Upcoming VaPer Showdown

[hyper_dermic]

solani blends tend to come moist... the perfectly pressed flakes tend to hold the moisture well too.

if your gonna smoke the flakes whole, let them sit out for a good while before smokin em... something like 30-45min depending on your humidity.
If your gonna rub em out, then you can probably get away with 20-30min

633 is currently my fav va/PER... has been for quite some time now.
But i did pick up a tin of Scottish Cake and Dorsico... Ive tried them back when i 1st started with the pipe and i wasnt too fond of them... but then again, i didnt like latakia either... what a difference a year makes.

Anyways, your Scottish cake review reminded me of them, so i picked up some new tins..
Im waiting to finish my tin of escudo before i crack one of those open.

Tell ya the truth, im having a real hard time getting through this Escudo. The Last Va/Per tin i smoked was Beacon, and 633 before that.. i know many will disagree, but feel the New production Escudo just isint as flavorful as other Va/Pers on the market.

-hyp

[malinois1]

You may want to add Hearth & Home Louisiana Red to your test. It has been one of my favorite VA/Pers! Also H&H VA Spice is very nice, but it has a touch of cigar leaf in it.

[Slow Triathlete]

[SIZE=3]Okay, so I’m finally sitting down and smoking the much touted Filmore by GL Pease. I have to say that when I first opened this tin I was immediately mad because I could swear that it smelled like it had Latakia in there. Well, after airing out for a bit I noticed that whatever that initial strong odor was it was fading and was pretty much gone by the time I finished drying this stuff out.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]It’s kind of funny how I came about adding this stuff to the showdown. I was calling down to smokingpipes.com about getting some info on the new Peterson that I wanted to buy and I got talking to a guy down there named Adam. Now I’ve been in their store a few times and Adam is the guy I always go to. He’s a young guy, probably in his mid to late twenties and kind of eclectic. The first time that I met him he was wearing some plaid pants straight out of the seventies, a black t shirt, and some horn rimmed glasses. I was a bit taken aback by his appearance but quickly found out that he is incredibly knowledgeable about pipes and pipe tobacco. He has a quick wit and a very dry sense of humor. Anyway, I digress. I had told Adam about my VaPer Showdown the last time I was in the shop probably about a month ago. Well on the phone the other day he asked me how it was going. I replied that I had never realized how many VaPers were out there and when I think I have most of the good ones covered someone suggests another one. He kind of laughed and said, “Well, I was talking to an older gentleman the other day about your comparison and he stated that it would be a ‘Bloody Travesty if I didn’t include Filmore’”. Now, I’m unsure if I have ever committed a Bloody Travesty in my whole life and I certainly don’t want to start now. With that said, here’s my review of Filmore.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]After I got it dried out and aired out a bit I lit up the first of five bowls before I wrote this review. If there is anything to be said about GL Pease I will say that his tobacco is consistent. Every bowl was exactly like the other and there were never any hidden surprises or let downs. This blend comes in what I would call a broken flake. There were still some pretty big pieces in there that I rubbed out so that the whole tin was pretty consistent size-wise. The appearance is mostly dark brown with some lighter or darker spots here and there. This is listed as being a Red Virginia with a “generous” amount of Louisiana Perique mixed in. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]This blend packs really well. So well that I had to dump it a few times because I felt that I had packed it too tight. Upon lighting this blend up I was greeted with great billowing white clouds of some of the creamiest tobacco I have ever tasted. It lasted through the first five or six puffs and then the perique joined in it created a mix of both creamy and spicy, peppery and chocolaty that I haven’t encountered in any of the blends so far in the showdown.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]About halfway through the bowl I also started to detect some hints of caramel but very faint and somewhat muted in the background. Something that I also found is that this is a very slooooooowwwwww burning blend. It will keep you around for awhile but it is worth the extra time. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]The end of the bowl was more of the same but I was finally realizing just how much nicotine is in this blend. It’s not bad but it is definitely noticeable.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Now this blend is definitely not a sweet Virginia blend as are most of the others so far. This one I can only classify by saying that it is mellow. Mellow in a good way. Mellow like waking up after an afternoon nap or going to a jazz bar to drink and hang out. That’s what this blend is like. No bite, no hassle, pure enjoyment.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]I thoroughly enjoyed this blend but I don’t think that the taste is as good as Scottish Cake or Escudo. But this is above Anniversary Kake in quality. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]1)[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]McConnell Scottish Cake[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]2)[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Escudo[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]3)[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]GL Pease Filmore[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]4)[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]H & H Anniversary Kake[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]5)[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Treasures of Ireland – Limerick[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]6)[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Dorchester[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]7)[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Luxury Bullseye Flake[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE] [SIZE=3]McClelland Bulk 2015[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]9)[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Kajun Kake[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]10)[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Luxury Navy Flake[/SIZE]

[dhaus]

Can't wait to read what you think of St. James Woods. That's the only VA/per I've tried and I liked it. Have a list of Va and Va/per from the thread I started and want to try some when the weather breaks. Samuel Gaiwith's FVF and escudo are on the top of the list.

