Robert McConnell Code: Relax

This was not the first time encountering an Aromatic trying to wedge a dozen flavors in at once. Most of the time they fail miserably with a sticky confused mess that puffs like hot chemicals. Today however, this mistake was not repeated.

The tin comes with an info card listing all the ingredients (Tonka Bean, Apple, Grapefruit, and Benedictine Liqueur), and while I have no idea what a Tonka Bean is, the unusual sweet aroma that wafted up was pure bliss to inhale. The fruit comes through first, then a lingering boozy heat, and the bouquet finishes with a good dose of "what the heck is this?" Ultimately, think hot apple cider. The black/tan mix has a nice meaty weight to the cut, and is a perfect moisture to fire up trouble free, with surprisingly no tacky goop sprayed on.

The first few puffs reminded me of a spiced holiday wine - vey dessert like, so therein lies the "relax" part of the name, even if getting pumped up on sweets is not how I imagine relaxing. Like other great German products (McConnell even uses the same bag sticker as Sillems), this quality tobacco burns like a champ. The smoke was a dry, milder strength, with no bite, leaving some dittle in the bowl.

Once I smelled Code: Relax, I was excited to dive right in, but I could easily see others turned off by it's full throttle flavor, blasting away what was supposed to be a relaxing night with the pipe. If you enjoy exotic flavors, this is fantastic one to try, but smoke it in moderation, as too many sweets will give you a tummy ache!

Fruity, tart, a little boozy and smooth. This is hard to achieve in an aromatic blend and still keep the integrity of the tobaccos in the blend. Chunky and wide strands of Virginia and Danish Cavendish pack easily into the bowl and take fire well. Burns on the dry side for me and that’s a plus. With so many tastes going on here it does not get goopy. Few relighted required and burns down with little dottle. All in all a top drawer aromatic well worth a try.

Not sure I love this blend. Seems to have a bit of an identity crisis on flavor. I was skeptical on how these flavors would work together and so far I am not in love with it. The room note is actually quite nice, IMO better than the flavor.