Watch City Cigar Rouxgaroux

Full disclosure: Ernie Q. and I created this blend, and had a fun time doing it. The red Virginias provide a lot of tangy fermented ripe dark fruit, earth and wood, along with a little bread, tart and tangy citrus and grass, and light vinegar and sugar. It also has very small floral, acidic notes as the lead components. The perique supplies an abundance of stewed plums, raisins and figs, earth and some spice as an important supporting player. The stoved Virginia offers a lot of tangy fermented, sugary stewed dark fruit, earth, and wood, and is just behind the perique in terms of its effect on the blend. The bright Virginia chips in with some tart and mildly tangy citrus and grass with a mild floral quality, sugar, and a touch of acidity and spice. There are no toppings, but a couple of Virginias were cased, one with red wine. The strength and nic-hit are medium, while the taste is a step past that mark. No chance of bite or harshness even when pushed. Has a few slight rough edges. Well balanced with a little complexity, it burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent, deeply rich, tart and more tangy fruity sweet and spicy, lightly floral flavor that translates to pleasantly lingering after taste and room note. Can be an all day smoke for the veteran piper, and it’s certainly repeatable for smokers at any level of experience.

-JimInks

First time I've been the first to review a new blend in this forum, so here goes. This is a joint venture between Ernie at Watch City and JimInks. Ernie says it's his "Simply Red" with additional Red Virginia, Perique, and some "pixie dust". I would have said "brownie sprinkles", but why quibble. The bulk weed is beautiful: ribbon cut, lots of dark red Virginia, some mottled bright Virginia color, and about 25% black flakes. These are evidently a combination of stoved Virginia and for sure a lot of perique. It is smokable right out of the bag, no drying time needed. In the bag, it smells like raisins, red wine, a little hay, and vinegar. Lighting up, you can taste the vinegar, the perique is very noticeable and on the peppery side of the spectrum. There is a little citrus and a little grass, some plum. About 1/2 way through the bowl it gets sweeter-beautiful powdery fruit sweetness-really nice; less sweet then, say, Dorchester or Marlin Flake, more subtle, more smooth. I like it, but then again I like "Simply Red". Highly recommended, try it, but please leave a little for me.

This is a long-overdue review that I did on 11/5/2019.

I had a bowl of Watch City Cigar’s Simply Red at lunchtime just so I can remind myself exactly what it tastes like.

Rouxgaroux starts off tasting like a sweeter version of SR. The perique starts very mildly and mellow.

I’m enjoying the depth of flavor in the Virginia’s and the perique is starting to work more definitely getting sweeter figgier. The additional stoved & bright Virginias give it a fuller flavor than SR. There’s a fair amount of perique too but it's so soft and mellow... sweetens without any bite. The white pepper is only just starting to develop mid-way through the bowl as is a floral scent. The entire bowl burned for over an hour with a minimum of relights.

Ernie & Jiminks collaboration really hit a Grand Slam Home Run!

The rougarou (alternatively spelled as roux-ga-roux, rugaroo, or rugaru) is a legendary creature in Laurentian French communities linked to traditional concepts of the werewolf. – Wikipedia. The President of our pipe club generously gave me two ounces of this fine Red Virginia blend the other day and I have been smoking it 3 days in a row with my Altinay Poker Meerschuam. This is one of those that the more I smoke it the more I like it. I smoke all types of pipe tobacco but the more I try blends with Red Virginia, the more I like these types. According to www.gqtobaccos.com is “Red & brown Virginias fill in the middle ground of the Virginia spectrum. Thanks to the darker leaf from the extra curing time, these tobaccos burn slower and cooler. Red Virginias hold some of the sweetness and come across as slightly fruity; the browns on the other hand, are much more nutty, woody and earthy.” This smokes cool, semi-sweet, and a little spiciness from the Perique. I could not discern the Perique very much in this smoke but found the different blend types in this tobacco to be married well with each other with none really dominating the others. Since smell and taste are subjective to the individual, I am sure there are those out there that could detect the types of tobacco in this blend for better than me. I read that some of the Virginias are cased with Red Wine – JimInks, and am sure that adds to the sweetness of the smoke but would not have known this tidbit if not reading it beforehand. Apparently, this is only sold on April 1st which 275 lbs. was sold out in 23 minutes and October 31st. I have my Outlook calendar reminder a few days prior as I would like to get my hands on a pound. Good job Ernie and Jim.

