Barclay-Rex Diplomat

I purchased this from their B&M store in NYC during a recent trip, on the recommendation of one of their employees.

The pouch aroma is pleasant and the tobacco is moderately moist. Less so than most Aromatics I've sampled. It packs, lights and smokes well, cool with no great deal of moisture. The tobacco flavor is okay, and isn't burried under any toppings.

This was a nice enough smoke, but didn't give me anything to really smile about. It behaved well with no bite, but no pizzaz either. Probably a solid 2 star tobacco.

I occasionally smoke this when I'm watching TV with my wife. She loves the aroma more than anything I have ever smoked. (I bought this solely for my wife, who smelled it in a tobacco store and loved it.) These caveats aside, I can say that Diplomat is a pretty good aromatic that smokes well and cooly with a light sweet flavor. There is no bite and not much gunk when you're done. It is a typical American aromatic, though, and hardly the blend to keep you going when you want a real smoke.

A moderate aromatic tobacco. Without excess. Bland in taste and not too sweet. Slightly smoky on the palate. Nothing fancy, but you can smoke it. Let’s say that it doesn’t suck and in the absence of anything else even Diplomat is fine. In my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is from 4 to 5 and two stars are more than enough!

Overall a very pleasant sweet smelling, but not sticky, aromatic, with a bit of actual tobacco flavor and body peaking out. I had hoped for a little more complexity, given the list of aromas/tastes listed by the maker; it's really just a dark cavendish, so mostly creamy vanilla, with a hint of toast and nut. I could smell a little liquor in the bag, but missed it in the actual smoking.

Smoked all the way down to a fine grey ash with just a few relights and no moisture in the bowl. Nice aftertaste reminiscent of Sugar Smacks. Three stars.