J. F. Germain & Son Plum Cake Mixture

First off, to the star rating. I struggled with how to rate this. On the one hand, I have been smoking from the same tin for 6-8 years, so it is hardly a go to blend, and that pushed me to give it 2 stars. The flavor and experience is so singular, however, that it really deserves some special recognition. I give it three stars, therefore, because when you have a hankering for this, even if that only occurs once every six months, there is nothing else that will take its place.

Update: I am not changing anything but wanted to state that now that I am out, and it is so hard to find, I really miss it. It is very unique both in cut and flavor, so when you have a hankering nothing else will scratch that itch like the real thing.

If I had to guess, I would say that they start with a base very similar to that which they use for their Royal Jersey blends. It is the same ribbon/shag cut virginia base. I find a little spice in this when I smoke it, which could be from some use of perique, or from the topping applied. I have Royal Jersey Perique, and they are not worlds apart. In the tin it has a very unique aroma. I do not know what the heck makes up the plum cake topping, but I really cannot think of any one thing that it emulates. It is a sweet odor, with a faint hint of licorice, and something else, maybe tonquin. Germain refers to it as "honey sweet." There is cavendish there, but not a huge amount, and some other black tobacco which may be what is referenced in the description above, which, as others have noted, is different from what is stated by Germain.

I find all ribbon cuts a little tricky to get going, as you have to keep tamping them down when they start to burn. After the 3rd or 4th time though this will settle into a nice even burn which required few relights. It can bite if you smoke it fast or too wet, but when smoked slowly is generally cool. I find the strength to be mild to medium. There is definitely some nicotine there, and it would probably get to you if you smoked a huge bowl of it. I like to smoke this in a smallish Becker & Musico saddle billiard. It is the right size to enjoy the flavor without things taking a turn for the worse, and, as this burns relatively quickly, provides a short, enjoyable smoke.

This will produce fine volumes of smoke. The room note is not as pleasant as the tin aroma, and my wife proclaimed this to be a "stinky one." That of course is because I do not smoke the hardcore stuff in her presence, and I could probably get her to leave not only the house, but the county if I rocked some 1792 while she was around!

Everyone should try this at least once. You may love it or hate it, but you are really missing out on a truly antique, and truly original, blend.

This was one of my pipe club's tobacco bar offerings a few months ago. It is totally different in looks and smoking quality when compared to Mac Baren's blend of the same name.This Germain offering is almost a shag in cut, almost black in color and is very moist out of the tin. It has a delicious fermented fruit smell that did not match up with the taste. The general impression of my sample was that it was a solid and pleasant tobacco.

Pipestud

Plum Cake has one of the most peculiar tin notes of any tobacco that I have ever come across; its weird factor is right up there with 1792 Flake. I have to admit, the first time I smoked this blend I was repulsed and I couldn't finish a single bowl of it. I jarred up the rest of the tin and put it in the giveaway pile. That was a good four months ago. In the interim, I found a couple other J. F. Germain produced aromatics to be quite to my liking, so I figured why not try this one again. Much to my surprise, I found some enjoyment in this oddball traditional British aromatic. It’s good, but very different and very much what I would consider to be an acquired taste.

The tin aroma smells like a combination of spiced wine & dark rum, with hints of vanilla extract and licorice. The flavor improves and tastes more balanced with a bit of dry time. When lit, there’s a mild palpable tobacco flavor, a sweet mustiness and a slight acidic high note. By mid bowl the tobacco flavor strengthens, delivering a light spicy smoke with hints of anise & dark dried fruit, (kind of a currant and apricot flavor). The aromatic flavors are subtle but well nuanced, making this a better choice for moderate to lower temperature weather. Plum Cake is very smooth and burns cool with absolutely no bite.

Recommended, albeit with some reservations.

This blend was a definite surprise in that it is a time-machine in the form of tobacco, read on...

Appearance and Tin Aroma: smells like some sort of oil essence. I cannot put my finger on what it is, it is a little scary too. This is almost a shag cut of yellow and black leaf. The room I am in begins to get fuzzy.

Packing and Lighting: The long ribbons are a little fussy to pack. The moisture is a bit high, but settles down after 4-5 re-lights. My office lights have turned into oil lamps, my ballpoint pens have turned into feathers with an inkwell...

Initial Flavor: The aromatic agent is there firmly, but it tastes much better than it smells. The leaf is flavorful, but mild. I walk to my car only to find that it is a horse. Also, my clothes seemed to have changed and I realize I am now wearing a top hat!

