Pipeworks & Wilke

[Kyle Weiss]

You know, I did all of this suggesting on others getting sampler packs, I opted to do the same thing.

The folks at Pipeworks ( http://www.vtpipes.com/tobacco.html ) are cool, and did everything over the phone, had the stuff in six days, cheap shipping. They came recommended by others, and you should have smelled the package when it arrived. I wanted to eat it.

"(description from website)"

I like having some decent aromatics handy. It's just tough to find stuff that doesn't remind me of sweet, cheap carnival food:

Bleeker St (An exotic blend of Virginias and a unique Black Cavendish which is mixed with the flavors of honey and nuts, a perfectly balanced combination to provide and a light and rich smoke. )

Gotham Court (A spicy aroma along with a subtle Oriental flavor. Orientals (other than Latakia) and a rich Virginia base along with two Cavendish tobaccos make up this special blend. Lightly aromatic!)

To get me geared toward English blends... as I mentioned in another request, I wanted to try some lighter mildly sweet/smoky Lat/Per blends, these seemed just right:

Wilke #5 (My exclusive Royal Scot is added to a mixture of medium cut Burley, rich Virginias and just enough Latakia to create a pleasant aromatic English blend. A nice change of pace.)

Wilke #13 (A legendary Wilke mixture of Tennessee Burley, Latakia, Perique, Virginia and Royal Scott. Smooth smoking and a beautiful aroma. No wonder it's nickname is Wilke's Magic 13!)

As I progress through them, I will give my opinions. 8)

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Wilke #13: The one I was looking forward to the most. Put it in the Monster Nording (what I've decided is for Oriental and Lat blends)... what a cool smoke. If there's any aromatic stuff mixed in (I'm not sure) it sure isn't pronounced. Smokiness: a 5 (on a 1 - 10 scale)--smelled like a pleasant campfire in the bag, mellows out as it is smoked. I was told the room note was pleasant and "woodsy" (when outside). Changes character as the bowl progresses, goes from smoky to that nice Virginia and Perique finish, with just a hint of smokiness. Sweet factor: a 2 (on a 1 - 10 scale)--this pleased me. Very little ash leftovers for some reason. I got all the way down to the bottom with no problem...I think I'm gonna like this one.

 

[BigBehr]

Thanks for the update I look forward to hearing about the other blends

 

[smokey422]

If you do another order from P&W and you want to know what really good burley tastes like, order their Nut Brown Burley. It has a wonderful flavor and one of the best pouch notes of any tobacco I know of. It smells exactly like fresh apples. I always keep some here on hand.

Smokey

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Gotham Court: It's official. I like Orientals. Other races are okay too, but I prefer to call them "Asian." Joking aside, Wilke's "Gotham Court" lives up to its own description up there, spicy, with non-Latakia Oriental tobacco, with just enough aromatic notions to make it ever-so-slightly-sweet. I'm talking light sweet, too--more how really good zucchini bread is mildly sweet, and certainly isn't a cake. That's a bad example to use as a flavor comparison, because it does not take like a zucchini bread. It has a mild seductiveness that I lend to great mixing of both the Oriental and Virginia. I always cringe a little, wondering how "cavendish" is actually used, but I have figured out there is also a pleasant way to both cavendish a tobacco and mix it properly: this is that example. My sitter Nording gets used for non-Lat blends and light aromatics, and I chose it for this test. The only thing that was not so pronounced to me was the "spiciness" declared in the description. I expected some tongue pepper (the nice kind, not the I-smoked-too-hot-too-fast kind) and surprisingly, it was more of a savory tobacco experience--not disappointing at all. One note: let this one dry out! I'm doing that next time, as it might even let that spiciness open up a little. Wilkes got this one right--it's light, subtly complex, and it's great "conversation tobacco" when really concentrating on the smoke and not controlling your smoking method (especially for new pipe'sters) is appropriate--it's very forgiving. Gotham Court follows through to the end of the bowl.

 

[Brewdude]

If you do another order from P&W and you want to know what really good burley tastes like, order their Nut Brown Burley. It has a wonderful flavor and one of the best pouch notes of any tobacco I know of. It smells exactly like fresh apples. I always keep some here on hand.

Smokey

This ^

 

[Cadfael]

I seem to be in a minority on this, but I really enjoy the Pipemaker's Choice. Never tire of it. Also enjoy the Dummerston.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I seem to be in a minority on this, but I really enjoy the Pipemaker's Choice. Never tire of it. Also enjoy the Dummerston.

At this point, Pipeworks and Wilkes will be getting more of my business. Just another selection to try out when I do... 8) Good suggestions, they were in the runnings, but I could only afford the four I chose...

 

[Cadfael]

Now my favorite counterpoint about my beloved Pipemaker's Choice from a reviewer at tobaccoreviews: "The Dick Cheney of pipe tobaccos: rich, bitter, and monotonous."

Maybe he got a bad batch?

 

[Brewdude]

P&W rocks. Right now I'm a devotee of Churchill and #78 for a med English, and Nut Brown Burley is hard to beat.

Really need to check out more of their blends. Next order I'll get a sampler.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Natch]

I may be the only one that likes (or even mentions it) but I occasionally smoke Dummerston. A nice Va. flake with some top casing. Aromatic enough to smoke around others, but based on a good tobacco. Actually ages well too.

