The negative is that at the end of the smoke it starts to taste a little bitter.

Otherwise a really pleasant tobacco with a lovely room note. It burns even but a bit to fast I think... but that might just be me.

Anyway, if bill was still around, I would have no compunction in telling him that this stuff is absolute crap!

I'm not sure I fully understand what the the goal was here? there is a gap between aromatics and what we consider to be traditional English blends: so what we have here is a quasi-English ribbon cut, English-looking - aromatic!! that simply doesn't work.

The citrus additive (purported to be an apricot aroma) transforms the smoke into a very bitter, tongue tingling after-taste that burns quickly and very hot. My very large, thick bowled bent Dunhill felt like the end of a 'Thermic-lance' within a minute or so of lighting-up - and I do not regard my 35 years of pipe-smoking to be entirely inexperienced.

Sadly, this one neither qualifies as a good traditional English blend or a good aromatic - avoid like the plague!

FL- Supposedly caramel and apricot, quite a pungent tin aroma.

RN- Smells like stale cigarettes, not to be smoked indoors.

T- Tastes like shithouse tobacco

R- No don't buy this; Save the 10$ or 12$ you would burn on this and buy something else!

It doesn't bite.

It doesn't taste of anything very much.

Apricot ? no.

Caramel ? no.

Pretty little tin aroma. Nice gentle smoke.

Almost as tasteless as a Peterson's aromatic.

When this tin is finished I won't be buying another one.

If other Ashton's blends have similar attributes I won't be wasting a tenner on them, either.

Great name by the way.

Upon opening the tin i was met with a very distinct scent of apricot, much like the description on the tin says. I can't really say it was that inviting though, as it was a rather overpowering scent which blocked any other nuances and that I feared would perhaps also dominate the taste.

Not to worry, after drying the tobacco a little (it was very damp straight out if the tin, which probably contributed to the smell) it lightened up easily enough and I set to work on it. It turned out to be a very mellow and pleasent smoke, very much dominated by the sweetness of the Virginias, with just a hint of a citrus taste to it as well, but not in any way overpowering or artificial as I initially feared. The taste was also consistent throughout the bowl.

I had no problem keeping it lit all the way through and it in no way burnt hot or gave me any tongue-bite as some reviewers have experienced.

I've since smoked about half the tin and my initial thoughts and feelings have not changed: A solid choice for aromatic fans who like to taste the tobacco and not just the casing.

Edit: I'm now well into my second tin and I've decided to upgrade to 4 stars. This one is obviously not for everyone, but I enjoy it more and more with each bowl. The focus is more on the VA's then the BC which is perhaps slightly unusual for an aromatic and that might be what's throwing people off. For me that's turning out to be a good thing though, probably as I've been trying and very much enjoying some pure VA blends lately.

Plus it burns hot as hades.

If it were balanced with some darker leaves and had just a tad more of the topping come through it would have been a nice aro. I can see what others may appreciate in this one, but like so many aro virginias this one is way too high-key for me, so I'll be discarding the rest of the tin.

UPDATE 10/19/10: Well, it's more than ten months later, and my opinion of this has changed a lot; or, more precisely, my initial impression has been positively confirmed and supplanted my negative impressions.

Whether my tastes changed, or the blend mellowed as it matured, it's now a very pleasant smoke. That pleasant citrusy casing I refer to is now more present, and if smoked very slowly the promise comes through. I can even detect that apricot/caramel composite Ashton suggests is there. strongirish is probably correct -- give this one time to breathe and dry out a bit.

I'm really glad I give blends a second chance. This is one time where that second chance paid off: I've gone from 1 star to 3. Indeed Winding Road just might enter my rotation -- I think it may be the best blend I've had when there's a chill in the air, maybe the lower temperatures bringing the citrusy/sweet flavors out more.

On another note, I experimented with blending this with a darker blend (McClelland's RCS) as I suggested above, and it really worked beautifully as a blending component.

And, like renwardhoop says, it's a great name for a blend. I believe that's what compelled me to buy it originally. I'm glad I stayed on the road: there's more to this blend than meets the tastebuds at first. I knew there was something good going on in this blend even when I didn't like it at first. In fact I'd suggest this could be a relative of Grousemoor -- maybe a distant second cousin or step-aunt. Worth sticking with.

I gave this blend every chance but I eventually had to dump about half the tin in the trash. I'm pretty sure that whatever they use to case this tobacco is causing the problem. Even after severely drying this blend out, it still is harsh, burns super hot and bites the tongue severely. Sorry, I can not recommend this blend at all.

Original review:

This is the first tinned tobacco that I purchased because it was one of only two tins available at a local cigar shop -- the other also Ashton. I held off on reviewing until I had several other tobaccos under my belt and I have just finished smoking my fourth bowl of this blend.

I like the concept of this blend, a fruity aromatic English. The tin aroma is wonderful and you can definitely smell the lovely mild apricot casing. The problem, however, at least for me, is that this is one of those blends that bites the crap out of my tongue. It seems that without the tongue-zap, this would be a nice mild smoke but the bite starts almost immediately. The first time I smoked this it was fresh out of the just-opened tin, and by the end of the bowl my tongue felt like I had just downed a too-hot cup of cheap coffee.

To be fair, I attempted what many others suggest when dealing with a blend that bites. I packed the bowl and let it sit for a couple of hours to dry a little. This helped a little and the bite was not as pronounced which allowed for a little more of the very mild English flavor as well as the apricot sweetness to come through, but both still fell flat. I could find no obvious caramel flavorings. From midway through the bowl to the last quarter it was actually very good but hard to discern through my fried tongue and by the last quarter of the bowl I felt like I was smoking dried wood. I feel that aging and drying should be used to make a really good blend great but never to compensate for a problem of this magnitude. I may give it one more try after drying the whole tin out for a day or two, but the fact of the matter is that, even without the bite, this may just be a mediocre smoke anyway. I didn't notice any other complaints of tongue-bite in the reviews so maybe my tin may is an anomaly, a victim of inconsistency. As a point of reference, I also experience tonuge bit in MacBaren's Virginia No. 1 but not nearly as much.

I had no trouble keeping this lit and it burns very nicely but SUPER hot. Even smoking it slowly, at one point I could barley hold the pipe, even by the thick top edges of my bent Dublin. Not much in the way of nicotine.

The room note on this is excellent and there is absolutely no tongue bite.

For a change of pace smoke, I highly recommend this to any lover of VA tobaccos.