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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DK (874) |  |
Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
Fat flakes of dark-colored leaf with a sweet rum and perique bag aroma. The flakes were crumbly and hard to fold, so I rubbed them out, which took a little bit of dexterity but not an abusive amount of time. A little finely rubbed tinder on top and away we go.
This is a Christmas blend, but I hope Ernie keeps it year round. If you enjoy his Slices, this is that one's dark-exteriored but mellow-hearted and spicy brother. A smooth smoke but with a lot of vigor behind it, good sweetness but not too sweet, and this "cautious boldness" that I found tantalizing. If I wanted it to smoke with more presence, I puffed a bit harder. It didn't lose its cool demeanor. There was a moderate amount of dark fruit but this really didn't fall into those overused adjectives reviewers tend to fall into. The rum didn't really strike me as rum but more of a slight smoothing effect. This one looks robust but, like Dark Star, it's really pretty mellow. I marked it as "medium" because the smoker can push it to that level if desired, and I did so regularly. This is my personal Best New Blend of 2018 and I can't imagine anything unseating it. Again, Ernie Quint is the finest blender in the U.S IMHO. Don't miss out on this if you're a tobacco lover. It could be gone quickly
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