Wolfway White - Izmir Tutun

This is a single variety tobacco consisting of 100% Izmir Tutun which, as it states on the pouch and was confirmed at the company outlet, is grown in Greece. It has a light brown colour and is cut in wide ribbons. It looks very natural and is springy with perfect moisture level to pack a pipe and smoke it straight away. Pouch aroma is intense and heady for a natural unprocessed tobacco. It reminds me of walnuts and raisins with a slight honey note and a faint sourness. It lights very easily and produces an abundant fluffy white smoke. It is surprisingly mild, creamy, round and soft like eiderdown but full of flavor and hearty. Nicotine level is medium at most. Aromas are reminiscent of sweet spices like nutmeg and vanilla with notes of dried and even fresh fruit like plum. Burns fully to the bottom with just two or three relights leaving a very fine grey ash. Needless to say there’s no bite here whatsoever! While the smoke progresses through the bowl the aromas get headier and sweeter. Mind you, sweetness is very different from that of the Virginias. Here sweetness is felt mostly through the aroma, not on the palate. Room note is tolerable.

I smoked this tobacco straight and I have to say it is delectable and intoxicating. Unquestionably one of the best smokes I've ever had! Yet if one may like more punch and body to his tobacco he can mix it however he likes and experiment with it. I found it blends very well with Virginias (mature and bright as well) and the other varietal Epos’ tobaccos like the Basma. I did not test it with latakia added – it just now crossed my mind – but I think I am going to do so. It comes in a 100g pouch so there’s a lot of it to play around.

It is also different from most anything that is on the market. McClelland offers a Va/Izmir blend in its Grand Oriental Series – Smyrna No.1 - which is also exquisite but while I can see some similarities it is nothing like smoking Epos Izmir straight, Smyrna No.1 having gone through the McClelland treatment – not better or worse just different.

To sum up, Epos Izmir is a high quality natural tobacco with intense and exquisite natural aroma, full flavor yet very mild. It is very rare to be able to taste straight a single variety of oriental tobacco and this adds to the appreciation of it. So, do I recommend it? Yes, unconditionally.

Update: I smoked this tobacco after a long time while having recently worn out myself with a couple of excessively strong and unredeeming blends (Hermit's Honour Blend and C&D's Byzantium) and right after seeking solace to a bowlful of the exquisite and mellow And So To Bed. To my utter surprise it stood as an equal to that most refined blend. Confirms my initial impression that this is top shelf Oriental leaf!

An all natural and unprocessed oriental tobacco, produced in Greece. Very mild in terms of nicotine, but still with a distinctive basma aroma. Somewhat yeasty as it burns, but in a pleasant way. Nothing left but dry white ash, smoking straight to the end. Opening the 100 gr package, a very different smell will immediately make you realize that this is classic oriental, not virginia based. The room note is tolerable. A 10'-15' spread will help it smoke better, as it's moisture content is a bit above it's golden ratio. I would highly recommend it for oriental lovers.

tip: It would be a good base for a latakia blend/mixture.

When I smoked it for the first time I could not fully grasp the worth of this tobacco. Maybe of my inexperience mixed with amazement. Over the time I've found myself like travelling to Constantinople . Maybe just my imagination but I felt like finding the bonds with memories of a lost history . A high quality tobacco hands down on that.

Another great handmade tobacco from wolfway. Mellower to basma in strength, taste and aroma, but equally satisfying. The room note is lighter, a bit cigarette-like. More of an all day smoke than basma. I would suggest it as an introduction to orientals.

It's a great straight oriental. Don't get me wrong, the bready notes are present and a light almost peppery spice comes from the retrohale. For me, it lacks complexity, i wouldn't recommend it for a regular every day smoke.

Can be mixed with Virginia really good.

This tobacco is a variety of oriental leaves mainly Turkish. Notes of bread and earth, no aroma and taste. Easily an everyday smoke. Maybe there is room for more maturation. Overall it is a very pleasant smoke. A journey back in time to the depths of the East.