irritation: The spice is beginning to really open me up. I don't know whether to give that a higher score, or lower. It definitely could be more irritating if I wasn't congested--7
Satisfaction of smoke: Could fill the kick just a few minutes in--7
After-taste/Finish: Doesn't seem to linger too long, which is definitely a plus compared to other things I've had, but does leave a creamy texture afterwards that I'm not too thrilled about--5

Impressionistic Evaluation (choose one):
___this is one of the best of this genre.... (20 pts)
_X_I wouldn't mind paying for it... (15 pts)
___only if someone gave me a tin, etc (10 pts)
___I don't like it, but can understand other may (5 pts)
___one of the worst tobaccos I've ever smoked (0 pts)

TOTAL SCORE OUT OF 100: 80

Freeform Thoughts/Impressions: When I first opened the bag, well, even before I opened the bag, I could smell this tobacco, and it smelled wonderful; it has a similar smell to Squadron Leader, which I like very well, but much stronger than that. It did remind me at one point of chewing tobacco my father used to use. Just a few minutes in, I felt the kick, it's getting ready to put me down--a bad thing because I'm also having to study tonight for an exam tuesday. Had to set the first bowl down and pick back up later. The spiciness of it makes me like it because it's a lot different from other things I've smoked, of which I'm pretty inexperienced in that aspect, but it's something I'd have to be in the mood for, probably not a daily thing, but every couple days or once a week.

[IHT]

couple notes.

obviously, by my own reviews, it's nothing but VA leaf (no latakia, perique, oriental, nuthin), but it's of the african varieties. not many tobacco companies use these african varieties in their blends, and only two that i know of will use ONLY this stuff in the blend (SG and G&H).

it may remind you of chewing tobacco because the old sailors use to chew on this in the "rope/twist" version instead of smoking it.

i'm gonna have to try some more tomorrow. it's got a kick, and dogsplayinpoker is right, it goes great with a stout.

i'll tell you all what it is after everyone does a review and gives it a guess.

[uncballzer]

Originally Posted by IHT

couple notes.

obviously, by my own reviews, it's nothing but VA leaf (no latakia, perique, oriental, nuthin), but it's of the african varieties. not many tobacco companies use these african varieties in their blends, and only two that i know of will use ONLY this stuff in the blend (SG and G&H).

it may remind you of chewing tobacco because the old sailors use to chew on this in the "rope/twist" version instead of smoking it.

i'm gonna have to try some more tomorrow. it's got a kick, and dogsplayinpoker is right, it goes great with a stout.

i'll tell you all what it is after everyone does a review and gives it a guess.

Well, guess I at least had the Squadron Leader part right by SG

[Geist]

Originally Posted by IHT

i'll tell you all what it is after everyone does a review and gives it a guess.

Sorry for the hold up, guys!

I'm still at school and without my pipe, and "studying" for finals, so I should have my review up by thursday or friday, saturday at the latest.

[IHT]

Originally Posted by Geist

Sorry for the hold up, guys!

no rush at all.

[IHT]

another bowl, almost all of it (got to work too quick), didn't kick me in the "jimmy" like the others have. same pipe, too, Orlik Canadian.

i like this stuff a lot (will need to order more as the 4 oz i got are more than half gone), easy to pack/light/smoke, good for driving with - although operating heavy machinary if you're not use to this isn't a smart move.

[EvanS]

Great reviews everyone. Nice approach to a totally foreign leaf, and I am glad to hear that you are generally enjoying it.

Keep it up...dying to hear what this is

[jquirit]

Sorry for the hold-up but I'm worried, I haven't seen it yet out here and it's going on nearly a week. Hopefully it'll show up in the mailbox today.

[jquirit]

Tobacco = Blind Review #2
Place & Date = My very cold garage on Dec. 14th, 2007 @ 7 PM
Tobacco Cut & Appearance = mixture of very long strands (quite interwoven) and coins (pre-rub)
Ingredients = If IHT hadn't given it away, I would of probably said some combination of Va and burley or Latakia, or some component with a heavy smokey texture.
Smoking Conditions = Probably in the low/mid 40s, no open doors or windows. No heater. Bottle of water. Smoked it in an estate Stanwell (that was used for Va's).

