Kyle Weiss
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2011
- Messages
- 11,988
- Reaction score
- 7
Deepbass sent me a generous batch of this stuff (many thanks, brother), and I finally got around to trying it. It's been a while since I've really had a good sit-down with something new, and today was one of those days looking at the open tins, shrugging, going back, looking at them again, looking at the countless little baggies fellas have sent me in the last few months wondering if I should revisit some--but no, today was time for something new.
Going with the style and poise this blend has, I'm going to go right into the blunt zone--I was really put off by this blend, but on the other hand, I didn't hate it, either. Allow me to continue.
It was the perfect dryness, and rubbed out fantastically. I chose a good (for me) flake pipe (Hilson Shark) which has a smaller, wider bowl, and has always delivered the likes of Jackknife Plug and Kendall Plug quite nicely. Smelling this stuff almost reminded me of Penzance in a way, very lightly Latakia but lacked the obvious sweetness I get from a whiff of Penzance unburnt.
The first 1/4 bowl was treacherous. I swear, all I got from it was burning cardboard with weird oak-like notes here and there. Sometimes, I've noticed certain Red Virginia can be a little heavy on me, almost in a Perique way, as it can get a little tarry and burnt. The Burley lent itself in the beginning as just a typical alkali roughness. I plod on. From 1/4 to 3/4 of the bowl, flavors start really trying to come through. I can sense a hint of nutty Burley, and the tarry tastes mellowed out a tad. Still, a toned-down version of the first 1/4. The final was probably the most notable, where I almost got an oat-like taste from it. Never once did I get any Virginia sweetness, or even light toastiness.
To its credit, this stuff burned flawlessly and evenly. It was cool and dry. Which was really strange, because this was the first pipeful of anything, any of my pipes where I got a TON of moisture (likely from me drooling due to the alkalinity of the Burley, or it might have been I was taking sips of tea a bit more frequently than normal) which left a pool in the bottom of the pipe. I didn't detect this during the smoke, as this pipe is a 9mm filter that I simply omit the use of a filter.
Here's why I didn't totally hate this blend: it just was as a lot of guys have said about it--rough around the edges. It was as if you took JKP and took away all the character, sweetness and just left the harsh boldness of it, and only got narrow (almost stale) flavor. I like a stronger blend, no problem by me, but it had almost no personality. Wait, come to think of it, where was the Latakia? Was there any in there? I couldn't find it, and honestly forgot it was supposed to be in there. Vitamin N was plentiful, too, just to mention.
I've gotten to a point smoking where I think I know what I'd do to blends that I don't hate, that just need a little more. I'd add some brighter Virginia, tone down the Burley, and add a smidge more Latakia. Would it help overall? I don't know. I'm a cook at heart (sometimes professionally), and when I taste things, I kind of understand when more salt is needed, less spices would help, a little water/stock added, or maybe a different cooking style may work, so I can say this blend isn't hopeless, but needs something else or the proportions changed. I've no experience with blending, so it's just a long shot and "armchair suggestions."
I'm going to revisit this one and see if a different time of day and pipe might clean this one up a little.
Otherwise, I'm not rushing out to buy this mix.
Going with the style and poise this blend has, I'm going to go right into the blunt zone--I was really put off by this blend, but on the other hand, I didn't hate it, either. Allow me to continue.
It was the perfect dryness, and rubbed out fantastically. I chose a good (for me) flake pipe (Hilson Shark) which has a smaller, wider bowl, and has always delivered the likes of Jackknife Plug and Kendall Plug quite nicely. Smelling this stuff almost reminded me of Penzance in a way, very lightly Latakia but lacked the obvious sweetness I get from a whiff of Penzance unburnt.
The first 1/4 bowl was treacherous. I swear, all I got from it was burning cardboard with weird oak-like notes here and there. Sometimes, I've noticed certain Red Virginia can be a little heavy on me, almost in a Perique way, as it can get a little tarry and burnt. The Burley lent itself in the beginning as just a typical alkali roughness. I plod on. From 1/4 to 3/4 of the bowl, flavors start really trying to come through. I can sense a hint of nutty Burley, and the tarry tastes mellowed out a tad. Still, a toned-down version of the first 1/4. The final was probably the most notable, where I almost got an oat-like taste from it. Never once did I get any Virginia sweetness, or even light toastiness.
To its credit, this stuff burned flawlessly and evenly. It was cool and dry. Which was really strange, because this was the first pipeful of anything, any of my pipes where I got a TON of moisture (likely from me drooling due to the alkalinity of the Burley, or it might have been I was taking sips of tea a bit more frequently than normal) which left a pool in the bottom of the pipe. I didn't detect this during the smoke, as this pipe is a 9mm filter that I simply omit the use of a filter.
Here's why I didn't totally hate this blend: it just was as a lot of guys have said about it--rough around the edges. It was as if you took JKP and took away all the character, sweetness and just left the harsh boldness of it, and only got narrow (almost stale) flavor. I like a stronger blend, no problem by me, but it had almost no personality. Wait, come to think of it, where was the Latakia? Was there any in there? I couldn't find it, and honestly forgot it was supposed to be in there. Vitamin N was plentiful, too, just to mention.
I've gotten to a point smoking where I think I know what I'd do to blends that I don't hate, that just need a little more. I'd add some brighter Virginia, tone down the Burley, and add a smidge more Latakia. Would it help overall? I don't know. I'm a cook at heart (sometimes professionally), and when I taste things, I kind of understand when more salt is needed, less spices would help, a little water/stock added, or maybe a different cooking style may work, so I can say this blend isn't hopeless, but needs something else or the proportions changed. I've no experience with blending, so it's just a long shot and "armchair suggestions."
I'm going to revisit this one and see if a different time of day and pipe might clean this one up a little.
Otherwise, I'm not rushing out to buy this mix.
