| Thanks to Sailorjack for the sample.
In the bag, this smells fairly strongly of topping... vanilla I thought, but on sticking my nose right in... Anise. More on this later.
This is surprisingly strong tasting stuff - it looks and smells like a typical black-cavendish burley affair, but under the match this has a lot more punch than most of the "lighter" aromatics. This smoke a bit more like a topped Va/Per, with a slightly peppery attack and a heavy presence throughout the smoke.
The anise is detectable to me throughout, and in a clean (new) pipe, I felt that this tobacco almost offered a lakeland-like scent. This leads me to believe that the topping is more than just a splash of licorice.
All in all, this reminds me most (although it is by no means identical) of Sail, with it's licorice notes and spicy "dutch cavendish" background (and Sail has an oriental component if I remember right). So if you just can't stand Sail, I guess this Finck's product is not going to be your cup of tea. But if you like the basic idea of Sail tobacco, and want something a little heavier, here it is. Super Sail.
Smoking properties are excellent - no gurgle, no glop. Nice friendly tobacco, but I think it would be too much for a novice. An interesting blend, great with a cup of tea.
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