I like the artwork on C&D tins. It makes for good talking points....another attractive feature of C&D. Popping the top of RC revealed shards of red virginias with speckles of other colors mixed in. Similar in appearance to Hamborger Veermaster's quality Virginia strips. Compared to Sunday Picnic, Red Carpet is it's younger brother. Not as strong or aggressive, but has that "promise". Unusual smell. Not offensive, not totally attractive, just different. The flakes pulled apart like a pot roast with a fork. The fold and stuff method works, rubbing it out works...the flakes are so soft anything works. It smokes well down to the bottom without a lot of maintenance. RC works beautifully for me, offering loads of smooth, sweet layers and copious amounts of mature smoke that bring a smile to my face. The perique is nice and not overdone. There is enough there to feel the sharpness of it and some strength. Izmir adds seasoning. They all word together like the Three Stooges, playing off each other. Unique is the word that keeps popping into my head. Unique and good with coffee. I like this smoke in the morning.

Four stars based on aging beautifully, availability, character and price.

This lacks the sweetness of KK and the bravura of RG but it is still a rather powerful batch of nicotine. The flavor never wavers, which is good and bad. It has only slightly more complexity than RG (not much) and tastes more tangy and earthy than sweet. In fact, I got almost no sweetness from this but the Izmir lent a kind of sourish essence that worked well to offset the grainy mouthfeel. The perique is there but is far to the rear. Red VA's are my favorite but I can't help thinking that a bit of bright VA wouldn't have hurt. This is a fine blend but that cross between KK and RG keeps spinning through my head. I smoke and prefer those two. This one, while good, seems like a compromise. Then again, a lot of folks might prefer a settled down version of those two, so this is recommended for those people. Frankly, this is better than I'm giving credit for it - I just prefer not to mix the strengths of KK and RG... I'd rather smoke them full bore.

The flakes are dark burgundy, dense, and leathery. They don't rub out well, but rather crumble into smaller pieces and individual ribbons never seem to flake off. The flake cross- sections reveal what look like A LOT of large stems, and rubbing it out confirms that. One of the larger stems had what looked like white mold in the pith. I cannot pinch a bit of rubbed out flake without getting a big stiff stem in there, which I have to remove or I can't pack the bowl. The texture and cut, and mold don't bode well for me. Bad batch?

I have managed to smoke one or two bowls in a cob that were enjoyable, but most of them whether in a briar or cob have been disappointing, especially since I LOVE Sunday Picnic and C&D in general.

The smoke starts off very earthy and mouth drying with a bit of bite. A little later I do get some red VA toasty-breadiness with a hint of sweetness but it doesn't last. I often get pleasant tingling with VA blends, but this bite is not as pleasant. The taste remains earthy-dry and spicy but the balance is out of whack. I try to adjust my draw, pack, tamping, etc to compensate and get some more sweetness or something else than this one- dimensional flat taste, but I only get a very infrequent reward for my efforts in the form of a blast of VA sweetness, then its gone.

It seems like this blend has quite a lot of Perique, which would account for the constant earthiness and major nicotine. I cannot smoke this without feeling a little queasy unless I have had a big meal. I love Perique, but it has to be in balance, and it's just not in this blend.

At the end of the bowl, when Perique rightfully takes center stage, it becomes overwhelmingly spicy and mouth-drying, and any already subtle nuances of flavor are gone. I usually can't finish this one.

Ironically, the aftertaste is wonderful and I enjoy the lingering VA sweetness and fig undertone taste in my mouth for hours.

I wanted to love this one, but I can't. The texture of the flakes and the sheer amount of large stems (perhaps accounting for the out of whack taste?) was troubling. I'm curious whether anyone else has noted this. My Sunday Picnic flakes are fluffy, springy and lively smelling, with no stems at all, while these are leathery, crumbly, and sort of stale smelling.

Is this a bad tin or do I just not get why this blend is great?

Simply sublime!

A companion infusion: Jasmine Tea.

My tin of Red Carpet confused me at first. I expected a flake but found what appeared at first to be a ribbon cut. Closer inspection did reveal a lightly pressed product that had been sliced and had fallen back into ribbon. Only slightly moist, these easily packed and readily took fire. The burn cleanly persisted as long as I kept the top clear of ash. I have smoked this in just about every style pipe I own from little MM cobs to large billiards, squat pots, wide mouthed Custombilts and it performed similarly in all.