[Slow Triathlete]

Another contender enters the ring...................Gawith & Hoggarth Louisiana Flake.

[Slow Triathlete]

Originally Posted by dhaus

Can't wait to read what you think of St. James Woods. That's the only VA/per I've tried and I liked it. Have a list of Va and Va/per from the thread I started and want to try some when the weather breaks. Samuel Gaiwith's FVF and escudo are on the top of the list.

It's still drying out. It came rather wet.

[dhaus]

Yep. I let mine dry out for a week or two before trying it.

[IHT]

i just tried some of the st. james woods this afternoon.

[kheffelf]

Originally Posted by IHT

i just tried some of the st. james woods this afternoon.

cool

[nozero]

Originally Posted by paperairplane

I do mind that it doesn't rub out well, which makes it hard to light and ever very dry it does not like to stay lit.

What does "it doesn't rub out well" refer to please? Noob here...

[Slow Triathlete]

Putting the flake or cut flake into your palms and then rubbing them together. It's a term for breaking up the tobacco into smaller pieces.

[Alyks]

Originally Posted by Slow Triathlete

Another contender enters the ring...................Gawith & Hoggarth Louisiana Flake.

I tried a couple of bowls of this before I put the rest in jars; I remember I liked it very much. But then again I'm a sucker for chocolate.

[Slow Triathlete]

[SIZE=3]I was intrigued by the “gift donation” to my VaPer challenge that I received from EvanS and decided that I would go ahead and review one of the blends that he sent me. The blend that I chose was Telegraph Hill from GL Pease. This is the second entry on this showdown from Pease, Filmore is a hard one to beat but we will see how Telegraph Hill ranks.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]The sample that I got was a bit too dry for my tastes so I put the sample in a bowl and put a wet towel over the top of it for about 4 hours. After that I pulled some out and started loading my pipe. This stuff was really easy to load and tamped down really easily.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Upon lighting this blend up I was greeted with very, very mild Virginias. I didn’t taste any Perique in there yet but since I have experienced this before with other blends I wasn’t too worried about it. This blend burns very cleanly and doesn’t require any relights.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Okay, getting near the middle of the bowl and I am still waiting for any kind of appearance from the Perique. I get subtle whiffs of it as I’m smoking but nothing that ever tastes like it in my draw. Now I had read some of the reviews on tobaccoreviews.com and knew ahead of time that this blend was pretty light on the Perique but I certainly wasn’t expecting this.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Down at the bottom of the bowl now and there has been the vague appearance of Perique right near the end of the smoke.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Overall, I didn’t like the blend as a VaPer blend. As a Virginia it was pretty good. It was very mild and never presented a problem either to my tongue or to the burn of the blend. This blend would probably serve as a good bridge for a straight Virginia smoker to start down the VaPer road but I think that anyone who is a VaPer smoker will find this blend way too plain. This one will take 9th position because it is so low in Perique. With that said, I still enjoyed it better than Kajun Kake and Navy Flake.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]1) McConnell Scottish Cake
2) Escudo
3) GL Pease Filmore
4) H & H Anniversary Kake
5) Treasures of Ireland – Limerick
6) Dorchester
7) Luxury Bullseye Flake
McClelland Bulk 2015[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]9) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
10) Kajun Kake
11) Luxury Navy Flake[/SIZE]

[Slow Triathlete]

Had a few bowl of the Reiner Long Golden Flake over the weekend. I'll be posting the review for it later today. So far I have 11 blends reviewed and it looks like I have 13 more to do. This list keeps getting longer and longer!!! Here's what I have left to review:

• G & H Louisiana Flake
• H & H AJ's VaPer
• H & H Louisiana Red
• H & H Virginia Spice (not sure if this will be in the review because it has some cigar leaf in it)
• C & D Night Train
• C & D Bayou Morning Flake
• Dunbar
• Reiner Long Golden Flake
• Solani 633
• Gawith St. James Flake
• McC St James Woods
• Former's Birdseye Flake
• Paul Olsen Blend #111

[hagen]

Originally Posted by Slow Triathlete

Had a few bowl of the Reiner Long Golden Flake over the weekend. I'll be posting the review for it later today. So far I have 11 blends reviewed and it looks like I have 13 more to do. This list keeps getting longer and longer!!! Here's what I have left to review:

• G & H Louisiana Flake
• H & H AJ's VaPer
• H & H Louisiana Red
• H & H Virginia Spice (not sure if this will be in the review because it has some cigar leaf in it)
• C & D Night Train
• C & D Bayou Morning Flake
• Dunbar
• Reiner Long Golden Flake
• Solani 633
• Gawith St. James Flake
• McC St James Woods
• Former's Birdseye Flake
• Paul Olsen Blend #111

this is an exciting series of reviews!

as for olsen's #111 i'm rather surprised to see it in the list. last i tried it (some 5 years ago...) it was a sweetened va-ky blend. i detected no perique. but they may have changed the blend, of course.