Sobranie of London Rich Virginia

The Virginias were deeply rich, earthy with the lightly fermented dark fruit taking a little of the lead over the tangy citrus. Had a few grass, stewed fruit and sugar notes, bread, a pinch of cigar and spice, a bit of wood, and a touch of floral and “vinegar”. The strength was just past the center of mild to medium, while the taste was a step closer to medium. The nic-hit was a tad less potent than the strength level. No chance of bite or harshness, but a hint of a rough edge existed at times, though this was mostly a smooth, sweet and mildly savory smoke. Burned cool and clean at a slow pace with a consistent flavor from start to finish. Hardly left any moisture in the bowl, and required some relights. Had a pleasantly lingering after taste, and room note. An all day smoke with some character and complexity that never wore out its welcome in repeat performances.

-JimInks

Based on three bowls, so my thoughts here are hardly reliable, even to me! I consider myself lucky to score even this much. Late 1980's version, with a green tin rather than the grayish silver shown here. This wasn't as dark in color as I expected based on its age and my experience with aged Virginias. It veered toward the darker browns with some black thrown in. Bready, earthy aroma before lighting.

Tasted like mostly lemon Virginia with some stoved thrown in. The taste was predominately citrus but it wasn't overblown. There was a bit of darkness among the light and this was complex in the sense that it changed quite a bit but the changes were subtle. Traces of various light spices came through at different intervals and they were somewhat fleeting and subdued. There was a bit of BBF-like depth and savoriness, but it was more sweet than savory. The House of Sobranie was unique in their blending style and this doesn't really taste like anything else I've ever smoked. There was quite a bit of wheat bread flavor to the point of it actually tasting nut-like at times. Different.

I give this 4 stars but quite honestly my three bowls didn't place it at the same level as most 4 star blends, such as those from McClellands or Sam Gawith, and certainly not up there with a lot of aged blends I've smoked. Still, I find myself wondering why this was so hard to find, even in its day, and why it hasn't been picked up by anyone else. Would love to read a Pipestud review on this blend, as I'll bet he's smoked a lot of it.