**Original Review** Strange the description mentions Lat. and Per. I didn't detect any from the smell out of the tin or in the smoke. This is by far the best Aro. I have ever had the opportunity of smoking. I have a relative that lives in Japan and they brought me a few tins on their last visit. What a treat! Plums, figs, somebody mentioned wine in another review... I can pick that up as well. It smokes wonderfully into a nice white ash. Doesn't leave a sticky residue like most aro's. Not any bite when smoking it either and it leaves a pleasant aroma. I highly recommend this... especially since I'm not a huge fan of Aromatics.

I think most of we pipe aficionados would like to think of ourselves as purists, but I admit that I love certain tobaccos with noticeable flavorings, including St Bruno and many of the Lakeland flakes. This is a flavored tobacco, and it is excellent. The dark fruit flavor enhancer really brings out the high quality of the virginia and perique leaf (never noticed any latakia), even though the concoction sounds like something a purist would balk at smoking. It is sweet, but not that much sweeter than a straight lemon virginia. The room aroma is such that friends and family would enjoy it, but does tend to "take over" a room - best smoked outdoors. I did not notice any high levels of nicotine but the flavor was hard to ignore. This is a great aperatif or dessert tobacco, but can be smoked all day long (assuming you could find enough!). This may be one of the most perfect tobaccos around, great for any time of day, and satisfying in most every way tobacco needs to be.

If you like a naturally sweet tobacco, or if you're looking for an aromatic that isn't drenched in casing, or if you want a great room note with something that won't gag you with the taste of cherries, this is your tobacco. I don't know if this is around even in Japan, but it needs to make a comeback in the U.S. Excellent tobacco!

On opening the tin the paper insert was soaked through, though the tobacco was adequately moist. There were sourish, winey top notes - somewhat reminiscent of Stonehaven and University Flake - with a basso profundo note (if I may mix metaphors) of good tobacco. I smoked it in pipes previously used for Escudo and Deluxe Navy Rolls. It packed well, and burnt well to a fine ash without leaving any dottle.

There is definitely perique in the mixture, and very well applied, too. The top notes disappear during the bowl. There is an aftertaste that lingers pleasantly in the mouth. In wine-speak, Momoyama has a long finish.

I have put down `none detected` for flavouring because the top notes do not survive putting match to tobacco.

I like Momoyama very much, but I do wonder if minus the exotic origin my reaction would be exactly the same.

Very pronounced, fruity, almost alcohol-laden aroma. A previous reviewer noting Japanese plum wine may have hit the nail on the head. Not bad, just very different and interesting.

Upon lighting and smoking the Momoyama in a medium-sized, rusticated Don Carlos billiard, I was fascinated by the myriad of flavors that the obviously cased tobacco took on from begining to end. Orange zest at the begining, baked apples, plums, black cherries, and then boiling down to a melange of all of the above. A real nice room note, too.

I never really noticed the Perique that more experienced pipers have noted, but I would yield to their knowledge and experience in discerning the components that make up this blend. I think that fact that I never noticed the Perique further serves to emphasize how well-made this blend is. I like Perique when it is used skillfully and sparingly and I think that may apply in this case.

By no means is this an everyday smoke, but no doubt it's unique, interesting, and just what I was hoping for: a special occasion, unique and flavorful smoke.

Too bad it's discontinued. Most definitely recommended.

The tin I tasted was obviously a product by MacBaren and was named Momoyama II.

It is therefore particularly appropriate that I should have discovered this delightful mixture while walking through Greenwich Village, on my way to see what turned out to be a very entertaining production of Shakespeare's Cymbeline. I popped into "Village Cigars", in the corner of Hudson and Christopher streets?a corner indelibly associated with in- and UNdescribable souvenirs?et voilà! A new face beckoned.

I was initially taken with the Zen-elegant tin design: a crisp silver background, with a red border. In the centre, the stylised silouette of a galleon, also red, main-masts square-rigged, lateen-rigged over the aftercastle. The name MOMOYAMA in almost Cyrillic-looking lettering.

As I opened the tin, a smell like overripe apples?a smell I abhor?wafted out. This soon dissipated, though, and something like the perfume of red wine remained. Périque! Also, the unmistakable yeasty-smoky scent of Latakia. There is ribbon-cut mahoganny Virginia here too, and a bigger, wild-cut yellowish leaf as well, too greenish for bright Virginia, too lush-looking for Burley: Lemon Virginia?? The whole thing looks top quality, inside a perfectly-ruffled thick paper sleeve. MOMOYAMA is obviously put together by people who know.

I pinch-fill my Tsuge Ikebana?what else??with it, and light in one movement with Spanish Bamboo foco-locos. Catches easily. Big smoke.

I taste the red Virginia first: semi-sweet, smooth, sec. Not much Latakia depth, although, after a few moments, the taste gets bigger, graver. After some 2 minutes, Périque comes to the fore...in a big way. The taste keeps getting bigger, spicier: I am beginning to LOVE it. Never overbearing, always well balanced, this mixture keeps my attention nevertheless, even though it burns problem-free. Very flavourful.

To say that MOMOYAMA is Early Morning Pipe with Périque would be accurate, but misleading. The perfect balance suggests EMP, but this has a more interesting, less bland cast. The Périque gives it real pizzazz without going over the top. Nevertheless, this is very much for the Périque lover; a light virginia-latakia mix, but with a definitely "with Périque" cachet.

A surprising and delightful discovery.