Natch

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Wilke #191: I had forgotten to mention they threw a half ounce of this for me to try. I passed it up on my initial "sampler pack" just because the description seemed a bit too sweet for me...

"A tobacco for all seasons, the right aroma and the right taste make this my number one selling tobacco! The natural flavors of vanilla beans and Vermont honey are combined with Virginias, matured Kentucky Burley and a combination of 3 toasted Black Cavendishes to create this most popular mild slow burning blend. "

...needless to say, I brought out my Washington cob (a favorite for quick, aromatic smokes) and threw in some of this stuff just yesterday as I didn't have a lot of time for a real sit-down-and-smoke session. The sun yesterday was warming up my porch, and I had some Coltrane and Miles Davis on the speakers. Opening the little bag made me worry--it smells sweet. Real sweet. The sticky mixture loaded up okay, and stayed lit throughout the entire bowl (spare a tamp-and-tip for the ash). There's a lot of tobacco in there for my palette to try and sift through, and I admit, I couldn't find the nuances of each and every one. It was a very pleasant smoke, but nothing popped up and said, "This is what I am!" It was just very basic--but good. I've been challenging myself to really find flavors, lately, as a coffee roaster and drinker, these subtle flavors are important. This is the same for tobacco. I feel this blend had a LOT going on, and while quality prevailed, smokability was keen, it's undeniably a newbie starter tobacco, inoffensive on all angles, and not too sweet on the tongue. Basically, no taste to acquire needed for this one. I can't say I'd go seeking this one out exclusively, but I wouldn't object to Wilke's 191 being in rotation in place of some of my other pleasant-but-nondescript standbys when I just don't want a specific experience that day.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Wilke's #5: English blend time! What a treat this one was. After yesterday's aromatic innocence, my little leather bulldog (which I reserve for oriental/lat/English stuff...that was the plan, anyhow) helped me break in this Wilke's #5. Subtle smelling in the bag, very stout in the pipe! I think this is my first true sit-down with anything like this. Wilke's claims this as "...a pleasant aromatic English blend," but to my senses, calling it an "aromatic" must be stretching it. I was told the room note was "very tobacco" but pleasant. On a sweet scale, this stuff is a 2 (1 - 10 scale), Lat "smokiness" is a 4 (1 - 10 scale) and smokes dry--not just in the pipe but on the tongue. I needed a good cup of tea to keep my palette and tongue moist. No bite to speak of, but a very pleasant pepperiness that was truly enjoyable. I'm assuming in ignorance this would be a "light English blend," (because I've tried some stuff that about made my nosehair curl) and if that's the case, what a wonderful introduction into the English world of tobaccos! Wilke's does it again with something I can stand by. True flavor throughout the bowl, the nuttiness of the Burley comes right through, what scant sweet there is is very Virginia (again, just my newbieness), and the best balance of Latakia I've found in a blend yet. It's too bad I have to get to work in a little while, because some single-malt Scotch would be just heaven to wet the whistle alongside this stuff! Total winner for me. :cheers:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Bleeker Street: The "Danish Thrift" got pulled out of the rack this time, I just polished the stem on it so shiny and black, it practically doesn't reflect light--my final initial test of Pipeworks & Wilke stuff, the solid aromatic I chose. One thing has occurred to me with aromatics: there's really good ones made from good tobacco and casings (or mixed of such things) and there's aromatics that only stand by flavoring alone. I've had three Pipeworks & Wilke aromatic blends now, and while different, I can tell it's the tobacco that differentiates them rather than the flavors exclusively. The flavors add accents rather than take over the whole situation--which I like! Bleeker Street is said to be "...an exotic blend of Virginias and a unique Black Cavendish which is mixed with the flavors of honey and nuts..." and I cannot disagree. A drier smoke than most aromatics (thank goodness), the Virginia in it comes out light and bright, with the Black Cavendish playing like a subtle muted jazz horn in the back. There's a blueberry tartness in the aftertaste and nose, making this like a "light cobbler" experience (which goes for the room note opinions, too). Sweet factor is a 4 (on 1 - 10 scale), nuttiness a 3 (1 - 10 again) and all with a good presence. This is a much more dynamic blend (as compared to the 191) likely because the fewer ingredients lend well to speak for themselves. Just about the maximum end of the sweet spectrum I can handle and still say I'd get it again--very much a good, simple and sophisticated aromatic.

 

[PipeLeisure]

Some very intriguing blends he has, I might be placing an order here. I also looked through all the estate pipes...some really nice prices.

 

[Storm_Crow]

I haven't tried #13 but the other are very good qualitiy...2 aros and one neo english.

 

[smokey422]

Another P&W blend that I feel deserves a mention is Vermont Maple Cavendish. It has a maple flavor that is really good but not overly sweet and the room note is simply devine. I haven't tried all the maple blends on the market but of the ones I have, this is the pick of the litter. It burns well and will not goop up your pipe. If you order a sampler from Carole and like aromatics, consider giving it a try.

Smokey

 

[user 2031]

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[PipeCulture]

I've been very happy with P&W thus far---Mettowee, Rumcake, and Vermont Maple. They're doing a Bari logoed stem replacement for me. If that exceeds my expectations I'll be even happier with them.

- M

 

[sand18f]

Great tobacco and customer service.