Peter Heinrichs Chateau Henri No. 44

This is a Virginia/Kentucky tobacco that comes in very long strips. The topping is barely noticeable, but the smoking experience is very similar to what you gonna get with most Danish style tobaccos. It is sweet and mellow, and has some peppery qualities, but it failed to impress. It seems to be quite soft on the palate and you might like it if you are into this sort of thing. Not that I did not enjoy it, but I like plain unflavoured tobaccos.

After I had tried this early in my piping-career, I was able to pack another bowl of it on my last Peter Heinrichs visit and instantly knew I had to get a tin! It smells and tastes very similar to Solanis Silver Flake, yet the coloration of CH 44 is much darker.

Long ribbons of flakes are waiting in the 100g tin that only costs 16,60€! Dark, dark brown, almost black, this is made from Virginias and dark fired Kentucky as the vendor told me. I guess the Virginias are either dark Virginias and/or stoved, the color is rich and dark. Very piquant, slightly fruity and decently sweet tin-note, which transposes very well into the smoked aroma.

In the pipe you get a lot of piquancy, decently smoky spice, some fruity edges and decent sweetness. The Kentucky sports some nuttiness, and makes for an earthy, bold backbone in this blend.

Great smoke and for me it can easily replace Solanis Silver Flake, not only due to the much better price! Worth trying if you can get ahold of a tin, great All-Day Virginia/Kentucky with good balance between spice and sweetness.

As I am nearing the end of this 100g tin, I now feel comfortable giving my opinion here.

When you open the paint can style tin, you are greeted with large and long flakes rolled together, very dark in appearance. Mostly dark chocolate brown with just a few specks of golden yellow.

The smell is very appetising. You first get a hit of ferment-y vinegar, and immediately after you can start discerning the subtler sweet and bread-y character. This smells very close to McClelland virginias and Sutliff reds like RC515.

The flakes are quite moist and bend easily. I found that at the beginning of the tin, a little drying or rubbing out helped the mechanical performance. I left the content inside the tin and smoked directly from there, so now that there's less left, it's all much dryer than before and quite perfect for a quick pipe stuffing.

Now the light, finally. You immediately get that tartness you got from the unburnt smell. This character will remain all along the bowl but will gradually fade away. This is fairly sweet but I can enjoy that aspect only after a few a few minutes when everything settles down a little. You get that bread-y character too, but in that sour dough, tangy fermented way. All these aspects seem very virginia centric to me. I don't really see where the burley mentioned in the description fits in. Indeed, I get no nuts, or wood, or chocolate, or earth (whatever the h that means). My guess the burley is either absent, or just there as a minor player to adjust the balance and ph level. As the bowl progresses downwards, the sweetness darkens and the DFK begins to show it's face. You get in a deeper VA flake territory, but with that special leather and barnyard feel.

Overall, I am very impressed by this blend. The presentation is tantalising. The progression keeps the process interesting and exciting, so much so that by the end of the bowl, I find myself reminiscing what it was at the beginning and wondering when will the next pipe-full be.