J. F. Germain & Son - Germain's Plum Cake pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 21 through 25 of 25 reviews of this tobacco
Pipestud	07/04/2004	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant
This was one of my pipe club's tobacco bar offerings a few months ago. It is totally different in looks and smoking quality when compared to Mac Baren's blend of the same name. This Germain offering is almost a shag in cut, and is very moist out of the tin. It has a fruity smell and taste, but the general impression while smoking was that this is indeed tobacco. I found the experience to be less than satisfactory only because the taste was just too "over the top" for me regards flavoring. Additionally, if I had the time, this one would have been left out to air dry for a few hours before loading up. It burned okay, but did need more than the average relights. Light, flavorful and fairly bite free, Germain's Plum Cake could possibly become a regular staple for aromatic smokers.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Cooksmoke	03/18/2004	Mild	Mild	Mild	Tolerable
Germain has a reputation for high quality that is well deserved. This was the first of their blends that I have tried. Plum Cake has a delicious tin aroma that does indeed stimulate the appetite. It is reminiscent of raisins. It could be described as a very long ribbon cut. It was very tightly packed in the tin and needs to be rubbed out a bit to make packing into the pipe easier. It lit easily and produced clouds of thick smoke. The taste, despite the tin aroma was very very mild. There was little there to ponder on, so I just puffed away. It maintained a pretty steady one note flavor the whole way down. It was not a hot blend by any means. Still, I was looking for a little more excitement. It was not a total disappointment, but nothing to write home about either. If it were not for the price it would make a good all day blend for working in the yard and such that you dont want an overpowering blend or something to think about. There are other blends that do that for far less cost. Still it is not bad at all, just not that great either.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
flint	05/21/2003	Very Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
This one just didn't do it for me. What ever the flavor they added did not jell with my body chemistry. It was also way to bland for me. The flavor was not worth the time spent with this one. I have to say it's quality tobacco and burned well, maybe it will do something for you.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Stan	12/31/2002	Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
This is another hit in the Germain line, but a lightly aromatic one( I normally don't like many aromatics except for some lightly scented flakes or some old Edwards blends, etc.), but this is nice. Not hot or wet or anything like that. Now it has a viriginia base so it should be packed in layers (with the top most firm), tamped occasionally during smoking, and puffed slowly, or it could bite some. We don't want that. But with proper packing and puffing technique, it is fairly cool and a delightful light virginia aromatic. I've smoked it indoors and outside in a large Bjarne bulldog. It's not really wet at all for an aromatic with a pressed cake for its formation. It's really quite dry smoking for a sweet blend. I would call this a light Three Star Blue or a one-half or less CAO Blue Note in flavor. I can't tell what's in it, but is seems like a light grape or wine essence to me. I haven't tried MacBarens blend of the same name, but from the write-ups in these reviews, this blend must be cooler and lighter than MACs. Now G's Plum Cake has not a lot of flavor, and it is lighter but sweeter with their Royal Jersey Perique for instance. (It's lighter and sweeter than Edward's cool Brandywine blend too.) I'd recommend this Germain blend for a light aromatic change of pace for natural smokers or as a mild dessert blend. It is probably not rich enough for a true aromatic smoker, but even for them it could be a change of pace into something a little more to the natural side yet sweet.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
NEWMAN	07/09/2002	Very Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant
This blend is sweet in the tin, taste and the room aroma. The light VAs are complemented by a black add that I believe gives the tobacco its fruity effect. I've heard that they treat this portion with oils and whatever they're using imparts a rather unique but pleasant flavor. Perhaps the 'cake' in its name refers to the baked variety since this is more of a ribbon cut preparation in my view. It therefore burns much faster than the flakes that I normally smoke. Moisture content and this cut requires some practice in packing technique/pipe size selection or a difficult draw and hot smoke may result. Once this is mastered, you are justly rewarded with a cool, bite-free smoke without moisture buildup in the bowl. The taste is consistent thruout the smoke and although one dimensional, is good. A smooth, sweet and mild smoke that I enjoy especially in the hot/humid weather like we've been having recently in the Northeast.
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