Watch City Cigar Ahab's Comfort

The richly smoky, woody, leathery, musty, incense-like sweet Cyprian Latakia is the star component, and though this is close to being a lat-bomb, it’s one with some complexity. The red Virginia is tangy dark fruit sweet with a lot of earth and wood, and like the less obvious toasty, lightly grassy, honey, sugary fermented sweet stoved cavendish, underscores most every puff. There’s a mild “vinegar” note from the red Virginia as well, and much of the blend’s inherent sweetness has a light essence of fermentation. The Kentucky is nutty, earthy and woody in a support role. The Turkish is woody, earthy, herbal, floral, vegetative, spicy sweet with a mild sourness that you’ll continually observe as a condimental addition. I don’t notice the Maryland, but it generally has little flavor anyway. The perique offers a very mild raisin, plum, fig and spice, though much of the time, you hardly notice it. The strength is just past the medium mark, while the taste is in the center of medium to full. The nic-hit is medium. Won’t bite, and has no harsh or dull spots, though it does sport some rough edges. A thick crumble kake, it easily breaks apart to suit your personal preference. Mostly well balanced, it burns cool and clean at a slow pace with a deeply rich, sweet and more savory campfire flavor that never wavers. Requires some relights, and leaves little moisture in the bowl. Has a lasting richly sweet and smoky Latakia and light red Virginia after taste and room note. Not quite an all day smoke.

-JimInks

I know I have said this on most of my posts on Watch City, but how many pipe shops still design their own flakes and cakes? Ahab’s is a winner. For me it needed no dry time, it didn’t turn to dust like many Latakia heavy flakes can sometimes do, and this is one Latakia heavy flake. Ahab’s is a thick flake, almost like a thin crumble cake. It can be broken or rubbed out, but it doesn’t lend itself to folding and stuffing. Ahab’s burns cool, with a lot of flavor. Although there isn’t a ton of complexity, Ahab’s allows the component tobaccos to make them known without the Latakia overpowering the smoke. I don’t detect any topping and if there is one, it is extremely light. If you are a Lat fan and/or a Lat flake fan, Ahab’s is one of the better ones out there. As a point of reference, I enjoy it more than Ten Russians and Pirate Kake (both blends that I enjoy) and is not quite up to par with my newest Lat flake, “Latakia Flake” by Mac Baren. Congrats to Ernie at Watch City on a great tobacco!

So, the description for Ahab's Comfort obviously hints that this is their take on Penzance. I had never tried Penzance before, but as it happens, my local B&M had an 8 oz. bag of Penzance available the VERY DAY my Watch City order arrived. I probably shouldn't do this, but what the hell. After smoking a half dozen bowls of each over the past week, and finally one of each side by side, here are my thoughts...

Having been initiated into the Penzance club, I guess this is supposed to be where I put on my haughty tobacco snob cap on and say, "Ah, you fools. Nothing could possibly compare to Penzance." I can't do that though, because Ahab's Comfort is actually pretty similar. More so than I recall any of the other blends frequently compared to Penzance (i.e. Lancer Slices, Quiet Nights, etc.). I find the VAs a bit more noticeable, and a sort of "aged" flavor in Penzance. I think Ahab's might be a bit spicier, and I get some subtle notes of vanilla. They're both outstanding. Supposedly, Ahab's has 60% Latakia, but it doesn't taste like it. It's not over the top at all. Both are very fine Latakia-forward crumble cakes. Both full in flavor, and moderate at most in nicotine.

If you think Penzance is God's gift to pipe tobacco, you might be disappointed. Clearly someone who feels that way finds something so unique about Penzance that it would be impossible for others to compare. Obviously, Ahab's Comfort is a different blend, with different tobaccos from different parts of the world. That said, if you're like me and think Penzance is merely an excellent pipe tobacco? I think you might find Ahab's Comfort to also be a very excellent tobacco and in the same class as Penzance. If you don't give a rat's A about this comparison and just enjoy a nice Latakia blend or like to play with crumble cakes? Highly recommended for you as well! If you just want this review to end already? You're in luck.

Beautiful thick, dark flakes with regular specks of tan. Pouch aroma is smoke and ketchup, like a very smoky BBQ sauce. Rubbed out and packed easily, formed a beautiful ember, no relights needed.

Wow. From the get go, it's right up there with Samovar, Legends, Magnum Opus, Commodore Flake and the like, with a healthier nicotine kick than most of them. Thick, beautiful, cedary/leathery smoke with a deep woodsy flavor and aroma; the latakia and orientals play very, very nicely together. Blend is a real steady Eddie through the first half of the bowl.

In the last half/third of the bowl, it gets interesting. This might have been my fault; it was so tasty that I couldn't help but push it pretty hard. The creosote and soapy flavors familiar to Lat lovers started showing up. Suddenly, the buttery and floral notes of a high-quality burley started taking center stage, with occasional hints of dark fruit, spice, and chocolate (the perique?), without ever losing that woodsy campfire in the background.

I thought I was finally settling into a well-defined rotation. Watch City Cigar is throwing that all out of whack.

Beautiful mottled flake/cake with the heady aroma of latakia in the bag. I smelled nothing else. As SteelCowboy stated, this is a cross between a thick flake and a thin crumble cake, and breaks apart pretty much on its own. I finally decided that a very thin rub worked best, leaving something somewhat smaller than a broken flake and I stacked the load into thirds.

