The tin note does have a mild perique scent to it-- and it smells great. I love the pressed bricks which break up like a crumble cake. The down side to the brick, though, is moisture. Unless PP is allowed to dry out pretty thoroughly it will smoke wet, which in addition to giving it a bitey quality, depresses the flavor.

As to flavor, I struggled throughout the 2 oz. tin to find much. It improved with dryness as I smoked through the tin. Still, the blend just never jumped out at me with either big flavor or subtle nuance. My tin was dated April 2009, so perhaps aging would help. In all, I'd try a second tin in the future but PP just seemed somewhat off the mark to me.

Background: I like Englishes, Orientals, VaPers, various flakes. Not a huge aromatic fan.

Mine was a 2 ounce sample tin that was tinned on 9-22-09. I have never seen a crumble cake as well put together as this one is. Actually, they should call it "brick cake" or something like that as it did not crumble in a fashion that I have experienced with other crumble cakes. I actually prefer the harder version that Plum Pudding presented as. The tin aroma was of Latakia and a mild smelling earthiness - like peat moss. The earthiness I attributed to the Perique. No sweetness in the tin note and very little in the taste department. For me, I would have preferred more sweetness to balance the dryness to the palate I always find with Latakia.

After preparing a portion of this brick for my pipe, the lighting was very easy. One char, a tamp, and a re-light was all it took to keep this glowing. My sample was not dry by any means, nor was it sticky. Actually, the tobacco is so compressed that it is hard to actually comment on its moisture level by appearance and feel alone. It must have been just right since I had one of the most effortless smokes ever. This just kept going even after putting the pipe down for a minute every now and then. I could not actually define any aromatic casing or top dressing while smoking. The sweetness was too mild in what I expected to find, and there was a salty component as well. I don't know what the "something extra" was since I could not detect its presence; unless it was meant to be the ever present taste of salt! A bit of gurgle, but nothing major with that.

I smoked this in a Hardcastle bent billiard. It burned very consistently and slowly. It did not burn hot nor was there any bite - even with fast puffing. I'm assuming the Perique added the mild saltiness which thankfully was not too overbearing. The biggest problem was the lack of flavor - or I should say "generic" flavor that was way too bland. The Latakia was subdued, but that is fine by me. Salt I'd rather taste on my food, not in my smoke.

This was but a mild Balkan. Nothing fancy nor special to rave about. I prefer Sillem's Black over Plum Pudding since the tobacco has a very nice sweetness added and no saltiness. Needless to say, Plum Pudding doesn't compare with Sillem's Black and my search for the Black's partner continues. Perhaps a good introduction for those not familiar with Latakia. I can not give it higher than 2 stars since it lacked that "something extra" for me.

As a krumble kake, this stuff requires rubbing out and considerable drying, unless you need to burn down your stash of matches. (I was impatient with my last bowl which, consequently, ended up using an entire box.)

As the English say about Latakia "It has a plum pudding flavor." This is where the name comes from. This blend has an ample amount of Latakia, is a very slow burning balkin type tobacco with no additives. Expect a nice long smoke even in a small bowl, depending on how you rub it out. ENJOY.

Update 02/13/2010- Due to a couple of reviews here I feel like I should say that there are no casing or top note on this tobacco. What little cavendish is in this blend I would be surprised if anyone could taste it. This is not an aromatic tobacco, and not meant to be. Joe

Well, not the case here. This stuff is nothing short of incredible.The flavors are exactly as described by previous reviews of this blend. Cool burning, no bite and delicious even with only a couple of weeks in the tin. I can't even begin to imagine what this tobacco would be like with some age on it. If there is such a thing as the "perfect pipe tobacco", this would be it. I can't come up with the words to adequately describe just how good it really is, so I'll leave that for you to figure out. Buy it. It's worth every penny.

This tobacco is very tasty! It sort of is like Penzance - but sweeter - and with a spicy twist. Out of the tin it is is dryer and firmer. The nose is more refined with less Latakia and a hint of something sweet/spicy (which I cannot yet figure out - perhaps the Perique). At the match it is nothing short of magic. Smokey, salty, gently and naturally sweet, a bit of spice . . . I could go on. It really is great stuff. Even the aroma left on my hands is soothing and delicious. It tends to nip me so probably best smoked as an occasional rich treat.

If you like English blends then just go get this before it is gone. Really. You will be glad you did.