76°, clear, and getting muggy. British prince with Peretti Scottish Flake. This is an interesting tobacco. When I was gifted a sample by a generous BoB member (thank you again!), it immediately struck me as a McClelland product. It not only looks like #2035 navy flake, but it feels, rubs out, and behaves similarly. The flake feels like leather and is super dense. When rubbed out, it breaks down into "pebbles" and some longer pieces. It doesn't rub out into ribbons. This is the kind of tobacco that is a labor of love to smoke. It requires several lights to get going, but once it does, it pretty much stays lit, at least until the bottom 1/4 of the bowl, when you have to go through that process again. It burns clean, dry, and into white ash. A heck of a time getting it lit with any wind. I let this sit out over night, and it felt the same as the day before. I never have to worry about hydrating #2035 because it doesn't lose moisture, and this tobacco is the same. These things defy nature. I would imagine Peretti would have McClelland make this for them, and then they would perform their own additional process with red wine. Having said all this, it does not taste like #2035. It's not a strong tobacco per se, but it does have a richness to it. Whatever Peretti did to this, it does have a unique flavor that I liked quite a bit. I don't know much about wine, so I can't describe it in those terms. This tobacco has a sweet smokiness to it. That's where I think I'm finding the richness, though not something overpowerfully strong. It's weird in being similar to latakia like that, but it has nothing in common flavor wise. Though having to battle it at first, it was a magnificent smoke. 8.5/10. It's too bad it is no longer available. Price notwithstanding, I would have likely desired to have 1/2LB in my arsenal. That 1/2LB would have lasted me years and years, because I know I wouldn't smoke it often. Something that definitely would have had a place at my table.