Mid-Bowl: This blend is really growing on me, it is smooth, mellow, but the leaf is flavorful in-spite of the aromatic agent.The room note is wonderful as well. I now find myself riding my horse not in Orange County, CA, but London circa 1880AD

Bottom of Bowl: It ends too quickly! It does not build up much strength, but ends with a clean and dry ash that practically floats away as you dump it. I immediately reload and start all over in this wonderful journey. Yes, I am in London before the turn of 19th century and in the company of other gents who have nodded politely as thay catch a whiff of my pipe's smoke. As my second bowl ends, I find myself back in the hustle and bustle of Southern California, too bad...

Overall: I really enjoyed this blend. Will it replace my other blends? No, but it will be a ocassional part of my rotation. It really is a time-machine type blend. It does everything in a very subdued, classy way, just like the gentlemen of old Victorian England. This would be a perfect blend to smoke while reading or watching "Pride and Prejudice". Yes, I have acquired a half-dozen tins to keep for the cellar. Give it a try...

There is a slight perfume taste and smell that comes and goes, and while it's not like the Lakeland essence, it has a light cousin-like effect. I taste a little vanilla note, slight touch of honey, licorice, and light sour wine. The grassy, citrus sweet Virginia is subdued a bit as is the black processed air-cured, lightly sugary, dark fruity, earthy dark and extra matured black cavendishes. I find the taste changes here and there as you smoke it down. Has a very mild nic-hit. The strength is mild and the taste is a couple of steps past that mark. Burns cool, clean and easy at a reasonable pace, and leaves very little dampness in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. No chance of tongue bite, harshness, or hot feeling in your mouth as you smoke it. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste, and can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

There is an almost bizarre characteristic to the topping applied to Plum Cake. The tin note refers to it in a mysterious kind of tone that mixes well with the idea of, well, a cake made with plums. To be honest, I've never had such a concoction, but the idea alone got me thinking that this might be something of an interesting smoke.

That it is. The flavor, whatever it is, reminded me very much of the uproar over the tonquin additive applied to 1792. You can get a feel of that reading the reviews here. There is really no comparison, however, in strength. 1792 will rip you apart while Plum Cake will, at best, set you in motion on a rocking chair.

It's an appealing package, presented with a slick graphic that seems to invoke poppy plants rising through a thick cloud. The cut alone is a great novelty, the tobacco itself dense as a cake, consisting of a highly compressed, almost shag-like collection of blonde and black strands.

I enjoyed RCUSElder's poetic tribute to the blend, and I think that fits well. Plum Cake takes you back to a time more simple in its demands. I would love to smoke this on a cold winter day when the smell of burning firewood wafts through the air. You know, I think I'll do that. Winter's just a few months away.

This is another traditional Germain's blend that comes in a fine ribbon, almost shag cut. Opening the tin, there's the sweet, fruity smell of dessert wine and aniseed. The tobacco tends to be quite moist, so you might want to dry it.

It's important not to fill your pipe too tightly, because it tends to burn rather hot and fast. I usually use the air pocket method. It lights and burns nicely, producing a dense smoke.

The taste actually delivers the honey sweetness promised on the tin with strong notes of aniseed or licorice as well as something flowery like lavender. Personally, despite the name I can't detect any plums or prunes in the aroma. Towards the end of the bowl some bitter notes like dark roasted coffee appear, and there's a lingering aftertaste. Enjoyed with leisure, it burns down coolly and dryly to some greying ash.

The room note is rather unobtrusive and sweetish.

Teaching an old dog new tricks....

Parable: A city slicker stops at a general store out in the country. As he nears the store he spys an older gentleman sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch, with a dog lying next to him, blocking the front door. As he approaches the dog raises up and looks at the stranger. Apprehensive, the city slicker asks the old man, "mister, does your dog bite?" The bib overall wearing country gent replies, "no sir, my dog doesn't bite." As the stranger nears the dog, it turns and bites him in the leg. The stranger angrily turns to the older man and says, "I thought you told me that your dog didn't bite!" To which the codger replies dryly, "that's not my dog."

Pipe tobaccos have personalities, just like people or animals. Some dogs, such as the family yellow Labrador retriever, will allow two year olds to pull on their ears and tail, ride them like a pony, and will generally allow themselves to be abused. They show no aggression and will often just grin and wag their tails at the silliness of it all. Carefree, user friendly, pipe tobaccos in this category would be Frog Morton Cellar and Larry's blend. They don't care how they're smoked, wet, dry, sipped, or puffed - it makes little difference. They just continue to act amicably.

