Ilsted Own Mixture No.100

Ilsted - Own No.100.

It's a medium brown, quite well broken flake. The smell from this is super sweet, with a really zesty fruitiness.

In the smoke the fruity topping’s running the show, this outweighs the vanilla. The fruits form a flavour which is reminiscent of a fruity cocktail. The vanilla lends a creamy edge to the flavour, rather than a full-on stickiness. I actually find the fruity topping masks the tobacco flavours, somewhat, I only get a touch of the tobaccos in comparison. Despite the heavier topping tongue bite stays out of the game.

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: pleasant.

No.100? Two stars:

Somewhat recommended.

Typical standard Kohlhase & Kopp aromatic. Vanilla with some fruit, not overpowering. Solid tobaccos but nothing great. Not bad but nothing special. One among hundets. Like always with a pleasing roomnote (maybe the main reason why these tobaccos are widely smoked). A bit harsh sometimes, better be smoked with an active charcole filter.

This is about the best aromatic I have ever smoked in my life!! I know that is a broad statement but if you like me are always looking for an aromatic that has enough flavor to enjoy throughout the bowl. Brother this is it! Got this from the super nice folks at the Danish pipe shop per their suggestion. It is not goopy lights up very easy and while you have to sip like any other aromatic so it doesn't get hot and lose all it flavor, few relights. Oh the taste is outstanding with sweet fruity flavors that blend so well with the tobacco flavor. The taste is simply outstanding. Tin note is very delicious and room note is even better. You could smoke this in church and I don't think anyone would mind at all. It is a bit of a pain to buy from Denmark but the Danish pipe shop is so darn nice and helpful it makes it all worthwhile. This to me is a five star smoke!!

The two stars is my own bias, because this is too much of an aromatic for me, even though I am smoking a 12 year old tin. The tin seemed intact, but the tobacco was dried out inside, and I had to bring it back with some organic black cherry juice. It bites me, but aro lovers might love it, and I may be smoking from a compromised tin, though the topping seems to have survived the 12 years quite strongly! It is indeed fruit/citrus.

Right now, I'm smoking a half-and-half of this with C&D Pirate Kake, a Lat-Bomb at 70%. I think this may be how I get through this tin: the Latakia takes away the bite for me, and turns it into a Latakia aromatic, which works better for me than a bitey aromatic. Almost three stars when that high-Latakia Pirate Kake is added!

I have doused the remainder in a jar with some Malibu Coconut. Since it is not really a blend for me, I might as well make it even wilder, and use it to blend up some CRAZY Latakia aromatics!

10-7-12: The Latakia aromatic I made with this was so good, I went ahead and mixed up the rest with an equal amount of Pirate Kake, getting about 3.5 ounces out of it, I guess, and put it in a jar in a drawer to meld. So, this is the sort of thing I'll do from now on with aromatics I can't smoke-I turned something I would have had to force myself to smoke, or give away, into something I can smoke all the time. Four stars for my blend; though I say it myself, who shouldn't?

A nice fruity tin aroma that was very subtly translated to the taste. The tobacco taste was the dominant factor - a very fine Virginia and cavendish blend. A bit sticky in the tin as I found typical of Ilsted tobaccos blended by Kohlase & Kopp. Right out of the tin it tends to burn hot, so smoke slowly. Allowing for some drying time seems to lessen the heat factor considerably. Only a nice spiciness remains in the mouth.

There is a mild sweetness while smoking that stays pretty much throughout the bowl with minimal aroma for the smoker in the side stream smoke after the initial light-up aroma. The K&K website says it has plum, and if you load your pipe and suck on the stem before lighting, you can certainly taste the plum. After lighting, the flavor of plums was very subtle but enjoyable. I also detected vanilla along with the plum. A very nicely done combo with just the right amount of sweetness. This aromatic can not be accused of being cloying by any means; which may be a good thing. It didn't smoke too wet either. It is a solidly prepared blend on the mild side as far as aromatic flavoring is concerned. There was enough good tobacco taste to keep it interesting. 3 solid stars.

UPDATE 12-10-09: Unfortunately, the Ilsted blends are no longer being distributed in the USA. I was given this info from an on-line tobacco store. Very disappointing as I really enjoy number 100. I stocked up on what I was able to get, but once finished, it's just too expensive to purchase from any of the European dealers due to the ridiculously high taxes incured with buying tobacco outside of the USA.

This K&K blend is a nicely prepared mixture of ribbon and cut flakes that vary from intense orange to jet black. I thought the initial moisture content was too high and got beter burning characteristics with some drying. Then, the packing and lighting were effortless. The tin and room aromas are wonderful and fruity as advertised. As with many aromatics, if only the taste matched. I normally don't smoke aromatics or Cavendish processed blends and that should be considered. However, I found the initial taste as dry and hot and it almost seemed as if the tobacco casing was burning off along with my mouth. A tobacco taste never fully developed. If you prefer VA flakes or VA/Perique blends as I do, this one is not the answer.