On opening the tin I got the strongest black cherry note I have ever encountered. Not even black cherries have such a strong note. But I must hasten to add that the aroma is not in the least chemical or synthetic: it smells entirely natural.

Somewhat wet in the tin, the tobacco burned well - not too hot and not too wet - down to the bottom. The room note caused a few raised eyebrows, and this in a family that actually likes the aroma of pipe smoke, particularly Latakia! Though highly aromatic, I did not find the mixture to be as dauntingly sweet as the tin aroma threatened it might be.

The aroma clung tenaciously to clothing and hair, and, of course, the pipe. Having shampooed my hair I found that the towel I had used to dry my head was reeking of black cherries! It was out of the question to smoke the mixture on its own. I mixed the aromatic with a strong (in nicotine) but bland and harsh tobacco in the proportion of one part aromatic to five parts non-aromatic, and the resultant concoction I smoke from time to time with some degree of amusement.

This experiment was made about two years ago. I would have been tempted to rate this with a single star, but for the fact that I have not lost patience with the results of my home blending and not felt inclined to throw out the mess.