John Cotton John Cotton's Double Pressed Kentucky

The flavor is smooth sort of reminds me of BBQ without any sauce. I loaded this blend by stuffing in a meer and found way too many relights. Next bowl I rubbed the tobacco and cut it almost to cubes still too many relights. Then I rubbed out a bowl to broken ribbons dried the tobacco for a bit more and filled a Kirsten and solved the relights. This flavor is a 4 star blend but for me only a 2 and ½ because of the prep

It’s taken me some time and effort to sort out John Cotton’s Double Pressed Kentucky, not because it’s hard to smoke it, rather it’s changed from pipe to pipe, according to prep, and over time, in ways that bring to mind dark VA blends I’ve come to savor. To begin at the beginning, DPK presents in its over sized tin as two chunks of pressed, dark ribbons. These chunks are about the hardness of the green foam blocks used to hold flowers in arrangements. The chunks split in one direction better than the other, but no problems breaking it up in any case. Basically, you can leave it in chunks or you can rub it out, more or less. I liked the taste better with chunks, but it smokes easier rubbed out. I’ve settled on squeezing a chunk and rolling it between my fingers to make it fit the bowl. Original tin note was “smoky”, loamy, bitter-sweet chocolate. The reason I put quotation marks on “smoky” is because it initially struck me as an “enhanced” version of “naturally” smoked tobacco. But then, I’m touchy and grumpy about this currently common practice, also this effect diminished with rest. Initially, DPK lights OK and burns down with some technique, providing a lengthy smoke. After some rest it burns slowly and evenly like a champ. Of all the pipes I tried it in I wound up preferring narrower chambers, and not too tall, either. DPK tastes and smells generally softer, darker, smokier and woodier than the KY blends I generally smoke, and it seems to me that DPK is just as much a dark VA blend as it is a dark KY blend. The lot is savory like Indian stew, a little briny, sweet and sour, with a swell, lingering aftertaste that is actually better than the best of the smoke, and not just because it’s sweeter. Speaking of sweet, I’ve come to think of DPK as a well-done, even slightly burned crème brulee that includes molasses and a little anise. It goes from mild to medium in strength as it’s smoked down, and beyond that if it’s pushed. Tastes go from mild at the light to past medium by the ½ mark. Room note is tolerable.

It may well be that DPK will attract smokers who don’t like other KY blends; it’s certainly different As it happens, I like lots of KY blends, and some of them are favorites. In the end, I find DPK to be a bit muddled, and I’m rounding it up to 3 stars, with the caveat that it needs some rest, and it may take serious consideration to get the best from it.

I rarely buy burley or Kentucky-based tobaccos. There are several reasons for this, but most of them are strictly personal, so they have nothing to do with the reviews.

I do have a few favorite blends in my collection with quite a lot of burley, however, and I don't pass up the opportunity to try a new one if I think, after careful analysis of the blend composition, that it might be suitable for me. Naturally, sometimes I'm wrong.

Double Pressed Virginia and Double Pressed Kentucky, received top marks at the 2019 Chicago show, and I was curious to try them. Of course, once the opportunity arose, I didn't miss it. Admittedly, that opportunity had to wait a couple of years.

The vacuum sealed tin I got my hands on was made at the Sutliff factory sometime in the fall of 2021. The tin contained 50 grams of dark roasted coffee-colored tobacco in a crumbly cake cut. The aroma from the can left no doubt - the tobacco contained a very large amount of Kentucky. A dense wood smell, a bit like sandalwood, a distinctive spicy smoke with a plum note, some nuttiness. In the background, hay and raisin notes of Virginia were cautiously revealed, but Kentucky certainly dominated. The double press made the tobacco seem more years old than it really was - as if it had been aged for several years.

As I lit it, I got a distinct taste of wood, smoke, plum and chestnut. Back in the 90's, when I smoked only Dutch cigarettes, the zware blends tasted exactly like that. And no wonder - they were dominated by Kentucky. But in contrast, the taste was very mild and dense. A little later, around the second third of the pipe, Virginia took over - the tobacco had bread and fruit notes, but it was still barely sweet, and the chestnut flavor intensified. The tobacco smoked slowly and very cool, leaving a small amount of moisture in the bowl and mouthpiece. The strength of the tobacco is clearly above average - the nicotine kick caught up with me on the last third of even such a small pipe. The aftertaste of the tobacco is slightly sweet, similar to the aftertaste of a mixed nut. The tobacco burns through almost completely, leaving only a bit of whitish dusty ash.

The nutty, woody smoke from the tobacco is laid down in a fairly dense carpet and takes its time to dissipate.

Bottom line: the flavor is clearly not my thing, neither is the strength, but the tobacco is significantly better than what you can use in everyday use. It seems a bit simple, but that simplicity is made up for by the amazing mildness and quality of the source material. Of course, keeping it for many years will not do anything. But it was worth buying a tin to get acquainted with it.

Tin note of barbeque and pungent sweet. Tobacco is a dark brown 1/2-inch-thick crumble cake plug. Moisture content is ok, breaks apart and rubs out with a little effort. Burns slow with more than the average number of relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and mostly consistent, with notes of smoky oak, sugar, toasted bread, leather, dry earth, floral, mildly fermented, spices, mildly sweet grass, a sweet nutty background note, and a peppery retro. Kentucky is leading with Virginia supporting. Room note is tolerable to strong, and aftertaste is great.

A crumble cake easy to rub out in chunks.

This is not as strong as some of the other DFK blends, added by the VA and much pressing.

Tastes like a nice old fashion burley blend with a dark accent.

Easy burning and cool.

Recommended for a burley puffer.