The Country Squire Tobacconist Shepherd's Pie

The Latakia is in the front on this blend. Does what its supposed to - adds a smokey aspect that is nice with a Lat blend. The VA was right behind it though. Moreso than most English blends typically. The cavandish is there, but not as evident for me. It melds the flavors a bit though.

Leaves a tad bit of moisture with no dry time and is a cool smoke throughout. Nicotine burn started about halfway through but not bad or off-putting.

This is an ok blend. It is something good on its own. If I am going to have cavandish in an English then I prefer Boswell's English crossovers. The cavandish in those do more for me.

2.5 stars

Several smokers I know have had a fairly positive (as in three stars) response to this, but I find it a disjointed concoction. I’ve tried in cobs, wide and narrow briars, and a meer, and although the balances changed slightly the overall impression was of disharmony of ingredients. Yes, there’s an almost addictive goodness to the blend, but this is negated by some underlying off-putting funkiness. Here’s a typical bowl for me . . .

Jar note is faintly earthy (Burley) with a whiff of Latakia. First flame has a mild soapy hit then subsides. The Latakia is more on the woody side than on the creosote side, so that’s good. Flavors settle into a mild Va-Bur profile, with some chocolate undertones, and I get some of the same Nutty Buddy flavors I found in Old Toby. Don’t get me started on the “Flavoring: none” problem on this site. Some of you have probably tried unprocessed leaf, if not, as an introduction to this topic, I suggest you take three minutes to watch Jeremy Reeves describe the difference between casing and flavoring (or topping). I also use the term pH tempering for the most basic remediation with just sugar water (but even that is not so straightforward as we ask whether the sugar has been inverted or not). Well, boutique blenders who are not manufacturers, like Boswell, Country Squire, Wilke, etc., are buying pre-processed tobaccos that have already been tempered and cased from the likes of Sutliff or Lane, and then doing their own blending. It is only if the end blender adds any flavoring (topping) that we see this listed as flavoring on TR. For example: C&D Burley Flake #5 is described on TR as “Flavoring: None” yet it is cased with rum, anise, and maple.

But back to the saga: By mid-bowl the Yin or Yang battle begins as to whether this will be a mild comforting blend or something more savory, because once the sweetness recedes the Burley starts imparting more bitterness and the Latakia is tasting more like cooking grease. The net result to me tastes like having chocolate sauce on a nice savory steak. Something also tastes like the initial processing of the leaf (the pH tempering) wasn’t complete. I’ve actually experimented with using tiny amounts (less than 5%) of uncased leaf just for ‘complexity’ and that works if the other flavors are strong enough to counterbalance. Anyway, Shepherd’s Pie just doesn’t seem a good synergy of ingredients. It also left a bit of funky stink in my briars, so if you are determined to try this start out with a meer (which should be wiped clean after each use anyway), or stick with cheap cobs.

As an afterthought: if you like Boswell’s Northwoods more than I do, you are probably more receptive to this idea of combining sweet casing (with chocolate notes) and savory flavors. If so you may love Shepherd’s Pie!