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.