Wilke Pipe Tobacco Wilke No. 24

The very nutty, earthy, woody, molasses sweet, slightly spicy matured burley is the lead component. The granulated and cavendish style Virginias offer a bit of tart and tangy citrus, some grass, and a little tangy dark fruit and earth as a secondary player. The smoky, woody, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian Latakia is a tad more obvious than the Virginias. The raisiny, plumy, spicy perique is an important condiment. The hint of the aromatic Royal Scot does not tone down the tobaccos; it compliments them. The strength is around the center of mild to medium, while the taste barely reaches the medium threshold. The nic-hit is a step past mild. No chance of bite or harshness, and has no rough edges. A fairly well balanced blend that burns cool and clean at a reasonable rate with a sweet and slightly campfire spicy and savory, mostly consistent flavor that translates to the lightly lingering, pleasant after taste and room note. Requires an average number of relights. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

During my college days, I frequented the famous Wilke shop on Madison Avenue. Magic #13 was my favorite blend at the time. A few years ago, I ordered some of the the old Wilke blends from Pipeworks and realized my tastes had changed. I realized that #13 was too aromatic for me now. #24 was not included in that order. I recently ordered some #524 and #24 from Carole. After trying a couple of bowls of #24, I knew that I'd found a new friend. This is similar to #13 with the Royal Scot reduced by about 75%. The Royal Scot in #24 provides only a slight aromatic presence. This is a very mild American/English that burns beautifully with a lovely soft taste and only a suggestion of the Royal Scot floral essence. I like the light touch of perique that's present with every puff. The latakia is in the background. Very cool burning. A wonderful all day blend that I wish I'd found long ago.

Considering this has just about everything except the kitchen sink in it, it is a remarkable achievement! The added Cavendish is Royal Scot by the way. It adds a pleasant sweetness to the blend, but doesn't do much to sweeten the room note.

It comes across my taste buds as a smokey, sweet and spicey Anglo-American blend, which has plenty of taste. The Latakia is noticeable, but the Perique really made this interesting for me. This blend has plenty of body, and good "mouth feel". It has impeccable burning qualities.

There is a lot going on here, making this pleasingly complex, and thoroughly enjoyable for me. I may upgrade my rating, but as it stands now, this is very good.

This one may have too many components, and in the beginning is a little confusing. The cut is mixed up too, but it's easy to pack and the moisture is just fine. The cased cavendish is clearly the first note when you light up, and then it provides a sweet background layer that keeps up all the way down the bowl. The flavour you can detect is that of a classic American blend, with evident presence of burley and latakia, while I can't detect a solid perique pungency. The burley wonderfully balances the cavendish sweetness with its typical bitterness, giving this blend a great balance.

I consider No. 24 to be a milder version of the royal scot added to No. 13, as other reviewers have written, and I interpret No. 24 to be a broader, deeper blend than No. 13 in terms of flavor and aroma. As a result, I found it to be a great blend that can be smoked leisurely. I love Wilke's blends that tend to be like this: mellow and smoky flavors of Burley, Virginia, and Cavendish, spiced with Latakia and Perique, with a slight addition of Royal Scot to spice up the blend beautifully. Acting as a full-bodied English blend, No. 24 is recommended according to the tastes of each pipe smoker, while retaining the desirable elements of a sweet-type Codger blend like No. 13. I'm more of a fan of "subtle" blends in a good way, so I was more impressed with No. 24.

Further Americanized #72. The mysterious "royal standard" is a scented cavendish and there is more than a hint of it. Latakia percentage very minor. Perique is a more prominent element, but it's the cavendish that rules.

Lots of added flavor, peppery spicy sweet. It would be an acquired taste I'm not likely to acquire.

I prefer many others they offer.