Just ordered 3 new ones to me...

[Blackhorse]

Ah...a first date is always an iffy thing. Did my searches for VA, Turkish, Perique kind of combos and ended up ordering the following. Did a quarter pound of each since 4 oz. cost like two cents more that 2 oz. Fine with me but a little weird. Anyway, here's the trio:

1) C&D Oriental Silk...Perique, bright flake, Turkish flake and bright Virginia ribbon.
2) C&D Poplar Camp...Stoved red Virginia is combined with bright Virginia ribbon and restoved. Then red Virginia, Perique and unsweetened black Cavendish are added.
3) P&C University: Student...Virginias, Burley and Cavendish.

Among the various review comments was one that I thought worth repreating. The reviewer (of O. Silk) said that C&D delievered it really fine (meaning the cut) and that he took a kitchen strainer and sifted the 'fines' out of it. This, he claimed, helped it to smoke with more flavor and better flavor as the fines seemed to flair and make it burn hotter, which killed the flavors. He also said it was often just too dry so he jarred it, adding 2 tsp. of distilled water, and shelved it for a month. It was claimed that this produced sigificant improvement in flavors as well.

While we all know and believe that one's tastes are their own and what one guy might love and next will pan...I always appreciate another's perspective on an issue...even more on a blend! Anyone?

 

[Richard Burley]

Your reviewer above could be right regarding his diddling with the blend--he might have accidently latched on to some of Craig Tarler's floor sweepings--but my guess would be that he's a lunatic.

 

[Anonymous]

Dry tobaccos are easier for novices to manage. And some folks even like the way they taste. But in comparison to tobacco around most tin moisture levels (+/- 11%) they taste thin and insubstantial.

It isn't at all surprising that hydrating dry-on-delivery tobacco improves the flavor of it when smoked.

:face:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Maybe it's just me, but "Poplar Camp," sounds amazing--provided the Perique doesn't get unruly...I'll be awaiting the test results. 8)

 

[Blackhorse]

According to one description, how far forward the Perique was depended to some degree on the moisture level. But then the bowl geometry would likely play a role as well. And don't depend on me to provide a description that you would agreee with if and when you tried some. You know how that goes. But I will give my impressions. I'm actually looking forward to trying the Oriental Silk the most as I've been tinkering with blends containing Smyrna. It sure doesn't take much of that to make it's presence known.

This morning I lit up a bowl of 10 year old Haddo's. WOW!

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Blackhorse, I hinge all of my tobacco opinions on your reviews, and do so without reservation. :lol:

As far as I'm concerned, any information is good information, and well, you have decent taste (I suppose.... :lol: ) so I'll just wait and see what you find in Poplar Camp. It sounds really good, stoved tobacco is nice, double-stoved tobacco just sounds like a dark frenzy of awesome.

 

[Brewdude]

Ah...a first date is always an iffy thing. Did my searches for VA, Turkish, Perique kind of combos and ended up ordering the following. Did a quarter pound of each since 4 oz. cost like two cents more that 2 oz. Fine with me but a little weird. Anyway, here's the trio:

1) C&D Oriental Silk...Perique, bright flake, Turkish flake and bright Virginia ribbon.
2) C&D Poplar Camp...Stoved red Virginia is combined with bright Virginia ribbon and restoved. Then red Virginia, Perique and unsweetened black Cavendish are added.
3) P&C University: Student...Virginias, Burley and Cavendish.

Among the various review comments was one that I thought worth repreating. The reviewer (of O. Silk) said that C&D delievered it really fine (meaning the cut) and that he took a kitchen strainer and sifted the 'fines' out of it. This, he claimed, helped it to smoke with more flavor and better flavor as the fines seemed to flair and make it burn hotter, which killed the flavors. He also said it was often just too dry so he jarred it, adding 2 tsp. of distilled water, and shelved it for a month. It was claimed that this produced sigificant improvement in flavors as well.

While we all know and believe that one's tastes are their own and what one guy might love and next will pan...I always appreciate another's perspective on an issue...even more on a blend! Anyone?

Well Dave, of the 3 you list the first 2 sound right in my wheelhouse. Gonna check them out myself. And I'll be looking forward to your reviews. Thanks for the tip.


Cheers,

RR

 

[ADK_Pipe]

Hmmm... I'm waiting on that review for Poplar Camp, too. I agree with you Kyle. If the perique stays in the background a bit, it might be one for me to try out.

 

[Blackhorse]

Sure...here's my review:

I looked at a lot of reviews for Poplar Camp and "they were all very positive with comparisons to Haddos Delight". "... the taste and aroma reminds me very much of Peterson's Irish Flake...great natural tobacco taste and aroma with no bite... The Perique is certainly front and center the entire smoke but well tempered...by the black cavendish." "I can't detect any flavoring here." "...similar to Haddo's Delight. The Perique is a bit more pronounced and the VA's are sweeter...". "Poplar Camp is in a class by itself. It is unlike most other Virgina Perique based mixtures...especially those from McClelland and Rattray. I suspect a good part of the reason for this is the addition of the unsweetened black cavendish. Poplar Camp does however remind me of Haddo's Delight without the Burley. Packing is effortless and the tobacco burns easily down to the bottom of the bowl with a rich naturally sweet taste." "I agree with what the other reviewers said in that it does kind of remind me of Redwood, a Two Friends blend collaborated between GL Pease and Craig Tarler. The virginias in this are naturally sweet and have nice depth. There is a nice, subtle complexity in this blend that I very much enjoy. The flavors run from lightly sweet to slightly dark and deep with slight earthy overtones intermingled. The perique is definately detectable and is a very nice addition to this blend." " I found that the perique makes its presense known a little more frequently than 3 Friars or Oriental Silk. But I like the way the taste changes as you smoke the pipe. It has a sweet taste that exchanges with a somewhat nutty taste. Which makes it a fun smoke when you have the time to appreciate the flavor dance. One thing that is a must for me is smoke. I like lots of smoke and Poplar Camp has it in spades."

