Appearance and Tin Aroma: Looks like a typical American/English blend. I can't smell the chocolate, I believe the cavendish is "chocolate" in color, not in taste.

Packing and Lighting: Moisture is perfect. I prefer to garvity feed with a light tamp when full. Lights easily, 2-3 lights max.

Initial Flavor: Smooth, warm, nutty.

Mid-Bowl: round flavor with no one leaf dominating. Gets into the zone easily.

Bottom of Bowl: A slight increase of strength, no bitterness, ash is dry.

Overall: There is comfort food and there is comfort tobacco. This blend is that. It is a smooth all around tobacco with quality components. Nothing that makes you go "wow!", but nevertheless satisfying. Sorry to see it go...

The tobacco is a mix of smallish cuts and is certainly cased with something. I'll guess chocolate but really can't tell. It actually smells very similar to Dan Tobacco's Liberty in the tin but tastes better.

This is the first C&D tin I've ever tried and it certainly came more moist than any of their bulk blends. I actually got a little wet dottle every time I've smoked it and thats surprising.

This blend is for very subtle tastes. Personally, I can't get much out of it. The main component seems to be the Burley and flavored Latakia. I can detect no Perique at all. I could recommend this for someone who enjoys lightly topped, English/Aromatic crossovers and doesn't want a nicotine hit. It was way too mild for me and since it's not available locally, I don't think I'll ever try it again.

First smoke: First puffs are very pleasant. Faintest hint of Latakia, with a nice smooth sweetness. I think this is going to be a keeper. Another bowl will tell.

Second smoke Starts off with solid Latakia taste. But the Latakia quickly places itself in the background. Now the smoke is sweet and round. The smoke is rich and filled with good flavor. This is a keeper.

If you are a strong English Blend fancier then this may seem kind of wimpy. But if you like mild but complexly flavored blends then this is worth a try.

For one thing, according to the label, it contains not burley & black Cavendish as noted above, but cubed burley, Latakia, Turkish, Perique & VA flake. I chose it more or less at random, when I was casting about for a new blend to try; I had remembered that several of the other Serenity Series were highly recommended, but when I got home, I saw that Solace was the only one that was unreviewed. As this is a fine blend, I decided to rectify the situation.

On opening the tin, a beautiful tobacco was revealed, as could be imagined from such a varied ingredient list. I'm not yet experienced enough to identify tobaccos on sight, but this blend was a fairly even mix from a deep brown and a few flecks of black, up through a scattering of grey-green, to palest blonde. The smell is nice, but not strong. When I stick my nose into it, however, it's certainly delicious.

I've smoked it in a range of pipes, from a small Parker to a large Ascorti. It seemed to like the larger pipes better.

How to describe the taste...it is both light and rich, with a certain sweetness. The Latakia is present, although extremely well behaved. There is some dryness, which I associate with Balkan blends, which balances out the sweeter notes.

I am, as I said, hardly an expert, but I didn't notice the Perique much.

Some blends seem to have many flavors, this one seemed more a blend in the truest sense of the word. This isn't bad; with this many constituents, that could be truly overwhelming. Instead, it has a good and unique, in my experience, flavor.