The tin note has a very noticeable vinegar probably apple cider vinegar aroma with sweet natural tobacco in the background. The smoke is really nice and you can get tartness with a mild natural sweetness. I really can pick up the bread aroma, but specifically wheat toast. Also, you definitely know there is perique in this blend bringing a nice spicy taste on the palette. Could be an all day while still having a full flavor.

Falling in love once again, this time with the 10/31/2021 release. Wonderful citrus notes lingering at the back of my palate. Thoroughly satisfying. Not to be missed.

Another excellent VaPer from Watch City . This one is a straight up mixture of their Simply red and perique with some stoved , but it really works . A well balanced blend of Virginias and perique that melds the two together instead of allowing one to dominate . Plenty of figs and prunes but the excellent Simply Red , which is very similar to 5100 , holds the fort and provides the balance . This is exactly what a good VaPer does. It's job is not create a perique bomb or a overwhelming Virginia mixture. That is not even a VaPer at all . To me this one is sort of a ribbon cut 558 giving you Watch City quality and your choice of cut . In truth , this one is not as deep as 558 but provides a similar experience . Excellent after dinner with a brandy which is how I tried it .

After searching I was able to obtain a sample of the 2022 version of this from a good friend . The bag note is Hay ,grass sweet and sour. marvelous smell . The moisture was perfect nice ribbon cut. Packs easily. You can tell from the first few puffs this is an outstanding tobacco blend. The Virginias are outstanding lots of different citrus notes melding perfectly with the perique that adds a bit of spiciness. The sweetness is all from the tobacco. This is one of the best Vapers available. It has a wonderful one of a kind retrohale. Nic hit is middle. No bite but best enjoyed if puffed gently Burns very clean to a white ash. 5 stars 🙂

Package note of spices, pungent sour and sugared raisins. Tobacco is mostly ribbon cut of dark brown, black and a little light brown. Moisture content is great. Burns moderate with few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium to full and mostly consistent, with notes of tart and tangy dark plums, savory, sugary spices, floral, fermented vinegary sour, peaty vegetation/hay, wood, stewed sweet fruit, mildly spicy, bread, rich earth, a zesty tangy citrus background note, and a peppery retro. Virginias are leading with Perique supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

This tobacco came highly recommended to me by a member of my discord, so when it became available I went ahead and purchased a pound.

Upon receiving the bag, I opened it and the first thing I noticed was a nutty tin note along with vinegar. Not McClelland type vinegar, but some other type of vinegar that definitely stings the nose a bit (It doesn't come through when lighting it though).

When I tried it fresh, I didn't think it had a whole lot of flavor when I first smoked it (Could have been a tired palate in retrospect) so I figured it would be a blend to age. As the months have passed the vinegar tin note is mostly gone at this point and what you're left with is a kind of Cocoa note, along with dark fruits (like plum/figs) and the vinegar way in the background.

When the description says that there are generous amounts of perique in the blend, they aren't lying. This has quite a bit of perique in it, you will feel it in your nose. If you have a tendency to retro a lot as you smoke, and you're not a perique fan, you may want to skip this one.

Think of Simply Red (Creamy, Coconut-like, Sweet), add some figs/plums (dark fruits), a hell of a zing on the nose, and some spice. After about 4-5 months, that's where this blend currently is.

I generally prefer blends that are not as intense on the perique, but as it ages I keep trying it and it keeps surprising me with its complexity.

I come from the cigar world, so to me, the strength of the blend struck me more on the milder side than medium +.

All in all, 3/4 stars. If You're a VaPer fan, with emphasis on perique, get some.