As with the Mac Baren Latakia Flake I just smoked, this falls a bit short of ideal for me. But I hasten to add that I'm simply not a heavy lat guy as a rule, preferring that condiment to be added... well... condimentally. But as a heavy lat, this is a winner. It lacks the spicy characteristic of the Mac B, which lacked the gorgeous body of this one. This actually TASTED thick, if that makes any sense. It's more of a mouthfeel, of course, but this was like a stew. Lots of component pieces that created a rich flavor, if somewhat monotone. I didn't get a lot of the oriental flavor and almost no perique, but the latakia and kentucky showed themselves quite prominently. What I liked most about this one is that it didn't taste "dirty" like so many lat bombs do (this claims to be 60% latakia but I'm guessing closer to 40%). Very often this is the case for me when blends add to many component tobaccos. But not here. This one was focused, deep and tasty. Just not my personal thing. But if you enjoy lat bombs, wait no longer. Ernie Q just nailed it.

Excellent blend and was pleasantly surprise to hear from Ernie Q that he had a new Latakia flake. According to the blender this has roughly 40% Cyprian Latakia in it. Delivers a nice gentle smokiness which reminds me of a more rounded out / aged Esoterica Penzance. Not saying it's identical but has similar characteristics. The Krumble Kake format is always fun to smoke and offers the chance to keep it chunky or rub it out all the way. My samples were only slightly rubbed out and kept lit all the way down the bowl. Offers sweet Latakia / Virginia / Burley smoke that is well balanced and leaving this tester wanting more. This is my first review of many to come but happen to enjoy this style of tobacco quite a bit. If you enjoy the richer, slightly sweet latakia blends (Bengal Slices?!? - not the aromatic version) then give this a whirl. Excellent!

This is my first review of smoking a blend from Watch City Cigar and man is this one good! A fellow pipe club member let me try some and he gave me a thick ¼ inch slice that I took half and crumbled it up and put it in a large bowl Peterson. This smoked full, creamy, smokey, etc. I think you get the point. In the back of my mind I kept thinking that this one reminded me of SPC Plum Pudding which I also really like. If I was not a recovering pipe tobacco hoarder (or at least trying) I would buy me a pound of this stuff. I like it that much. Just writing about this makes me want to smoke my last little bit as we speak. I will send a subliminal message to him to bring it with him next time we meet. Hear me? 😊

Smoking now:

Comes in a thick plastic bag too not a cheap sandwich bag. Has a cool label so off to a good start. The flake is a soft crumble cake that breaks apart easily. Careful not not to rub it out too much or it’ll be a powder. The smell is tangy, musty, leathery…. Latakia. It’s an English lovers dream. Moisture level is fine, does take a bit to get lit but burns cool, does require a plenty of relights but is worth the effort.

Taste? Latakia. But wait there’s more. There is a slight sour vinegar tang to this that is enough to make it noticeable. There’s a buttery smooth quality to this too, delightful. The retrohale will give you that wonderful fermented yeast and bread flavor. Herbal smokey, musty, bready, fermented yeast, sweet and savory. Nic hit maybe pushing medium strong. No bite, no harshness, smoked to dry ash. Consistent flavor throughout. There’s a lot going on in this blend. I know it sounds cliché but it’s well balanced and delicious.

For me it is about as tangy as plum pudding. It’s not as dark, smoky, and leathery as quiet nights. Two of the three blends this gets compared to a lot. The other being…. Penzance but the hell if I have ever had that.

* I have now and these two are no comparison. Ahab’s is much more flavorful and pungent if you like that, where as penzance is smooth mellow and creamy. To be honest this is preferred over Penzance.*

This has a nice buttery bread yeast flavor with the Latakia that makes this one of my favorites.

If you’re a fan of English/Balkan/Latakia flakes and cakes this is a must try and unlike the unicorn this is very much available as of now. Do yourself a favor and get it. It’s easily in the top three heavy English blends I’ve ever had.

Well I was looking for some elusive Stirling Flake and Dark Flake Unscented and my usual retailers were plumb out, so I decided to go on to Watch City Cigar. Not only did I find the tobaccos I wanted, but this one and a few others really piqued my interest so naturally I ordered a few samples.

The tobacco comes in a little bag like most bulk ordered blends so not much to describe of there. In the bag are medium thin crumble cakes about the size, if not a little larger, than you will find in Seattle Pipe Club blends. The cakes are a nice mottled black and brown. The smell in the jar is of fermented Virginias, smokey Latakia, sour Oriental. For those Cigar smokers here it reminds me of the barnyard whiff on some cigars. It's very easy to break apart and crumble and light.

Once lit I taste smooth, smokey and woody Latakia. There is a lot of it according to the blender there is 60% Latakia in this blend. It doesn't overpower everything else, but it is nothing short of a powerhouse. Next I taste the Orientals with a very herbaceous, sour and tangy vibe. The Virginias float the other flavors and they tend to be bready.

I give the taste a medium-full. It takes over your taste buds but quickly dissipates. The strength is a medium. I wouldn't want it more than that, its very easy to smoke as it is. The room note is typical of an English so it may be slightly disagreeable to your friends. All in all a very respectable high Latakia English. And I shall keep ordering from WCC more often.

Absolutely delicious. If you’re a lover of SPC Plum Pudding you may have a new favorite with this one. Such depth of flavor and maybe not as well balanced overall as PP, but man o man this is an enjoyable smoke especially having come from a brick and mortar shop. Relatively cheap, this will be replacing SPC PP in my rotation due to price point and more exciting flavor.