Kohlhase, Kopp und Co. KG Welcome to the Circus

This comes in a colorful tin bearing the neatest package art I have seen in a while, with a merry-go-round on it, and inside there are 100 grams of fine aromatic tobacco. It is heavily cased, so I can hardly tell from the smoke what it is. From having a look I am guessing it's Virginia rich, and given the sweetness in the smoke and the dark notes in the ribbon cut there must be some black cavendish, but rather about 1/4 - the rest being bright gold leaf. There is hardly anything to say about it, it is just a tasty, sweet - not soapy sweet, tobacco with a distinguished aroma of caramel popcorn, and a pinch of salt. The nose gives away some fruity note, but the taste is quite unique in as far the popcorn, and perhaps after it heats up a bit, mid bowl, it sort of brings back the memory of cotton candy .. or maybe I am carried away by that tin art, and my childhood memories. Non the less this is what it tastes like to me. It can bite a bit, especially if puffed on the go in an unfiltered pipe, but not quite a huge danger in that sense. The tobacco I have smoked was gifted to me by a fellow clubman, about a year or so after opening. He mentioned that tin fresh it was quite moist. Oveall, it remains sweet all the way, you can feel it on your tongue, sweet sweet sweet, no bitterness or burnt sensation. I am not sure what to make of it, it sure is a new generation type of aromatic ... I would compare its casing volume wise with the newly released Ashton - Signature Collection, which I still have a bunch of since last Christmas - I can't really wrap my head around that passion fruit aroma.

Tobacco comes quite moist. I let it dry for ten to 15 minutes.

The cut is a mixture but mostly good in size. Some pieces might need a little tearing up.

Bright yellow and darker brown Virginias next to black Cavendish. Looks OK. The little card in the tin says "Virginia / Black Cavendish / Broke Virginia".

Now to the interesting part:

The Smell Very intense and very sweet. Mostly caramel. My tobacco has been jarred for 3 months now. So maybe the fresh tins, which are not air tight, smell differently. But there is a very distinct fruity scent. Maybe citrus but it's really hard to tell. Honey aroma might be hidden in the sweetness of the casing.

The smoke itself is uncomplicated for a Virginia based aromatic. It just doesn't like to be pushed. I prefer to smoke it in small bowls. Firstly I smoke this tobacco extra slow for maximum taste and minimum tongue burn, so it's quite along smoke. Secondly the taste and room note can become annoying.

The taste is a lot of Black Cavendish and caramel. After a while I can taste the lemon too with retrohaling. The grassy Virginias add a little tobacco taste. In the middle of the bowl I reach a very nice level of complexity. Seems like finally all the ingredients see eye to eye now. Honey, if you are there I would think you are maple sirup for sure.

Leaves some dottle and little moisture.

The star attraction is the deeply rich, creamy caramel followed by plenty of honey. The various fruit toppings include lemon, orange, and what appears to be mango. A little baking spice is evident as well. The Virginias produce mild grass, tart citrus, sugar, bread and spice. The are a slot above being a condiment. The sugary, toasty back cavendish is mostly in the background as an obvious contributor. The strength is medium, while the taste is a step past that level. The nic-hit is a couple of notches past the mild mark. No chance of bite or harshness, and barely sports a hint of a rough edge. Burns cool, clean and a tad slow with a mostly consistent flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is very pleasant. It has tad much punch to be an all day smoke, but it is certainly repeatable. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks