John Cotton John Cotton's Double Pressed Dark Fired

The earthy, woody, floral, spicy, rather dry, sour, nutty, tart dark fired Kentucky is the lead component. The earthy, woody, tangy dark fruity, mildly citrus sweet Virginias are a secondary player. They are a couple of notches below the support level. The sweet burleys provide some earth, wood, and nuts. They are as obvious as the Virginias. There is a mildly tart vinegar/barbecue casing. The strength is a couple of rungs past the medium mark. The taste level is a step past that. The nic-hit is medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, though there are a few small rough notes. The plug is fairly easy to break apart, and may need a light dry time. Burns cool, clean, and slow with a very consistent, deeply rich sweet, spicy, floral, campfire flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. Requires a fair number of relights. The room note is pleasant to tolerable. Not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable.

-JimInks

John Cotton - John Cotton's Double Pressed Dark Fired.

Note: this was from Tobaccopipes.com and arrives in a black tin, marked John Cotton's Double Pressed Dark Fired. Unlike the tin pictured here.

My tin held a single block of kake, dark brown in colour, a few brighter specks, and a wonderfully tangy aroma; very reminiscent of the McClelland ''ketchup'' aroma. A course ribbon, very coarse, can be achieved with a delicate touch, and then it's ready to go!

The smoke? PERFECT for cooler weather; suiting the onset of Autumn. The tangy, BBQ-esc, slightly astringent Kentucky accounts for the majority of the smoke; unequivocally, IMO. I notice a far lower proportion of Virginia. If ''deliberately'' looked for there's a very subtle fruit nuance, maybe a little hay, but nothing that seems particularly preeminent and jumps out; the Kentucky rules the roost! On a whole the smoke has a pleasant, to me, touch of vinegar; making it vibrant and fervent. How does it burn? Perfectly; slow, even, cool. I doubt it'd bite anyone!

Nicotine: quite strong. Room-note: also quite strong!

Double Pressed Dark Fired? After a quarter bowl I ordered another few tins to cellar! Highly recommended:

Four stars.

John Cotton
Double Pressed Dark Fired

This is a fairly strong blend. The main player here is the dark-fired Kentucky with Virginia in the supporting role.

There is some sweetness and a strong but pleasant room note. Not pleasant like an aromatic but you know just fine. On my palate the KY comes across as mildly astringent though it’s an interesting and strong tobacco. There is a goodly presence of nicotine so arguably best on a full stomach.

I’d say this isn’t as nuanced or tasty as Jack Knife Plug but it’s a decent blend. A solid 3 stars out of 4.

20230313: losing a star for better 'autopilot' options. I'm not really trying to write a review every time I smoke, most of the time I just want to enjoy a smoke and not think too much about it. It just isn't as interesting as some other options for that purpose.

Tin note: raisins, more specifically though chiles which smell like raisins, either pasilla or guajillo, can't remember. Incredible. Smoke: This is some sort of wizardry. I have a very sensitive mouth, and getting a tobacco going can quickly begin to burn my mouth. Somehow, even puffing like a madman trying to get it going produces no stinging whatsoever.

I get some sweetness, dark fruit, nuts, it's quite mellow and none of these flavors are especially pronounced. Maybe something barbecue adjacent, more of those chiles, but virtually no smoke/campfire (unfortunately). Not detecting a ton of Virginia influence, but the fruit probably comes at least partially from that component. I think the interplay between VA and DFK is causing that raisin-like chile note.

The plug is relatively dry and of a weird consistency, almost like shards of dry clay. I can't imagine wanting to dry it. I think the nicotine level is right about where I want it, feeling pretty good a little ways into the bowl without being overpowered, but I'm heading that way. Wouldn't want or need to smoke two bowls of this back-to-back, leaving the next slot open to something milder. This is definitely in the top of my arbitrary "non-aromatic non-smoky burley-forward blend" class, and easily deserves four stars.