When you open the tin, pull back the covering and get ready for a wonderful aroma to greet you. The blend is comprised of strands of tan, brown and black tobacco that are awaiting the walls of a briar. The aroma is definitely wine and a little spice, but enjoyable. The tobacco comes dry enough to just load into your pipe and set it on fire.

When lighting the pipe you won?t have any problems keeping it lit. The blend stays burning nearly all the way through. You can smoke this at about any pace that you desire and not have to worry about tongue bite; unlike Blue Note which has the tendency to bite back.

The room will be filled with the presence of a winery. Sit down, break out a glass, and kick back and enjoy this wine blend by Dan Tobacco. This will not be a continual blend in my rotation, but I will definitely have several tins in my cellar.

Pipeing Joe _____(_)

Tuscan red wine? Where? Only at the Olive Garden...

REVISITED: Later Impressions (basically a restatement of what I already said, but I felt it was incomplete):

This burns a little hot and smokey if allowed, but when in the mood for an aromatic "not in normal rotation", I am not disappointed. The room note truly is pleasant as the description says; though it is not specific, at least to our noses, and is vaguely sweet and confection-like. I was busy on the porch while burning and I believe my normal puffing style allowed it to get hot. Halfway through the bowl it turned briefly bitter and cigar like. Cooling and a pipe cleaner later, it was ok, though again smokey and bitter on relight. This lessened towards the end of the bowl.

My review maintains two stars and I doubt I will buy this again, simply because the negatives can be avoided while achieving the same positive smoke with another blend.

Now, something like a year into the hobby, and I can barely stand it. The room note still gets compliments, but the flavor side ranges from candy to bitter (with little in between). The only complexity it has in flavor is the fact that it will taste worse and worse as the bowl goes down. It burns fair enough, but if let it dry (in pouch) for more than a month it burns hot enough to scorch me. The only way I can stop it from keeping it from causing me physical pain is if I keep it slightly moist, which is no good. I can smoke large bowls and get no real nicotine from it, not that I want to smoke large bowls of it.

The only reason I still use it is because I can smoke it around crowds. I am even a moderate fan of aromatics, from time to time, but this is not one that I like.I am grateful for this blend and its history in my collection, but I have moved on.

Anybody have an idea of a decent aromatic that won't send my g/f looking for the fire extinguisher?

One of five stars

Well, turns out it's an excellent smoke. On opening the tin, one is greeted with a boozy sort of coconut-y/vanilla-ish smell (those are the technical terms, I'm afraid...) And as a rare bonus in an aromatic, it's nicely dry in the tin, not goopy at all.

Smokes fairly drily, with an intriguing flavour. Tastes closest to an anisette biscotti dipped in vin santo. Flavour intensifies but does not change over the course of the bowl.

It's a taste that goes right to my heart, and I smoked the tin in record time. There will be more purchased as this will become a regular part of my rotation.

This tobacco is all top dressing. Were it to be removed, the tobacco wouldn't make a decent cigarette. It has all the intricacies of a bowling ball, and about the same number of notes as a didgeriedoo. Underneath all that candy-coating lies a tobacco with all the character of a pirhana. You can do it some justice by mixing in a few coctails, say, scotch on ice. However, I wouldn't recommend Chevis Regal. There's no sense ruining a good libation like that. No, I'd say Wild Turkey would do the trick. You need something strong to dull the senses enough to muddle through this brand. If you have a wife that hates you enough to kill you over that latakia-burdened blend you use, then DaVinci will definitely have her helping you find your lighter and tamper. But if you smoke pipes for your own pleasure, and it's tobacco you wish to taste when you smoke tobacco, then I'd say let this one be.

It packed fairly well and lit pretty easily, not really harsh as I thought it would be, although it can come up and bite the tongue if smoked to fast. It has a unique aroma and flavor about it that I find appealing not as fruity as the open tin lead me to believe. I did find this tobacco to keep my interest as it gave a little sweetness to the taste about half way through the bowl.

This is similar to Blue Note, Sweet Vanilla Honeydew, and Gold Blend that really needs a designated pipe to smoke this tobacco. I did prefer this in a smaller bowl over my larger bowl pipes.