D & R Tobacco Penhooker Silver

The Virginias provide a bit of tar and tangy citrus, grass/hay, a little tangy dark fruit, earth and wood, a floral note, and a couple pinches of spice. I sense an extremely light topping, perhaps sugar. The strength, nic-hit and taste levels are a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, but it does have a rough edge at times, and may get warm on the tongue if puffed like a steam engine. I recommend a slow pace, tight packing, and a light hydration. Burns mostly cool, very clean and a little fast with a thoroughly consistent flavor from top to bottom. Hardly leaves any dampness in the bowl, and requires few relights. Has a short lived, pleasant after taste and room note. An all day smoke. Would make a good mixer, too.

-JimInks

Another high quality flue-cured Virginia. A lighter grade of leaf than the regular Penhooker so not quite so much to my taste but I found it was really great for softening heavier blends a little and mixed with Ramback and Ramback Balkan really well for tubes.

I didn't get any of the subtle sugary topping the previous reviewer mentioned. The cut of the Penhooker range used to be just slightly thinner which I found slightly improved smoothness and burn, and I hope they narrow the cut back again, just a little. I've never been too much a fan of thick ribbon and larger or more ragged cuts for pipe tobacco, and as this is clearly also a high quality dual purpose, this cut is slightly large anyway.