Wilke Pipe Tobacco Surbrug's Golden Sceptre

(3.00)
A blend of two types of burley with red Virginia and long cut Virginia topped with Latakia and perique.

Details

Brand Wilke Pipe Tobacco
Blended By John Brandt
Manufactured By John Brandt
Blend Type American
Contents Burley, Latakia, Perique, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Ribbon
Packaging Bulk
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.00 / 4
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2

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Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 09, 2021 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
As JimInks recommends, I smoked it using a pipe with a wide chamber (in my case, I used Savinelli's 121KS). I was certainly able to detect minor nuances, the presence of Perique and Latakia, but I don't know what to compare the entire blend to. I'd venture to say C&D's Oak Alley, but it doesn't seem as woody, earthy, or sour as this blend. As a whole, the main sweetness comes from the vague Virginia and Burley, followed by fine nuances of grassy and earthy.
PurchasedFrom: Wilke Pipe Tobacco
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 16, 2020 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
The smoky, woody, earthy, leathery, floral, incense-like, sweet Cyprian Latakia is the lead component, but not by much. The very nutty, earthy, woody, spicy, toasty, slightly molasses sweet and quite sour, sharp burleys also sport a bare hint of cocoa as strong supporting players. The red and lighter long cut Virginias offer a burst of very tangy ripe dark fruit, lightly tart citrus, earth, wood, bread, some grass, a little floralness and sugar along with a couple drops of honey. The Virginias are secondary stars. The very spicy, raisiny perique is just above being a condiment. The strength, nic-hit, and taste levels are medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, and barely has any rough edges. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent, well balanced, complex, mildly sweet and rather spicy, sour, floral, savory flavor that translates to the lightly lingering after taste. Has a light campfire quality, too. Leaves little dampness in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. Not quite an all day smoke, but it is repeatable. I suggest a wide bowl to capture all the nuances as well as the more obvious aspects this blend can deliver. Three and a half stars out of four.

-JimInks
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 26, 2023 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
This smells so good in the jar, looks so good, the description sounds like something I would like, and the reviews mostly paint a positive picture. Unfortunately it disappoints on the palate because of some off notes in one of the ingredients.

I ordered my two ounces in November 2020, but I have no idea of when this batch might have been prepared, and I have no idea if previous or subsequent batches have this same issue . . . only reporting on what I have.

My impression, in those first few months when this was fresh, were as follows: The predominant jar note is something sweet and creamy, followed by soft Latakia, and then the savory red Virginias. By visual inspection the Latakia doesn’t account for much of the blend compared to the red Virginia, white Burley and Perique. The Latakia doesn’t assert itself in the flavor profile either, mostly showing up as an ambient aroma. Already, from the beginning, I noted inconsistencies depending on what happened to get loaded in the bowl. Occasionally the creamy sweet flavor indicated in the jar note would come through, along with a vague impression of bran flakes, and a little tickle of spice on the retrohale. There is also a little tongue tingle related to some spice (not tongue bite). At this point, with a good bowl, I might round up to three stars and characterize this blend as a version of Crystal Palace that didn’t turn out as good. Also tends to leave a somewhat ashy aftertaste.

After letting sit in the jar for a year I tried again, with essentially the same impressions. I found the best results were using a cob with the new 6mm charcoal filters. Rating at this point: 2.5 stars. Most recent round of evaluations - for that is what they are, not smoking for any pleasure - the flavor profile now had an additional negative: some sour lactic acids and rancid bitterness that are like licking an old withered grapefruit skin.

Puzzled by the disparity between the pleasing jar note and the unpleasantness of flavor I did a bit of forensic analysis. I separated the component parts and found in order of prominence (in the batch I received) Red Virginia, white Burley, Perique, Latakia, and dark Burley. There was enough red Virginia and white Burley to try them together in a small clay pipe. They were fine – a pleasant Va-Bur combo (three stars). The others were in too small a quantity to smoke separately, so I tasted directly in my mouth. All in the name of science, as they say. Here is what I found: red Virginia has a sweetish flavor, tasting of corn flakes with a slight peppery tingle on the tip of the tongue. The white Burley was almost flavorless, with a vague suggestion of bran flakes. The large pieces of Perique were really potent. Naturally I compared them to the blending Periques I have in my blending cupboard. Leaving aside Russ Oullette’s unique white Perique as something in its own classification, I tried C&D Perique (dried mushrooms and stale black pepper), and Peter Stokkebye Perique (dried prune and vague earthy note). Neither were as potent as the Perique used here, which required a quick rinse of water in my mouth! This Perique was definitely more in the capsaicin flavor profile, without other nuances. The Latakia actually tasted pretty good, with muted smoky charcoal notes and delicious fried bacon (perhaps a drop or two of Liquid Smoke?). Some kind of processing going on there as my whole leaf Latakia doesn’t have this flavor. In any case, I like it. Lastly, the small bits of dark Burley. Oh boy, this one made me recoil, and I finally found the source of the grapefruit skin.

Let’s hope that this rogue batch of Burley has been replaced, because otherwise the blend would seem to have some promise. It’s in consideration of this being an isolated anomaly that I’ve given two stars and not one. As for my batch, I’ve tossed the rest and have moved onto enjoying a bowl of Crystal Palace so I can put this entire episode behind me!
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 13, 2022 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
The mostly white, high quality burleys and red Virginia provide a creamy smooth and slightly sweet foundation. The Latakia and perique are lightly applied condiments which add contrasting smoky and spicy-sour flavors. The whole works well as a distinctive mild-medium English style blend - one without Orientals, however. A satisfying early day and afternoon smoke. I can’t think of a close match but Stokkebye 306 comes to mind for its smooth mouthfeel and moderate Latakia.
Age When Smoked: Fresh
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