Cult Abacus

As a huge fan of their first offering, Blood Red Moon, which is my favorite aro, I can say that this is a good follow up. It tastes very similar to Blood Red Moon in the sense that you taste all of the same quality tobaccos they used in the original. This one however is a little less in your face cherry cordial casing, which even though it was intense, managed to taste chemical free and artificial flavor free. This one is more of a subtler, nuttier, cocoa like flavor. I do prefer their first offering but this one is a must try if you liked the original. Very similar but more natural and toned down, and that may be just what someone is looking for. I commend Cult for their ability to blend high quality tobaccos which you can taste and still deliver delicious flavor.

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet. I loved Blood Red Moon, so I now have to try everything that Cult releases. This one (along with the newer Conspiracy) does not disappoint. It is an excellent all day smoke. What do I mean by that? It packs well, isn't too moist right from the tin, stays lit, has an excellent flavor (cocoa, nuts, and maybe a hint of some spirits), and doesn't bite if smoked hard. Even though they pack a lot of flavor into this blend, you can still taste the quality of the leaf that they use. I highly recommend this blend for anyone with a taste for a good quality aromatic.

Think of a warm cup of cocoa, with a light drizzle of hazelnut syrup, all on top of some pretty decent tobacco. This is how my first two bowls of Abacus tasted, then on my third bowl I got this weird chemical taste on the sides of my tongue mid bowl. For the rest of the tin, I got alternating flavors, some bowls I got warm hazelnut cocoa and some bowls I got a chemical/plastic taste. I recommend you try it out, maybe you'll get lucky, on the cocoa flavored bowls it really is quite a nice tobacco.

I was given two tins of this last month. I opened one, smoked two bowls and stuck the rest in the jar. First of all it leaves a strong smell right out of the tin. The tobacco is slightly wet and feels very oily. Reminds me of the old Walgreen ' BLENDERS GOLD. I let it sit for several hours. It did not get better. I did not feel like throwing it in the oven so I stuffed it into a pipe and lit it. Three match later it lit. I smoke slow and this burned hot and fast. I tend to smoke in this pipe for an hour or so. I got less than 20 minutes. I had lots of gurgle and after putting a pipe cleaner in it was brown soup. Room note was strong. I brought the jar to my pipe club. About 4 people tried it as well. All had the same results. It smokes. But it has a very chemical feel and smell. It left my mouth feeling like I ate cheese. I have Jared the other tin and I will give it a year and retry. This one was not a win in my book.

A smooth and subtle aro that is a refreshing break from the Englishes and Virginias. Flavors are natural and enjoyable and complement the tobaccos without overpowering them. A truly pleasing blend and one to add to the rotation. Everything in this blend is complimentary and comes together to form one that is worth taking a look.

Cult - Abacus.

The aroma from the tin exemplifies a well cased aromatic. But, what's not 'the usual' for a stronger aromatic is the quantity of black Cavendish. Sure, its presence is unquestionable, but there's far more brown ribbons than black. Another unorthodox trait for a heavier aromatic is the moisture: it's perfect.

The smoke: exactly what I anticipated from the tin-note: heavily cased. But not too heavy. The toppings work nicely with one another, the smoke isn't monopolized by the vanilla; which commonly occurs where vanilla's found! The hazelnut's stronger for the inaugurate part of the smoke, it leads the flavour for the first quarter. After this it calms down clearing the way for the creamy vanilla and chocolate combination. I get the most tobacco flavour from the nutty Burley, the Virginias and Cavendish are a little way behind. These two form a honey-sweet, slightly fresh, flavour. It burns well, and is fairly dry. Tongue bite doesn't happen.

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: pleasant.

Cult Abacus? Although it's good it would need me to want to add it to my afternoon aromatic rotation for full marks. It's nice, but not nice enough to make the rotation! Three stars:

Recommended.

Cult ABACUS is a good aromatic you can "count on" to deliver a satisfying smoke.

I bought this tobacco because hazelnut was listed as one of the flavors, since I really enjoyed Nording Labrador. Unlike Labrador, it does not have a dominant hazelnut flavor. That is apparent from opening the tin, you get a mellow cocoa/vanilla scent with a slight bit of hazelnut. The taste is more of a balanced blend of the three flavors, which is really tasty. It could use a few minutes dry time, but it's not a goopy smoke, it burns pretty consistent, maybe a couple relights. The flavor lasts as you smoke through the bowl & sometimes ends with a little bit of moisture in the bottom. The room note is very pleasant & non-smoker friendly.

Overall, this is a good tobacco manufactured by STG for Cult.

I've been smoking a pipe now for about a year or two. I started with aromatic blends and tended to lean towards vanilla flavored tobaccos. I then ventured to english blends that had a little bit of sweetness before diving head first into the stong english spectrum.

I stopped by a local tobacco store looking for some more aromatics since I was out. The tobacconist recommended I try Cult Abacus since it was relatively new. Boy, was I in for a suprise! Opening the tin reminded me of cookies baking....yum. The false light not only tasted just like the tin note, but smelled better! After lighting a second time, it only got better. The tobacco burned all the way down with a nice white ash without many relights. The first third of the bowl, I could taste cocoa, vanilla, and an almost nutty flavor. Exquisite! The second third of the bowl, you could taste the tobacco, but still maintained that wonderful flavor and aroma.

I usually don't smoke my pipes to the bottom of the bowl just because I tend to not like the strong flavors of the condensed tobacco and nicotine build up. However, I ventured on since the tobacco tasted so good. It never bit or gave a bitter taste. I highly recommend this to aromatic smokers. It is a favorite of mine and will keep a tin on hand at all times!

I begin my review with the following disclaimer because me thinks an aromatic guy should more fairly judge aromatics & a natural tobacco guy is going to do the same for those blends which are low or lack casings & top notes. But when all is said and done .... personal tastes are well "personal". I've been a fairly dedicated aromatic pipe smoker for 35+ years (although I occasionally like a VaPer or mild Latakia blend for a change of pace). I really enjoy Cult's first offering Blood Red Moon which is my usual go to smoke so I was compelled to try Abacus. The taste and smoking quality is good, but not quite as remarkable as BRM. The cocoa/vanilla/chocolate casing is there but not quite as pronounced as the cherry/chocolate flavors in BRM. Overall, it's a good quality tobacco blend to enjoy and I plan to use it in my rotation of aromatics.

If you've had Cornell & Diehl's Nutty Irishman, this is very similar but not as strong, flavoring-wise.

This has a definite nuttiness in general throughout the smoke. There is some vanilla type flavor as well. It burns a bit hot, but also burns fairly well for a moist aromatic.

You can see my video review of this blend here:

https://youtu.be/gCi1dgai1ZU