Vauen No. 2 Oriental Blend

I opened the tin and the first words out my hole were, "What the F$@! is this?" - an intense punch of smells I have never come across before. A sharp, herbal, ham spiced, clove laden, honey coating with the same odor as medical ointment found in an old timey apothecary. I was both intrigued and wary of this stomach bile mix at the same time.

The ribbon was nice mix of Black Cavendish and tan Virginia bits that felt nice packing and required no dry time, and burned at a good rate. A word of caution however, the Oriental spice is very intense, will prick your buds and anesthetize your tongue afterwards, leaving it numb as if smoking a clove cigarette (you might even want to cut this with another blend). The nicotine is not terribly strong, but don't expect any delicate "natural" tobacco taste to punch through the Oriental shield, the smoke is just pure spice.

I decided to rate the flavoring as strong, not from any topping or casing, but for whatever planet they sourced the tobacco from, I just can't imagine any tobacco casting such a plume.

I had a friend recommend this one to me, and I'm glad I tried it. While it was too intense for me to rebuy, it was certainly a unique smoke.

*Strong* smells when you open the tin. The description says coriander, and that's definitely apparent, but the more overpowering smell is, to me, fresh lemongrass. Lighting up, the taste is more subdued than the tin smells. How can it not be? The first few puffs, I immediately taste a few similarities with Grousemoor and Kohlhase & Kopp's Asia 2018. The tobacco even looks a bit like Asia 2018. But this blend has a much stronger, more one-dimensional flavor than both. Asia 2018 is much more subtle and complex, and has some exotic fruitiness and sweetness. And Grousemoor has a more refreshing lightness and a nice bright Virginia flavor. Vauen's Oriental Blend is less sweet and more overtly spice-like/herbal. The Virginia tobacco does give a small touch of sweetness though... and the black Cavendish does add some mellow sweetness.

Bottom Line: If you like Grousemoor, or more European-style aromatics (less sweet; more fresh, interesting flavors), then you might like this. I kinda like it, and I'm glad I tried this blend.

**UPDATE**: Literally a week after first trying this blend... I hear that it's going to be discontinued.