At first one is struck with a surprisingly sweet smoke, with the spicy components quickly coming on thereafter. The Kadota fig aroma of the tin renders into a slightly fruity taste (not quite to the degree that McClellands Blakeneys Best Arcadian Ribbon does, but close). The Izmir seems to be a condiment in this blend (it seems more pronounced in Sunday Picnic). The spicy tones of the perique may be boosted by the Izmir as well.

This is delicious stuff. It reminded me also of C&D's excellent bulk English 973-Cordial with the Latakia and black cavendish removed. Both effected lip-licking for me just to taste all the juices (wife commented that I looked like one our dogs savoring a tidbit). I have smoked bowl after bowl of Red Carpet over the last three/four weeks trying to place its sweet taste and finally have decided it evokes a fine port wine. Strength is medium but to the heavy side of medium. Excellent VaPer variant and slightly my favorite over Sunday Picnic (a golden Va blend rater than red VA), but only by a very slight edge. I can handle and enjoy several bowls of Red Carpet a day, leisurely puffed, while I can't say that of Sunday Picnic without qualification.

(Unrelated Note: as most here, or at least myself, read only new reviews, I will be revising my old review of C&D Plantation Evening, embarrassingly so.)

Red Carpet was too moist. It took a while to let it dry out. The tin aroma was absolutely bizarre and uninviting.

The dark flakes proved to be rather strong but the Izmir brought a very interesting side to the smoking experience.

I think that once aged for a couple years, this should reveal itself as a good tobacco.

The burn is outstanding, with flavors leaning toward the sweeter side, but with something extra I'm attributing to the Izmir. The perique must be in short supply. I get a tingly feeling on my tongue and the back of my throat that I haven't experienced before. Is it the Izmir? I am a Va/perique fan, and I thought I'd tasted every possible variation, but this one's different folks. Definitely worth a try.

Update: 6/4/10 After finishing this tin of Red Carpet I have to upgrade my recommendation. I have enjoyed this blend more with every bowl I've smoked. It's absolutely delicious and has outstanding smoking qualities. Too bad I only have one more tin in my cellar; I should have bought more back in '07. I'll stock up as soon as I can afford to.

The only time I looked forward to smoking this blend was with the first 3-4 bowls. After that, my interest waned quickly. I liked the spice of the Perique but it wasn't always there. I had a hard time with this one's bite. I tried it straight out of the tin to bone dry but didn't really buy into what any moisture level had to offer. Maybe it's just a little too complex for me.

I had a good amount left by the time I was ready to pitch it but held onto it for experiment purpose.

The two stars that I gave this blend(moved up from 1) came from its blending properties. I mixed 2 part of this tobacco with 5 parts of Ben Hartwell's Signature blend and had a nice smoke.

-Z

Red Carpet is 'bout as good as a VAPER gets. After drying, and rubbing out this blend packs, lights, burns great. The Va. have the lead, supported by the Perique/Izmar. Mildly sweet, peppery taste with no bight when sipped. This is not my favorite from the "Simply Elegant" series....but it's close.....good enough that I have orderd a couple of pounds to consume/cellar.

Rate * * *

One look at the one pound tin's attention to detail clearly demonstrates C&D's love of ingredients and pride in craft. The two tissue wrapped bundles of joy show the superior care that elevates a mere blender into maestro status. Bravo! The contents are very good too.

Youth is wasted on the young, but in this case it became the center of attention. This tadpole needs some aging. But its youthful exuberance is so much fun to tangle with. Bright, Sassy and full of promise.

As an infant, it smokes with brassy high notes from the Orientals and the tang of Virginia. The Perique aroma in the tin doesn't translate into the flavor of the smoke...it merely plays peek-a-boo. The deeper flavors of red virginia don't come into their own until mid-bowl, but are delicious.

**My nickname for this tobacco, and Citizen Kane's final word on his deathbed. I hope I utter the same word while puffing on this wonderful weed on my deathbed..... In about forty years.

I want to go quietly like my great-grandfather did. Not screaming and wailing like all his passengers.

Petersons Rule! (especially with C&D blends in them!)