Tsuge Premium Pipe Tobacco Ryujin - The Dragon God

It seems the Japanese, in collusion with that evil genius Mark Ryan, have found a way to harness the power of Godzilla and infuse it into a pipe tobacco. What a nice smoke. The Acadian Black leads with earthy, nutty, cigar-like notes. Very smooth notes I might add. The Lat adds a smokiness to the background and the Virginias add a fair underlying sweetness. Has a very mild spice hit. Overall flavor profile is very appealing. Nicotine is not overwhelming, but if this leaves you unsatisfied you may not be from this dimension. Damn good stuff.

Medium to strong in body. Taste is full. I suspect the natural sweetness has been enhanced very slightly. Burns very well.

This blend was a surprise. I'm a fan of Tsuge pipes and when I saw this series of blends with their unique artwork (yes that was a factor) I decided to go ahead and try one.

I love English blends so I went with one of the two English blends (the other being Raijin I believe). I was pleasantly surprised by this blend.

The tin says "Not for the faint of heart, the breath of this dragon will fly you to an alternate reality." and I believe it. It smokes fairly smooth and it doesn't initially feel like it's that strong, but puff a little too fast and you start to get that familiar lump in your throat saying "Ease up on the nicotine, bud." That said, I don't generally smoke very strong blends, so if you have a high nicotine tolerance it might not affect you in the same way.

Overall, this blend is smoky, full bodied, and packs a punch that doesn't leave me feeling overwhelmed but rather satisfied. I absolutely love it and I can't wait to try Raijin as well.

If you like dark, strong and wild, give it a try. The tin note is wonderful, and as a lover of Bayou Night, I thought I'd like it. But I found it an all out assault.

The base tobaccos (in this case, some VA) were m.i.a. The result, to me, was overwhelming. The cut is coarse with more than its share of uncut (looks like short filler cigar leaf) pieces.

It's blends like this that make me appreciate C&Ds burley hybrid blends, like BN and Habana Daydream. I also like the new Dunhill Englishes, for what they are. In either case, this one is off the map, a combination of strong spice tobaccos. Closest thing I can think of to compare it to is Billy Budd, which is one C&D blend I never liked. But that doesn't mean you won't like it, so I give it 2 stars.

Quantifying this as my first review as well as I've only been smoking for about a month at this time. Upon opening this tin I was greeted with the smell of mesquite bar b que pits. This has a great blend of Latakia and Perique which balances the tang and smokiness perfectly in my opinion. This is the first tobacco I have smoked from the 15 or so I've sampled that has me ready to buy and cellar more. Highly recommend!

Smoked this blend recently, I didn't really care for it but it I was impressed with the quality. one of the few blends that smokes clean to the bottom for me. The charring light is sulphurous and tingly followed by notes of burnt toast, and deep Dark expresso. The theme continues midbowl into rich burnt pine, smokey leather and toasted corn. I got a small hint of roasted Black beans and thought "hey that's different!" as the bowl finished into the bottom it was a monochromatic bitter raddish and spice (not all together unpleasant but just not my cup) I would suggest this blend for someone who enjoys the darkest cigars. I will keep at this blend, I feel like it's secrets are unlocked with time and patience.

Black Acadian you say? Sounds dangerous, pass that over here please. I'm not sure where the medium to full comes in as I want to rank this well seated in the full realm. The main performer here is the Acadian Black which towers over any VaPer I've had in the past. Spice by the truckload here and behind it, the most cigar tasting pipe blend I've had to date (even the wife noticed the cigar like aroma and said she liked it). By mid-bowl I had that nice lump feeling in my throat and chest only achieved from blends dripping with the lovely Lady N. Moisture from the jar was just right and I was able to make it through a bowl in my churchwarden without paying mind to the ember or relighting. Thick voluminous smoke and that spice. This is definitely not a early morning blend for me but fits well into the after-meal category when a stronger English doesn't fit what I'm looking for. I'm curious what a little resting time will do to the brightness and spice. While they are very "in your face" they work well and I'm not sure muting them would make this blend stand out among others with the same components. All in all enjoyable. I recommend this to lovers of Perique as well as for those that like cigar leaf in their mixtures.

I was at the pipe club last week and our El Presidente had this tin dated February, 2016 and offered me some. The tin art was so nice, (not warning crap on the front covering half the tin) that I said when you are done and if you don’t keep the tin, I would like to have it. Low and behold he gave me the tin and the contents. This was unexpected I might add. Before I begin, first classroom. According to Russ Ouellette, “Acadian Black is made by smoking Virginia similar to dark fired Kentucky, pressed in barrels and fermented like Perique. The different flavor is due to the high sugar content of the Virginia”. The tin note at first reminded me of warm dirt, must the be Perique and or Acadian Black. The contents of this blend are listed Latakia, Perique, and Virginia. Hmm, no Orientals listed. The mixture of this blend consists of wide and course ribbons and brown torn leaf chunks, not sure which cut belongs to which. There is a real smoky sweetness to this one starting up, I checked the description and flavoring is listed as none but one reviewer suggested there may be some light topping and or casing on this. I cannot say one way or the other as even after all of these years smoking a pipe my expertise is not that great at breaking down the components of a blend regarding makeup and taste. Halfway down the bowl the sweetness at times dissipates but I have smoked other bowls of this and it has remained throughout. Probably depends on what tobacco out of the tin is loaded. I like this but to me it tastes more like a cross between an English and Dark fired blend. I get full flavor and some sweetness but not your typical English blend taste and that is probably due to the Acadian Black. I do not grade much on nicotine as that is not why I smoke a pipe but I did not find the nicotine strength very strong. Or I just have built up a tolerance for it. Probably the latter. Also, though the site says it is available I can’t find any of these Tsuge blends offered for sell. I am on the fence as whether to grade 2 or 3 stars but since I can’t find much fault in it, I will go with the 3. I was surprised that there was no JImInks review on this on either. In closing if you can find a tin, the artwork of this series really is nice and sort of makes me wish I had bought them all but we all know the deal, there is just too much out there to get them all.

This is one of the few VaPer blends that agrees with me. Most of the VaPers I’ve tried have given me massive tongue bite, taste awful, and eventually give me a headache or make me nauseous, or both. This blend, Ryujin, is quite strong. I found that out the hard way smoking it on an empty stomach and driving a long way home. I guess it has plenty of nicotine. But it has no real bite. This, combined with a very mild aroma means I kept taking in voluminous puffs. Don’t do that. Sip it, and it can be a nice experience. I’m going to recommend it because it seems to agree with me and the smoke does smell nice.

Component Tobaccos: Bright Virginia, Acadian Perique and Latakia

Cut: Course Ribbon

Tin Note: Campfire smoke hits me in the face with underlying notes of vinegar and sugar.

Body: 8/10

Strength: 8/10

Nic: 6/10, sometimes this hit me hard on a full stomach, others it was fine even on an empty stomach.. so your mileage may vary.

Moisture From Tin: A little wet, but still smoke-able.

Mechanics: Smokes fine, no complaints. Cool, dry and easy smoking.

Taste:

At first this is a very sweet and smoky blend. The perique is peppery and begins to tickle the throat very early on, after just a few puffs. An acrid flavor begins to develop, it plays nice with the sweetness coming off of the Virginia. There is a lot of perique in this blend, almost to the point of overpowering.

The latakia starts to fade toward the halfway point in the bowl. The perique starts to become more figgy and the throat tickle is intense. I lose the Virginias. Occasionally I think I taste some grass or a bit of sweetness, but it's fleeting. I believe that they are helping greatly to balance this perique. What I have is a battle between the figgy, peppery perique and the cool, smoky latakia.

Thoughts:

I was really looking forward to trying this blend and the rest of the 'God' line from Tsuge, as I really enjoyed Raijin. This blend was a bit of a let down in that regard. It's not as complex and I was hoping for a level of complexity and depth. They were going for a full bodied English blend, and they (kinda) accomplished that, but by sacrificing what makes an English blend an English blend.

One of my biggest problems with traditional English blends is that they tend to lack body, body's not a problem here. As I said they accomplished the body goal. However, the latakia is not prominent enough to scratch that English itch. And this is my problem with this blend. I pick up an English blend for that nice smoky, leathery latakia flavor; maybe with a bit of sweetness from Cavendish or spice from a bit of perique. The perique is just too overpowering.

That's not to say it's all bad. The Virginias are great. They provide a nice balance to the perique and while the latakia is dialed back, it is still very good.

Overall: 6.5/10

What a shame, the tobacco with the best "Tin" art, is only a mediocre smoke. I find this tobacco harsh but flavorful. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of the flavor, or the particular tobaccos used resulting in a strong Balkan/English,,, who knows? . If your into strong blends, no sweetness, and a "funky" tobacco flavor and scent, this is for you !

Agree with "Ducksbreath" & "Cantrell"