| Pouch Aroma: Dry and grassy with a light sweetness.
Appearance: 70% medium brown, 20% light yellow-gold, 10% dark brown and black. I like my tobacco on the dry side, but this arrived almost crumbly. It's so finely broken that I fear a hot and dusty smoke unless I take much extra care. It appears to be mostly VA with perhaps a touch of Turkish, all in small broken-up flakes with a considerable amount of dust in the bottom.
Between the cut, the dryness and the pouch aroma, this tobacco just screams "Cornell and Diehl".
Packing and Lighting: I decided to pack this into an old 1967 Dunhill pot - it's the best-caked pipe in my collection and always smokes dry and cool to the bottom of the bowl. The packing went easily enough, and the match raised quite a crown as the bowl lit. The first puffs are very creamy and mild with very little sugary sweetness, and a quick tamp and relight has a coal well-laid and smoldering nicely.
Exposition: Although a bit milder than I prefer first thing in the morning, it's quite a tasty smoke. The smoke is very smooth and creamy on the palate with mildly spicy undertones and a room aroma that reminds me of . . . pancakes. No really, I'm not kidding.
Once I've smoked it down a bit I'm sensing a bit of nicotine kicking in while the flavor is deepening and losing some of its sweetness. It's a bit light for me right now as I've been smoking much heavier tobaccos than usual lately, but that's no fault of either tobacco or blender.
The Story: Approaching the halfway mark, I'm picking up an interesting sourish note which complements the remaining sweetness, and I can feel the tingle of nicotine on my upper palate. The creaminess is still there in force, and the room aroma hasn't changed. This is a nice, no-nonsense tobacco that doesn't smell offensive and smokes well and easily while remaining quite satisfying for such a mild tobacco.
I am finding it a bit difficult to smoke slowly enough to avoid condensation, but there's been not a hint of bite or burn yet. Next time I'll add just a touch of moisture and see what that does to the burning properties. This looks like it's going to be a two-cleaner smoke thus far.
Denouement: A rest and a relight have done nothing but good for the flavor of this tobacco, adding extra fullness and a small amount of sharpness that makes for a nice, spicy finish. This quality stayed until I was down to ash before I realized it.
Pros: Good flavor and burning properties, nice room aroma and it left a very clean smell in my pipe. It smoked surprisingly cool considering its cut and low level of moisture.
Cons: I had a bit of trouble with condensation but I think that was mostly my fault for puffing too fast. I think I was compensating for the lightness of the smoke since this is the first non-Gawith, Hoggarth & Co tobacco I've smoked in two weeks and I got quite used to their body and richness. I doubt I'd buy this again as I have better tobaccos of this type around, but it was a pleasant experience and a nice change for me.
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