Jim's MacBaren HH Bold Kentucky Review.

[JimInks]

Aptly named, HH Bold Kentucky has a lot of strength and boldness, and is indeed, the strongest tobacco in the HH line. The African and American dark fired Kentuckys are very earthy with some nuttiness and spice, and a minor amount of sweetness. Smoked straight, dark fired Kentucky can be harsh and at times, bitter, so the bright Virginias are a necessary addition, succeeding in their purpose by softening most of the rough edges with some minor sweet citrus and grass notes. The Virginias do not dampen the power and hearty richness of the Kentucky, and a little of the expected roughness remains, but it is more palatable to smokers as a result of its inclusion. There are a few small sour notes from the Kentucky. There is no topping, and the casing - which I suspect is vinegar - is very minimal, and not noticed very often.

The slices are hot pressed and moist in the tin. It may help the burn rate if you dry them a little, but I have found they burned fairly well straight out of the tin, though the tobacco will require some relights. The slices are very easy to break apart, and easily rubbed out if that is your preference. Burns slow and fairly cool with no bite, no dottle and very little moisture at the finish, even when it’s not dried out. The taste is consistent all the way through and doesn’t turn bitter at the end. Due to the strength of the flavor and nicotine, I recommend smoking it at no more than a moderate pace. Obviously not an all day smoke, but a smoker experienced with strong dark fired Kentucky products - or strong tobaccos in general - won’t mind having more than one bowl a day.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Interesting review Jim, as always.

How would you compare it to Old Dark Fired?

 

[juanmedusa]

Interesting review Jim, as always.

How would you compare it to Old Dark Fired?

That's the question we all want answered!

 

[JimInks]

Interesting review Jim, as always.

How would you compare it to Old Dark Fired?

It's stronger, earthier, more nicotine, and less sweetness. Different flavor. Kind of reminds me some of G&H Kendall Kentucky.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Thanks Jim..

Glad I bought the teeny-weeny tin.

 

[RobJ]

Thanks for another thorough and telling review Jim.

Much appreciated.

 

[juanmedusa]

Thanks for answering the question about ODF. I know everyone, including myself, couldn't help but wonder about Bold Kentucky in comparison to ODF at least a little. Thanks for your review at length. I continue to look forward to them.

 

[mark]

Good to have an idea of what to expect,,,thanks.

 

[MichaelM]

Thanks Jim. This one is on my to-buy list now.
Mike.

 

[Brewdude]

Interesting review Jim, as always.

How would you compare it to Old Dark Fired?

It's stronger, earthier, more nicotine, and less sweetness. Different flavor. Kind of reminds me some of G&H Kendall Kentucky.

Very helpful Jim, along with your review. I'll check it out in due course. Love me some ODF, and this one sounds like it's something that I'd enjoy as well.


Cheers,

RR

 

[docwatson]

Thanks again for such a great personal review Jim. I assumed that the blend would be similar to what you described. Not for me. I even sold all of my Old Dark Fired and Dark Strong Kentucky that I had cellared by mistake. Medium flavored tobaccos are fine for this guy.

 

[juanmedusa]

Thanks again for such a great personal review Jim. I assumed that the blend would be similar to what you described. Not for me. I even sold all of my Old Dark Fired and Dark Strong Kentucky that I had cellared by mistake. Medium flavored tobaccos are fine for this guy.

DSK, Orlik?

 

[docwatson]

Yes Juan,
It was very old Dark Strong Kentucky by Orlik.
Sold for around $65 per tin a year ago.

 

[scottbtdmb]

Just wanted to add my two cents, as I have been smoking HH Bold Kentucky non-stop for the past few days. First of all, there is a definite resemblance to Old Dark Fired in the way of flavor profile. I get the same "cured meat" taste from both blends, with a slightly sharper flavor in the Bold Kentucky from the addition of Bright Va's. As many have said, there is a wonderful earthy taste that is quite delicious, with an underlying sweetness in the background that never really comes to the forefront.

As far as strength goes, I don't notice a whole lot of difference between ODF and BK, but of course, I also smoke a lot of G&H Dark Flake unscented, so my nicotine tolerance is high enough where I probably wouldn't notice a difference. Bold Kentucky seems to work equally well in cobs and briars and I haven't really noticed much of a variance in performance from smoking it in different shaped/sized pipes. Overall, it's another great tobacco in the HH line and I would highly recommend picking up a tin, particularly if you like Old Dark Fired and other blends that utilize Kentucky/Va's.

-Scott

 

[MisterE]

A tin of Bold Kentucky arrived here a couple weeks ago. I'll have to give it a go. I love ODF so this one will be a nice variation on the theme.

 

[juanmedusa]

A tin of Bold Kentucky arrived here a couple weeks ago. I'll have to give it a go. I love ODF so this one will be a nice variation on the theme.

Report back, Soldier.