Ok, I´ve been working on of a tin of Dark Star this week.
It has the (in?)famous McClelland tin note for sure. I don´t want to dwell on that- it is what it is. I detect a little dried fruity smell as well. It´s pretty moist and IMHO is best left sitting with the tin open for a while.
Indeed, it requires patience to get ahold of what to do with it. Packing and keeping lit is a challenge. Letting it dry a little has helped a lot and I have experimented with folding, cubing, and rubbing out. Rubbing it out is quite difficult as it tends to break into smaller flakes before coming apart at the seams. My most successful smokes have been with cubing or folding.
It takes me several lights to get this one going. Patience is the thing. Once it gets going it has a surprisingly sweet flavor- but that will disappear if you puff it too hard. As I get into the bowl I notice a raisiny, or currant-y note, but only apparent at low temperature. This sweetness intensifies as I get mid bowl and it will take slightly more aggressive puffing at this pont. It is a little reminiscent of Peterson´s 3P´s with the fruitiness, though not as defined. The currant flavor really comes out in toward the bottom of the bowl. As Kap said, a molasses, smokier type of flavor is apparent at this point. I didn´t notice huge shifts in the dominant fruity flavor throughout the bowl. The main "note" was constant throughout, only to be enhanced by a more aged smokier version of that at the end.
All in all a good, flavorful smoke, if you have the time and the patience. It is not a stuff and puff all day kind of tobacco as time and diligence really are necessary to get the most of it. I will concur with Kap that it goes well with a hot beverage (coffee) rather than a cool one.
I´m sure I´ll notice more as I get to know this blend, but this are my preliminary thoughts.
:cat:
