Outstanding burleys provide a nutty flavour, the cavendish gives richness, and there is a good note or two of Kentucky. The perique is there, but not up one's nose, as it is in too many blends. For a change, no Latakia. I can't taste the virginia, though it must be there.

From start to finish, this is what burley blends should all aspire to. Imagine the best codger blend you have ever had, in the best pipe that you own; multiply that by several orders of magnitude for flavour, strength and sheer puffing joy, and you may just approximate what Freight Train is.

If I didn't know that it came from the talented hand of Russ Ouellette, I would say this had to be a Tarler-Runowski creation. I would go a step further and say that this is the best blend that Bob Runowski never created. If Russ was looking for a tribue to Tarler and Runowski, he could not have done better. It has that deep harshness that the CD blends have, but is not rough or bitter.

Overall, I would mark this as the finest pipe tobacco I have ever smoked. Looking forward to a couple of serious Freight Train decades. I just hope that over indulgence doesn't spoil the fun.

Smoke slow, or this one can be an a$$ kicker. Robust, with a lot going on in the background and around the margins. Overall this is definitely an excellent tobacco for lovers of strong blends. Strong like in my book. Too early to tell if it's a strong rotational like, let alone a love. Lots going on here. Will have to smoke some more over the next week and check back.

An aptly named blend. Smoke this one SLOW to get at the complexity of flavors and transition that tang into savory/sweet. Sweet and sour comes to mind - yes! It's the sweet and sour sauce of tobacco (with a kick).