I'm sure I'll mirror many of the comments above. And anyway...I am the least among you to describe or recommend a VA/Per as I don't smoke many and none with regularity. I do like Oulette's VR Blend, Gawith's Lousiana Flake, Night Train and Puff Daddy (a home blend)...but mostly gravitate toward Burley blends and strong, nasty Brit stuff. So as far as reviews go...the above is likely way better advice than I would ever give. Just sayin'.

 

[Smoker99]

I like Poplar Camp, it is a strong Va/Per in the C&D style. Another good one is Bayou Morning.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

Thanks for the reminder about Redwood. I have about 2 pounds of 6 or 7 y/o, and the last time I smoked it it was sublime. I also have 4 tins of CAO/Dan Tobacco Limerick aging with the same amount of age. I also have 3 pounds of 5 y/o Fillmore. This is what I'll smoke.

I will leave the following to age: 10 tins of Solani 633 and and ten more of the Flake Medallions.

 

[Blackhorse]

Man...talk about a forest! Sounds like you got the whole TREE, and then some. Redwood is indeed excellent and I don't know why I don't smoke it more. Maybe cause I have just a little left. If you ever want to swap some for something let me know. Like maybe a tin of Bracken... or something.


Of note - I just got the box containing the three blends in question. Pouch aromas don't often give a clue about anything...except pouch aroma. lol But if it WAS a clue as to goodness...these are all winners in their own ways. My favorite aroma comes from the O Silk...I can smell the Smyrna in there all right, but subdued. And there are other delightful aromas as well. It smells WONDERFUL! It doesn't smell 'aromatic' but it has a strong presence and I can hardly wait. The next is the Poplar Camp. There's actually no specific or distinguishing aroma that comes off this blend...it has a 'plain' and sort of natural tobacco scent...and I suspect that it will be a DY-NO-MIGHT smoke. To me, blends that just smell like thier component tobaccos are often killer. The third, but by no means shoddy because it came in last, is the University - Student blend. This one definetely smells sweet and flavorful...like something or other has been added to make it, um...aromatic in nature if not in truth. I forget the blurb on this one, which makes a taste test a bit more fair.

So tomorrow I'll try all three. What order? I know, I'll base it on 'blend similarities' to my rotation today. I smoked three bowls all told. The first was Solani - Silver Flake. What a great blend! Following that was VR Blend, another great. Then in the late afternoon I fired up a small bowl of Peterson's Irish Flake. While the two sides of this double-triple don't really match all that well, here's what I'll do: First up will be the Oriental Silk as it is a pretty straight item, but with noticable flavors going on. Then, since the VR Blend certainly has SOME kind of more noticable flavor, I'll match it to the Student blend and do that one second...makes a nice follow-up to the first one. That's a late morning bowl for me. Then in the afternoon I'll visit the Poplar Camp...as the blend that seems to have the least distinctive aroma, I'll say that it matches the Irish Flake as being the straightest.

Well, that's MUCH more than anyone needed or wanted to know about THAT process! Of course, I may change my mind tomorrow...it happens all the time! HooBoy! This is fun! Know that I'm just going to do the bowls and not take a bunch of notes or anything...just to get a feel of things. Then, over the weekend, I'll try to note at least some impressions to give this whole thing some direction...you know...something to argue about...something to create tension and angst and - oh whatever. I'm just blathering as usual. Enough is enough. Later.

 

[Blackhorse]

Tried all three today. Short story follows:

O Silk - a nice light Smyrna/VA mix. Very light flavors - refined and subtle. One to pay attention to.

P Camp - this one is killer...plain tobacco flavors, yes, but the FINEST plain tobacco flavors. Not a bomb, but a good straightforward smoke. Hint...I had been smoking Solani's Silver Flake and switched to this...and was amazed that they share many flavor notes, which is high praise indeed. I first got a quarter pounder...gonna have to get more as it also has that 'this is going to age really well' potential. PS: Perique is behind, not forward in this one. It had no tendency to get hot or sass in any way.

U Blend- Student - don't bother. Just another aromatic wannabe. Smoked half a pipe and dumped it which is rare for me. But after one very good and one killer experience with the above, I wasn't in the mood to F around.

More than the above you don't need to hear from me...Poplar Camp being the clear winner with Oriental Silk a close second (maybe for those liking a sweet Smyrna note in a lighter blend it would be first). I keep having these experiences with Cornell & Diehl blends...very impressive.

 

[Behike54]

Blackhorse, I hinge all of my tobacco opinions on your reviews, and do so without reservation. :lol:

As far as I'm concerned, any information is good information, and well, you have decent taste (I suppose.... :lol: ) so I'll just wait and see what you find in Poplar Camp. It sounds really good, stoved tobacco is nice, double-stoved tobacco just sounds like a dark frenzy of awesome.

Kyle, you are a wise man. Does this bomb/sampler look like it's from a man who doesn't take piping seriously? :mrgreen:



I didn't think so!

 

[Cadfael]

Dang - Smoking Pipes didn't have any Poplar Camp!

 

[Blackhorse]

http://pipesandcigars.com/codipoca4b.html

Look at the diff betwixt the 2-3 oz and 4 oz and up price per.

To my address, the 4 oz is $10.60 and postage is $4.29...so it's under $15 for the quarter pound...shipped. Now that seems pretty good. Just sayin'.

 

[dshpipes]

In reference to Jack's package:

:shock:

Now that's a bomb. :twisted: