| This blend provides for a rich smoking experience that, in many respects, has made for one of my favorite blends, well, ever.
Here's my breakdown
• Opening the Tin yielded a rich bouquet of Virginia, hugged by Vanilla with an ever so slight hint of Fig. It's Tin note is simply mouth watering, and I find it stunning. This is a beautifully crafted mix of flavors which I find much more complex than I was expecting.
• Initialy the smoke is very palitible, almost comforting. Mid bowl the sweet character evolves into a more mature, pronounced burnt vanilla. The creaminess returns at the heel. The smoke is varied enough not to overwhelm, and it always manage to present a variation of rich flavors.
• While moist, after letting the blend rest for 10-30 mins, 1957 smoked evenly without much fuss at all.
• Clearly, this type of creamy/sweet experience has to be "your gig". But I will maintain that a well crafted aromatic is an essential pipe smoking experience and 1957 delivers on all counts. If you have sworn off the accessibility of aromatics 1957 may be the blend that changes your mind.
So yeah..I loved 1957. A good year.
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| First the good bits.
The aroma is quite nice: fresh creamy vanilla. Pleases the nose, but doesn't overpower it. Very well done. Might be one of the best vanilla notes out there. The flavor is also good throughout the bowl. Nothing to rave about, but well balanced and mildly satisfying.
But 1957 is too expensive for what it is. The tobacco quality is on a par with Mac Baren 7 Seas Gold, which is bargain grade. Not nearly as good a quality leaf as MB Vanilla Loose Cut which is much cheaper. Also the tobacco is too moist to smoke as is, not a good sign.
So this blend was a disappointment. I expect great tobaccos from Stokkebye, but 1957 is many steps below the classic Mac Baren line in quality, and yet is more expensive than the highest Mac Baren grades.
I hope to have better opinions of the other 3 blends in the 4th-Generation series, which I've purchased but have yet to try.
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