J. F. Germain & Son Plum Cake Mixture

Yet another " Love-it-or-hate-it ".Aromatic ? By definition ALL tobaccos are aromatic, lit or unlit. After trying 3 tins of this, I have to completely change my ratings. If my taste buds (and smell buds) are anything to go by, honey is used in this tobacco.I found this to my cost when smoking hot, which is difficult not to do with this one, as it guarantees me a sore throat every smoke.The deposit in the bowl is like treacle. The room note is pleasant in the short term, but smoke regularly in one location, and the resulting aftermath is like an old fashioned "Bar Parlour". This is not the smell that I want in my office, (even if I liked the tobacco.)

Why are there two separate sections here for the same tobacco ?? Also, this is not broken flake, but shag....perhaps more suitable for hand-rolling cigarettes.

One of the two or three sweetest smelling tobaccos I have ever tried. When I opened the tin I was greeted with the aroma of sweet figs and light berry, I was prepared for an aromatic delight. The cut is, as others have mentioned fine, like cigarette tobacco. East to pack and easy to light, the sweet smell permeates the room. Once lit the flavor quickly fades, Plum Cake becomes a rather bland, light English blend. The room aroma also quickly fades as well.

The sweet taste comes up every once in a while when smoking this blend, but on a whole it remains bland throughout. There are are many more light English tobaccos that taste better than Germains Plum Cake, but none that smell better.

Reading some of the previous reviews makes me think these people are smoking an almost entirely different blend. A rather intense aromatic tin and smoke aroma. The aroma is liken to perfumed talcum powder. The flavor as being so aromatic does not taste like tobacco. The flavoring gives a somewhat bitterness to the smoke. There is another character in the smoke that I can only liken it to the carbination in cola; bazaar, I know. Despite what the tin says this is not sweet to the taste like cavendish. The base is golden matured virginia ribbon with the corresponding medium stregth smoke and heat. There are some flavor undertones similiar to Germain's #7, so some common ingredients are shared. Quite possibly the most unique tobacco I have ever tried, but so odd that it is'nt something I will smoke on a regular basis, perhaps as an occasional departure.

Not a lot going on here for me. This tobacco has a nice tin aroma of sweetness, orange and vanilla are the only 2 discernible things I can tease out. The smoke is very bland, some light grass and citrus from the VA's, a tangy earthy flavor from the Cavendish. I do not taste the topping at all in the smoke and there is a creaminess that is left behind in the after taste, almost like toasted marshmallow, the best part of the experience for me. I'd pass on this one as it isn't really an aro and it is bland for any other characterization.

Certainly a peculiar blend, and definitely not my cup of tea but I won't spend the next while belittling an obviously popular niche blend. That said, I believe there to be some redeeming qualities worth mentioning.......qualities that should be considered speculation by myself as I didn't get the chance to have a second bowl due to a rapid onset of some sort of tobacco mold, something I can honestly say I've never encountered before. It's worth mentioning the care taken by the manufacturer to package this mixture, in a relatively attractive tin you'll find a lightly pressed block wrapped neatly in wax paper. The cut is quite uniform boasting every known range of colour when talking tobacco, moisture level was spot on and I attribute that to the careful packing mentioned above. The tin aroma doesn't really differ from inside the pipe or room and is that of herbs and Italian Bitters, the former reminds me of eidleweiss specifically (or how ever it is spelled). I didn't find either flavour all that agreeable, but I would've like to explored the whole tin if it wasn't for that mold episode mentioned earlier. I certainly couldn't recommend Plum Cake to a new or novice smoker, but I think it's worth recommending to the seasoned as I'd say it will contrast nearly anything you've smoked prior. I will buy it again and put it through its paces and update accordingly.

First bowl out of a new tin I thought this is pretty good. The spicy aroma you get from the tin comes across in the smoke however you have to try to taste it. The spice taste is very faint. I can't smell or taste wine in this blend. Yet it smokes cool and burns clean. By the end of the tin I think I was bored with the taste. But overall its not a bad smoke just not one I will rush back too.

Been looking forward to trying this blend for some time and then finally it came up in my rotation.

Perhaps reading the reviews BEFORE buying it didn't help, as it gave this tin much to live up to.

Well, the first thing is it isn't plum and it's not a cake either. Tin opening gave me a very pleasant aroma. The tobacco is in a 'cake' yes, I suppose, but then to get at it you have to dig in. When you do the tobacco kind of unravels, into very soft tendrils, very slightly moist, somewhat reminiscent of Robert Lewis' blends so the immediate reaction is to break it up a little more and pack very lightly.

It went dry very very quickly as I left it in the tin on the side to dry out a bit, but this was almost too dry, so it had to be smoked everyday. And sure, it would make a good all day smoke, but alas, I couldn't detect any taste at all.

I could find nothing even hinting at taste and I wondered if it had dried out somehow too much before opening or I had a bad batch. It certainly didn't seem to match any of the descriptions or reviews I've read.

It's not narsty and it's not awful. It doesn't ghost your pipes and is an easy smoke with few relights (probably because it's was so dry) smoking down to a fine cigarette-like ash.

I have now gone right through the entire 50g tin and to honest I am disappointed. My ability to taste tobacco is at fault, I am aware of that, but this had no taste at all. The note left behind indicated some git had been smoking tobacco, but it could have been anything, so generic was the smell.

Weirdly, this hasn't poisoned me against any other Germain's blends. Indeed the only other one of their mixtures I had tried was Uncle Tom's. And guess what. That was tasteless too.

I've given this one 'somewhat recommended' because taking my tasting impotence into account doesn't mean to say other smokers might get something out of it that I couldn't. Besides which it's Sunday Mrs RW is cooking a fine roast dinner and Spurs scored 6 at home in the cup, so I'm a good mood.

This one is a funny cookie. A nice long cut, almost shag like, but not quite.

Very nice tin aroma, maybe something close to rum (like MacBaren's Plumcake).

Smoking it was not the most exciting experience however. Sure it smokes and burns well, but...something is missing. Vitamin N, I believe!

Germain has a reputation for high quality that is well deserved. This was the first of their blends that I have tried. Plum Cake has a delicious tin aroma that does indeed stimulate the appetite. It is reminiscent of raisins. It could be described as a very long ribbon cut. It was very tightly packed in the tin and needs to be rubbed out a bit to make packing into the pipe easier. It lit easily and produced clouds of thick smoke.

The taste, despite the tin aroma was very very mild. There was little there to ponder on, so I just puffed away. It maintained a pretty steady one note flavor the whole way down. It was not a hot blend by any means. Still, I was looking for a little more excitement.

It was not a total disappointment, but nothing to write home about either. If it were not for the price it would make a good all day blend for working in the yard and such that you dont want an overpowering blend or something to think about. There are other blends that do that for far less cost. Still it is not bad at all, just not that great either.