Evaluated Aspects scale of 0-8:
Smell in Tin: 7 - very smokey, but with a hint of what I'd call sweetness to it. Definitely Va in that regards. Quite pleasing to the nose, no real harshness to it.
Packing : 6 - let it dry out for about an hour after rubbing it out (since the baccy was received in a mixture of rubbed and un-rubbed state). Wasn't too sticky and seemed to fill fine. Packed it to a light draw consistenty because I am concerned of tounge bite (it did smell a lot sweeter than the Va's I have tried before).
Lighting : 7 - Very easy to light. First light, puff, tamp. Wait 10 seconds. Light again, puff, tamp. Wait 10 seconds. Light, puff, tamp.. and the pipe is going.
Taste Quality: 6 - First few draws were of some spice, kinda like pepper but more subtle (leaves a nice tingle, not like tounge bite). And smoke, not like cigar smoke but more of the smoke you get from good bbq.
Room Note/Aroma: 5 - It doens't smell obnoxious, but neither is it smelling like poppuri! It's a nice medium which I feel won't offend many people (it smells better than cigarette smoke!).
Overall Burning Quality:
Tongue irritations: 3 - Originally a 6. The tingle only gets stronger the further into the bowl I get. This sorta dampens my enthusiasm for the baccy as it starts overwhelming the after-taste. This could be a side-effect of the cold weather also messing with the mucus glands and making me more sensitive to this (next time I try this I need to try this at the cigar bar where it's heated).
Nose irritation: 3 - Originally a 5. The tingle from the baccy on the tounge isn't only on the tounge, but also the throat. Again, the tingle starts becoming more prevalant than being able to taste the subtlties of the after-taste/finish.
Satisfaction of smoke: 4 - Originally a 6. It's good, the inital draw is a nice mixture of spice, smoke, and sweet but the inability truely enjoy the after-taste/finish does hurt it.
After-taste/Finish: 3 - Originally I had this as a 6 when I first started out with the bowl, but slowly lowered it to a 3. The slight spice and sweet was a nice finish, when I could still taste and enjoy it.

Impressionistic Evaluation (choose one):
___this is one of the best of this genre.... (20 pts)
___I wouldn't mind paying for it... (15 pts)
_X_only if someone gave me a tin, etc (10 pts)
___I don't like it, but can understand other may (5 pts)
___one of the worst tobaccos I've ever smoked (0 pts)

TOTAL SCORE OUT OF 100: 53

Freeform Thoughts/Impressions:
This baccy definitely needs another try, but somewhere else warmer. I feel that trying it out in the garage (and with it being so cold) has dampened my ability to properly enjoy it. I do believe, when tried again during warm conditions, my score would be different (as the original scores would reflect), especially in the categories of tounge irritation, nose irritation, satisfaction of smoke, and after-taste/finish.

From first blush, this baccy felt to me to be a great blend. The ease of lighting and the first few draws from the pipe made it very enjoyable. A literal explosion of spice and smoke with a gradual transition to a bit of sweet. The original flavors remind me of a DPG Blue Label cigar in some regards (which is my go-to cigar). To some it may seem a bit overwhelming but, as some people have noted, those of us transitioning from cigars to pipe baccy tend to favor the stronger, more potent blends of pipe baccy than those that would favor the more subtle nuances of a straight Va or VaPer blend.

In conclusion, anybody reading this review I would tell you to take my review (as it stands) with a grain of salt. I do not believe this baccy to be as bad as the score would make it out to be, but this is what it is right now. I'd like to take another shot at re-reviewing this once it warms up here.

[IHT]

great work on the review, thanks.


anyone have an guesses as to what it is?

[uncballzer]

Originally Posted by IHT

great work on the review, thanks.


anyone have an guesses as to what it is?

No clue; haven't smoked anything other than cigars that have had that taste in it; nothing in the pipe i've smoked yet has even come near that.

[jquirit]

Ooops.. I missed a category altogether!

Overall Burning Quality: 7 - burned clean and easy. No real big issues with tunneling or anything of the like. Require a few relights but that was more from me putting down the pipe and making entries into the review form rather than an issue with the baccy (still can't clench a pipe in my teeth and type at the laptop at the same time!)

So actually.. the score is now 60/100! Slowly getting better already.

[IHT]

Originally Posted by Geist

Sorry for the hold up, guys!

I'm still at school and without my pipe, and "studying" for finals, so I should have my review up by thursday or friday, saturday at the latest.

pssst - it's wednesday.




anywho, we'll forgo waiting and i'll just say what it is:

GH&Co BROWN TWIST SLICED

[EvanS]

Great work everyone, and thanks for putting this out Greg.