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PS 1/'03

I have been smoking this for several months, now, and have grown to like it even more. When the tobacco dries out a bit inside the Mason jar, it integrates better in flavour and becomes really deliciously smooth. I am, by the way, not at all sure that there is any Latakia here after all. I am a vampire and sleep in a coffin. The subtle smoky-yeasty nose (and flavour) are more like dark-red Virginia. Delightful.

So it was not without a degree of disdain that I approached my first tin of Momoyama. Initially purchased on a whim (I enjoy acquiring oddball items), it sat on a shelf for many months. One day, when, despite having dozens to choose from, I couldn't settle on either a Virginia or Latakia blend, I decided to give it a try. The smallish, round tin features a red vessel, Hamborger Veermaster style, against a silver/gray background, with "Momoyama" written in a font that makes me wish I had better handwriting. Popping the lid revealed the finest quality ruffled paper liner I have ever seen. It was heavily saturated with oils, reminiscent of a tin of Penzance. Then it hit me- a heavy essence of fruit surged from the tin. Apple, prune, fig- overipe and stewed. Oh boy, I thought- this is going to be brutal. Surprisingly, this overt odor dissipated quickly, leaving a mild, persistent aroma that is semi-sweet with a hint of alcohol. The bouquet reminded me of a great Hermitage, perhaps a Chave.

Lighting and burning qualities are exemplary, and the mixture smokes cool (if smoked with care) and fairly dry. No description of the tobaccos used is given, but I guess it's based on Bright and Burley, with a healthy dose of Orientals and some Perique.

Ah, the Perique. I have a love/hate relationship with this leaf. It's one of my favorites, and one of the great condiment tobaccos of the world, but it is far too often misused. Even such classic blends as Three Nuns, Escudo, and, yes, even Haddo's can be off-putting. Perhaps it is because Perique is so powerful that the slighest inhomogeneities in the blend are apparent, causing a roller coaster ride, rather than a smooth, continuous smoke. In Momoyama, the Perique is perfectly incorporated, and builds, seemingly from nowhere, both in flavor and intensity, gradually and deliberately, as it should. Greg Pease should have so deft a hand.

Virginias with Orientals but without significant Latakia may seem a bit odd (the lovely Campanile comes to mind), and the light overtones of fruit may not be appreciated by all, but Momoyama goes a splendid job of integrating everything into a terrific blend. Any fan of Blue Note should try it to see what a proper, high-end, light aromatic can be. Any true fan of this hobby will recognize this to be a great blend, despite any preconceived notions regarding toppings.

More good news- it's ridiculously underpriced. If it were the next release from GLP, people would line up around the block to buy it.

Addendum, 7/04- I have just finished my penultimate tin of Momoyama, and find myself languishing in a slough of despondancy. I should have bought 100 tins. Make that 200.

Addendum, 12/04- Yes, Virginia fans, there is a Santa Claus, and he lives in the great state of Washington. I recently received in the mail the most thoughtful and generous gift in the form of two sealed tins of Momoyama. My faith in humanity, having languished over the last several years, has been fully restored. That a complete strange would see fit to share such a bounty with me has forced me to reconsider some long held opinions regarding the worth of mankind. To say the least, there exists at least one kind soul on the west coast who does not have to worry about finding bail money, at least as long as I'm around.

The tin aroma is like a typical bright and red matured Virginia (fruity, alternately sweet and sour), with a winey note that could mean the presence of Perique and/or a strange fruit/alcoholic topping. I can't feel Orientals, but some of the cubed bits look a lot like burley.

Lighting is easy, and the burning rate is regular thanks to the OK humidity level of the mixture. Taste is subtle, not invasive, rich of nuances: delicate notes of dried fruit and lemon, orange... Not a lof of evolution in the course of the bowl, but who cares...

A very pleasant experience with this tobacco lies in expelling the smoke from your nostrils, to better appreciate the sourish flavour which reminds of tamarind. Sometimes it even has some similarities to the 20 year old tin of Dunhill Elizabethan I had the luck of smoking some time ago.

Nicotine content is not negligible, but it's relaxing, never excessive. Even the supposed Perique content is moderate, so you won't get throat irritation or tonguebite.

If the tobacco gets a bit too dry (as in my case: I don't smoke much of this kind of blends, so the tin stayed open for more than a month), the Burley makes its presence more evident, with some slightly unpleasant harshness.

It's one of the most unusual and smoothest semi-aromatic blends you may have the chance to smoke... Too bad because it seems it went out of production!

\/\/\/\/ I'm glad to hear it's back in production, I really want to try the new tin! Please let me know if you find any US distributors, I'd love to grab a few tins (my email: vmalloc<@>usinternet.com ). I e-mailed my previous source and never heard back from them, and then I asked Macbaren and they told me to ask the importer I had before. Go figure.

Please note:
New version contains 100g per a tin or 50g per a pouch. A retail price have gone up a little.

I feel comfortable in asserting that there is no latakia. As for perique, of this I am not so sure. If there is perique, it is a small amount, and well hidden, on the front end at least. An argument in perique's favor is the building of strength towards the end of the bowl. In fact, it is the last third of the bowl that makes it for me with this blend. An argument against the inclusion of perique is that there does not seem to be a perique impact on the room note, plus I do not get nose tickles from this one.

There seems to be some topping, but I do not detect much, if any, added sweetness. The topping is most noticable in the tin aroma (can a natural tobacco blend actually smell like this?), but does not follow through in the taste much, or the room note for that matter. So... is it an aromatic? Yes, in my book, but a unique one and not a blend to satisfy the sweet tooth that often motivates the aromatic smoker. Would I recommend this blend? By all means, but only to those who have a sense of curiosity and an open mind. It is good stuff for the right smoker.

BTW, For what it is worth, my tin was aged a good year before sampling.