Smoking my first bowl of J. F. Germain & Son Plumcake, I treated it like the family Labrador, showing it little respect. I packed a fairly moist bowl tightly, lit it aggressively, and puffed on it like a freight train going up a grade. Germain's Plumcake showed its dissatisfaction of my treatment, and turned around and bit me in the leg. In fact, my tongue bite and mouth burn was so bad that I couldn't smoke a pipe for three days - lesson learned. Thank goodness for Biotene!

Today, two weeks later, I thought that I would see if I could make friends with the beast. The tin that I opened had been packed very moist. The wax paper inside was discolored and several strands of the broken flake had fused to the paper. On the other side of the tin, there was a divot where I had filled my first bowl. This tobacco was fairly dry, and looked promising. Picking up a pinch of the golden tobacco it fell apart loosely, and looked and felt reminiscent of South Carolina delta Spanish moss. Using the three layer method, I allowed three pinches to settle into the pipe extremely loosely. I used my pinkie and put the tiniest possible amount of pressure on the tobacco. My second layer was the same. Only at the top layer, did I put the lightest resistance. This time I was showing the Rotweiler respect.

I lit the bowl, not as if stoking the fires of Hell, but gently, using only enough fire to get the bowl burning. I slowly sipped the pipe. When the bowl on my vintage Bennington Irish briar got hot, I stopped puffing and put the pipe down. The result was a satisfying two hour smoke. This time there was zero tongue bite, and I didn't even have to drink anything to accompany the pipe. I could faintly taste the fruit topping. The loosely packed pipe puffed easily. I did not touch my tamper, but used my little finger to GENTLY tamp the tobacco when it would not relight. The tobacco burned all the way to the bottom of the bowl. There was only the finest powdery white ash, and absolutely no dottle - a satisfying three star experience.

Some dogs are gentle, and some will bite you in the leg. Those latter dogs, and tobaccos, require one to show the proper respect and let their personalities dictate how they need to be handled. Germain's Plumcake taught me a new lesson. I guess its never too late for an old dog to learn a new trick.

I would like to start off with the description of this tobacco which is from what is printed on the tin face. Note that it differs somewhat from the tin description listed above:

"Pipe Tobacco made in the British Isles. Cavendish, virginia and air-cured tobaccos blended with a special black cavendish. Flavored with wine and spices to our 80 year-old recipe. A unique smoking experience."

Upon opening the tin, I was greeted with a generous amount of golden colored Virginia tobacco which was interspersed with some black tobaccos, all in a shag cut. It came folded within a wax lined paper insert - somewhat stained by the tobaccos and very inviting as it evoked a nice, old-world charm. The tin aroma, at first, was a bit overwhelming. I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. It was somewhat like a potpourri. With a more discerning second whiff, I detected a sour-wine smell (sour in a good way) and some spice. The tobacco was very fresh, but not damp. Packing and lighting were within reason considering its state of freshness. The first puff was spicy and the taste immediately brought to mind the taste of Sen-Sen breath mints that I remember from my youth. Sen-Sen is primarily licorice based and is augmented by several different herbs. It might actually be Heather Honey Liquor. The taste of the wine came through slightly with the smoking (perhaps a German plum wine, hence the name Plum Cake), and the Sen-Sen wafted in and out. The Virginia component was greatly tempered by the Cavendish treatment. I also feel there is a good amount of Burley in this blend as the overall experience was fuller than Virginia can give on its own. It tasted spicy all the way through and was very, very pleasant. One of the more unique tasting blends I have ever had in 35 some odd years of smoking a pipe. It burned slowly and not at all hot, nor was there any moisture accumulation throughout the length of the smoke. It was subtly sweet and there was no bitterness whatsoever. If I had to compare it with any other tobacco blend, I would have to say that it reminded me of Erinmore Flake - not exactly the same as Plum Cake was way milder in tobacco strength than Erinmore, and stronger in what it is cased in - making Erinmore tame by comparison. It was also reminiscent of the now defunct Irish Mead Pipe Tobacco by Douwe Egbert (which contained heather honey).

This tobacco has had many mixed reviews on this site as well as on other pipe smoking forums where one can draw the conclusion that either you like it or you hate it. I wouldn't classify it as an aromatic per se (certainly not American or even Danish style aromatics), as its flavorings (as prominent as they were) didn't interfere with good tobacco taste - albeit very mild. Obviously there are very high quality tobaccos used in this offering. I am glad I did not judge this solely on the initial tin aroma alone. After the tin is opened for a while, the intense top-note subdues quite a bit. A nice, albeit different, mild flavor that remains throughout, making for a different smoking experience. Its room note is very, old-world pipey. For when you want something different in your pipe, I've yet to find anything else quite like it. Not an everyday smoke for me, but when the muse strikes, it never fails to satisfy.