Seattle Pipe Club Hood Canal

This is an amazing smoke. Think of it as plum pudding 2.0. It is much lighter and has a creamy flavor with a hint of spice that will keep you wanting more. Yes, yes, it is a bit of a lat bomb but with character all its own.

The tin note is reminiscent of a horse stable, but with an added sweetness and a hint of vinegar. I found it pleasant, but I can see others maybe not liking the musty scent.

The crumble cakes are a bit moist, but can certainly be smoked right away if you don’t mind relights, and take it slow. Letting it dry some will reduce the number of relights, but expect more than average. At least this has been my experience. As it ages in a jar, it will get to the perfect humidity. The chunks of cake can be a little harder to tamp properly, but I prefer to not crumble the cakes too much. It smokes cooler and longer if you don’t.

The taste of this smoke doesn’t change a whole lot through the bowl for me, it’s pretty consistent. I perhaps taste the Virginia more towards the second half of the bowl, but it’s a very subtle shift. Definitely a Latakia-forward blend with a nice nutty burley base, tamed a bit by the other condiments, but the perique and Virginia tobaccos never really take center stage. The Virginias and orientals do add a bit of brightness to the blend. The Latakia has a nice resinous quality to it, like cedar burning. There is no bitterness, no harshness, even near the bottom of the bowl. If it gets bitter, you’re definitely smoking too fast.

I can’t decide if I should rank the nicotine level as “medium” or “mild to medium.” A hair more than Plum Pudding. The taste is medium, maybe just past medium.

This is becoming one of my favorite Lat-forward blends. I find myself alternating this and Plum Pudding often, so a comparison was inevitable: they are very different, but there’s lots of overlap. Ive heard some people refer to this as “Plum Pudding Lite,” but best I could say is that where Plum Pudding is heavy and smooth, this is bright and crisp, with a stronger Oriental presence. If Plum Pudding is a stout or porter, I think this would be a Pilsner or Hefeweizen.

This is a great smoke and could be an all-day choice if you’re mostly a Balkan or other Lat-blend smoker, and aren’t super-sensitive to a medium level of nicotine. I find it to be a perfect midday pick-me-up when I’m forging knives in my shop.

Also goes great with a cup of chicory coffee.

A very-very mild and mellow blend with a redolent smokey taste of cedar and exotic incense. Though, this to is very mild in strength. I pondered this blend for awhile. How can one blend that is so similar in composition to another vary so greatly in strength. Here I refer to Plum Pudding vs. this blend. The difference, I believe, is in the processing. Where as Plum Pudding is Cavendish Processed by heat pressing the blend while steaming it in a vinegar solution; Hood Canal (for the sake of expediency) processed in a similar manner, then the blend is further heat pressed by the dry cure Cavendish Process. This would "toast" the blend and remove much of the volatiles (and strength). Consider, if you well, roast beef. One can roast the beef inside a sealed roasting pan thus steaming it, or they can dry roast it with the lid off. Although the cuts might be identical the final product well taste different. Here, I believe, they used the old cooks secret of removing the lid during the last hour of cooking the roast. A brilliant idea that comes across wonderfully. Where as, without this process, this blend would have been a "lat-bomb" on par with some of C&D's stouter balkin blends. As it is, it is mellow and mild balkin with all the Latakia taste w/o the punch. Definitely, recommend this for any that enjoy a milder balkin that still has that Latakia taste.

This is a strange one for me to review, because to my preferences I want to rate this lower. I CANNOT do that in good conscious because this is a fantastic blend. My only issue is that it's very mild in the nicotine department despite being packed with flavour. It could be that is exactly what you are looking for if you want a smooth and mild Balkan daily smoke.

The Latakia is phenomenally nuanced with herbaceous notes that are complimented to perfection with perfect amount of spicy perique. The hay and grassy notes from the Virginias are not overpowered despite the sheer amount of Latakia in this blend. The floral sweetness from the Orientals is there to balance these flavours, but takes a backseat to them. Hood Canal is masterfully balanced, I just wish it had a little more nicotine.

4/4 - Hats off to Joe Lankford.