Charatan Rolls

This blend, though on the first smoke, wasn't quite as attractive, it took about 3 smokes to fully understand this blend. It was a sour, raisin, dried-plum quality, combined with just enough smokiness from the perique. The room note however is very rich, and fills the room. Though it seems to be well liked. I still feel as though its lacking something, perhaps a certain sweetness to mellow our the sourness from it. A solid 3 stars.

woody/earthy tin aroma not as prevalent in the smoke; ideal moisture content enables easy fold packing; the VAs dominate and the perique is hardly evident even in large bowls; smokes cool and without bite or condensation

First of all (and maybe, last for someone): Charatan Rolls is 100% clone of Peter Stokkebye - Luxury Bullseye Flake AKA No. 403. Maybe, twists from STG come to K&K manufacture and cut there to rolls. Maybe, it was just a huge bulks packed there. But the aroma and taste of both blends are identical.

Appearance: The tobacco arrived in vacuum-sealed tin, weight 50 gram. The blend was a "coins" the color of dark, mossy hay, cut of about three centimeters in diameter, and consisted of bright Virginia with small amounts of perique. The center of the coins shows a core of dark sweet cavendish, about a third of the diameter of the coin itself. The cut is very thin, less than a millimeter thick, causing the "coins" to crumble easily. The humidity of the tobacco is almost perfect, but just in case, I dried the mixture a bit.

Flavor: quite dense notes of figs and dried raisins combined with prunes and honey clearly dominate the aroma. The density of these notes is such that you can't believe the lack of flavorings in the recipe. Virginia adds light herbal tones to this bouquet, and if you sniff long enough, you might be lucky enough to catch a subtle citrus note amidst the riot of sweetness. Also, once I started smoking the blend, I sniffed what was left in the jar again and was surprised to find that the sweetish dried fruit notes had become luscious enough to shift the overall emphasis toward cocoa with a slight inclusion of vanilla.

Taste: Initially, this fresh and smooth Virginia blend with a bit of perique, softened by cavendish, doesn't give off a particularly noteworthy taste. A sweetish note of fruit, a slight herbaceous, slightly astringent flavor on the tongue, barely noticeable perique spice on the retrohale, a bit of prune from the cavendish. Gradually the spiciness of the perique on the retrohale begins to gain a little more power, light woody tones come into the overall bouquet, the overall bouquet becomes more solid - but to tell you the truth, the blend remains quite ordinary in taste. In addition to this, when fresh, it is a little harsh, as well as quite demanding to the pace of smoking - due to its rather thin cut the tobacco easily overheats. For an experienced smoker the blend smolders smoothly, coolly and very slowly, on the verge of fading - I had to use the lighter a couple of times while smoking. The tobacco in my bents was a little sweeter than the straight pipes. The strength of the blend is below average, you don't have to fear nicotine kick even when smoking a large pipe. The blend burns into a dusty, almost white ash, leaving almost no moisture in the pipe. The aftertaste is sweet and grassy, not persistent.

The tobacco smoke has a faint woody smell. It is easily weathered from the room.

What is the verdict? Comparing this blend to monsters like Dunhill (ah, sorry! - now Peterson) De Luxe Navy Rolls or Escudo is pointless. This blend has nothing common with them, being clone of another very popular blend.