Sillem's Linea Epoque Antique

In a word: "intoxicating".

Sillem's black has been one of my favorite blends from the moment I tasted it, so I'm not really sure why it took me so long to try one of their other products. While less intense, Linea Epoque Antique is just as bonkers delicious in it's own way.

Open the tin, and you can smell the quality. Swirls of perfumed fruit and sweetness dance about without being overly topped. It is fancy without being gaudy. The black and gold leaves take a moment to light, but once going, develop into a seductive aromatic that massages the buds on several levels.

The blend is fairly mild on nicotine and can be smoked in successive bowls. Makes for a great after dinner treat or just a meal on it's own.

The shape of the 100g can is both pleasing in shape, yet somewhat of a hassle to use, as getting one's fingers into it's depths can be somewhat crampt.

It is not often a tobacco can wrangle 4 stars out me, so who knows... maybe I am just a secret Sillems stock holder.

I have to say this is absolutely if not the best, one of the best black cavendish based aromatic tobaccos I have ever tried! Gives you absolutely no bite, but with a rich flavor. They say Mirabelle plum however it just tastes fruity and pleasant to me. I guess I don't know what a Mirabelle tastes like. Leaves again probably one of the best room notes I have ever encountered, and smokes like a dream. I will buy this one again and again.. really a great aromatic and a wonderful surprise!

As for the name I think they are implying it goes with their line of items/lighters/etc that bear the same name and give an impression of being "A line from the antique time". Quit overanalyzing their naming system 😉

An extremely nice aromatic that smokes well and is flavorfull. It will burn clean, is satisfying, complex and leaves a good aftertaste. I enjoy smoking this blend in both, briar and meerschaum. It pairs well with coffee, tea or dark beer.

Linea Epoque Antique is a slightly macaroonic way of saying "Old Time Line". Old time what? Old-time tobacco-blenders' fog. Mirabelle is just French for a plum.

So what we have here is a whole lot of Dutch Cavendish-processed leaf, cased with plum/vanilla/coffee goop, and negligible amounts of yellow Virginia and a bit of Burley so that the whole thing does not quite wind up in the "hot air" category. It's exactly like 277 other German/Danish blends fed into handsome tins for women to buy on Father's Day. I can't think of any reason why I would seek this out a second time.

The very sugary black cavendish is the lead component. The bright Virginia offers plenty of very tart and tangy citrus, grass, sour lemon, vegetation, bread, sugar, some floralness, mild acidity, and a few spices of spice as a strong supporting player. The nutty, woody, earthy, mildly sharp burley is a couple of steps above being a condiment. The ripe, fruity mirabelle is the most obvious topping. The fragrant vanilla has a mild effect, while the cappuccino lurks in the background. The toppings are the stars by design. The strength and nic-hit are in the center of mild to medium. The taste level is in the center of medium to full. Won’t bite or get harsh, but it does have a few very small rough notes. Burns cool, clean, and a tad slow with a deeply rich and very consistent fruity, sugary, mildly floral, lightly spicy flavor that extends to the long lasting, pleasant after taste. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires a couple more than an average number of relights. Has a very pleasant room note. Not quite an all day smoke.

-JimInks

The Linea Epoque Antique is my first bought aromatic. The Mirabelle is omnipresent while smocking this blend, whereas the cappucino is hardly noticeable. As I wanted to try out Black Cavendish, I thought I could do it with this tobacco, but as unexperienced as I am, I was wrong with that, cause it´s simply to aromatic. The Roomnote therefore is pretty strong and you will be getting attention, as soon as you light it. Even after half a year in the opened original packaging (has a plastic top) I think its still not to dry (but I rather like a dry tobacco), it lights good and it is easy to pack and not getting to tight doing so. Would be good if a smaller packaging was available.

Recommendable if one likes sweet aromatics, not that much, if one doesnt.

This is a compelling new aromatic from Sillem's, a company which seems to put great stock in the myth-informed trademark which it pastes onto lots of toys for boys. These guys love their packages, which is not always a good sign for those of us foolish enough to want to know what's behind the facade.

This is put together by K&K and I think they do a pretty good job of it. The tobacco is gorgeous to look at. It's a loose cut of black cavendish and remarkably vibrant gold-colored Virginias and Burleys. The tin aroma is dominated by the mirabelle (yellow plum) flavoring which has a nose-tingling, spirit-like quality to it. It smelled thoroughly legitimate, as though someone had tipped a wee glass of Alsatian Eau-de-Vie de Mirabelle right into the tin.

Moisture level was not half bad and after a wee drying time, I fired up a bowl. As aromatics go, this has good smoking properties. Properly sipped from a narrow diameter bowl, it burns reasonably dry and manages to hold onto the pretty flavors. I'm sure, however that it could blister a hardcore puffer. The advertised cappuccino comes out a little toward the end, but only in the form of a plum-scented cappuccino you might get at one of those Hollywood Cafes frequented by the beautiful people.

I would have to say that this has perhaps the most pleasant room note I've ever experienced, which would be a big positive to many, I suspect. If there is a significant drawback to this blend, it would have to be the 100g-only size of the package, which is about twice as much as I need. This is a top-quality and pleasant aromatic, but it's going to take a long time to go through this bucket of plums.

And I have no idea what the heck the name means. I know what Linea is. I know what an Epoque is. And I know what Antique is. But I have no idea what Linea Epoque Antique is.

I don't smell nor taste much plum in this blend, but it is definitely there, because of the high sugar content, which leads to a particularly vicious bite in this blend, if it isn't used with a 9mm filter, in which case even then, there is a little bite.

The leading flavors in this blend are chocolate and vanilla in that order. The former is likely branded as the coffee note, but it is dark chocolate liquer that I taste. However the bite is on a new level which prevents me from smoking it in any of my regular pipes as I only own one filter pipe.

The room note of this blend is very good, and the tin note smells so good you want to eat it. Has one of the most original tins I have ever seen in a pipe tobacco.

3 stars in a filter pipe and 1 in an unfiltered pipe.

I will buy more of this blend, but it will not make a regular rotation due to the bite. It has way too much sugar in the casing. But it makes for a sweet change of pace, so is worth getting a few tins on occasion.

Sillem's
Linea Epoque Antique

Blend notes: “This rather mellow, but yet full-bodied mixture has been created with a high proportion of smooth black cavendish, bright Virginias with hints of lemon and nutty burley. This blend then has been refined with the delicious, fruity aromas of fragrant vanilla, ripe mirabelles and cappuccino.”

This is a delicious Aromatic. The toppings are present as is the sweetness. I assume the primary taste is the plum … there is some vanilla as well. Also a creaminess which could be interpreted as a frothed milk drink.

This is a very, very good blend. It’s grown on me. Comes in a 100g tin. I have eight or so Aromatics which I grab for evrning smokes. This is one of those.

3.5 stars out of 4.

Well, the canister looks cool, so it must be a great blend, right? No such luck. Reminds me of a slightly better version of Prince Albert. Pretty much a mild, innocuous aromatic without any real distinctiveness Not much to draw attention or interest, an occasional note of Frappuccino, brown sugar, or marshmallow comes and goes, but it is just a smooth, mellow smoke for letting one’s thoughts wander. Behaves itself and stays cool and steady for the whole bowl, but that’s not a very high bar. In this style I much prefer the depth of Vauen Mellow Nut, Stokkebye Kahlua, or Holger Dansk B&B. If you do buy a can finish it off fast, as it fades fairly quickly.