Solani 127: Green Label

WOW! I really like this one. I haven't smoked a apple blend in many years so I decided to give this one a shot. I'm very glad I did. The Apple topping is very light but I'll tell you what they nailed a Granny Smith right on the head. This has got to be the most natural tasting fruit essence I've ever encountered. The aroma is that of a freshly sliced green apple. I did not find the blend to be overly sweet as other reviewers have noted, in fact I taste only a mild sweetness with mild tobacco flavors shining through. The moisture was perfect right out of the tin. I've smoked quite a few bowels over the last couple of days and experienced no bite. Very highly recommended.

I smoked the "three colours" of Solani right after another and found them so similar with each other that I ended up copying pretty much the same review for them all. They are all flavoured, fruity, sweet aromatics on the mild, easy to smoke side, reminding me of Peterson's Connoisseur's Choice, but with different set of flavours and toppings. And for that very reason they don't do much to me; the tin note is exquisite, the room note enjoyable, they pack, light and burn well - the consistency of large, dry flakes varying from light yellow to black is delightful actually - but the smoking experience... While nothing wrong with it per se, leaves one with a certain feeling of artificiality, of everything not being 100% true to nature. Therefore, while an enjoyable smoke in itself, not really something I would be dying to have again anytime soon.

For me, Green is clearly the weakest link in the trio. Apple is usually not my favourite topping and here it's actually a little bit overpowering, swinging from artificial chewing gum flavour to over-ripe cider. Lacking the burley of Blue and Red, the tobacco blend underneath also feels a bit pungent and sharp; tongue bite is clearly the most pronounced in Green, though still easily redeemed by slowing down the pace of puffing a bit. All in all, a 2-star that's actually leaning on one.

For my part, being "too aromatic" and a somewhat pricey brand to boot, Solanis can stay on the shop shelf in the future. I can heartily recommend them to fans of fruity aromatics though, you'll like it more probably than not.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the tin was heavy, sugary apple scent. Inside the tin, the tobacco was also wet as if it was pickled with sugar. When I smoked it down, it left sticky substances on the Bowl wall.

I didn't taste much of tobacco in this one, but I'm an aromatic smoker, so it wasn't much of a problem. The heavy scent of the apple is very light when you actually smoke it, so that was a bit of disappointment. Burnt down without a problem, no tongue bite, but again, I couldn't taste much of apple as it smelled.

Like the tin aroma suggests, this tastes a lot like green apples. It's hard for me to get other notes from it, other than some faint background virginia fruityness, maybe. Fortunately it is quite pleasant and tasty for an apple flavoured aromatic, so kudos for that! Smoke slowly or it might misbehave.

My first tin of this was smoked on a daily basis, but I wouldn't do that again if I happened to buy a tin for variety's sake... good as a change of pace!

Recommended!

Having smoked and loved the X - Sweet mystery, I decided to give this one a go. The scent is promising and very much alike to the sweet mystery, just a little stronger on the casing. The smoke is a bit sweeter than SM and the apple taste is there alright. However after smoking for 20 minutes or so, it implant a strange weird taste in my mouth. I can't describe it but it isn't pleasant. I never had the problem before with any other aromatic blends so perhaps it's my body chemistry conflicting with the tobacco formula. The room note is fantastic just like SM and I'll certainly enjoy this blend had that taste stop plaguing my mouth.

To begin, if there were a rating betweet 2 and 3 stars I'd probably give this about a 2.5. This tobacco has some good things about it. Not that this matters, but this blend looks AMAZING in the tin. The Burley Virginia and Cavendish mix make it very visually appealing. On top of that, the apple scent upon opening the tin makes you (if you like apples and enjoy aromatics) water at the mouth. This tobacco, in my opinion, does have some drawbacks.

First off, the casing is a little too strong for my taste. You do get a bit of that "soapy" taste in your mouth just smelling this tobacco. I'm not talking lakeland, floral soapy. I mean like... strong hand soap/cologne soapy (not that its that strong once packed in the pipe). I also have to let the tobacco dry out quite a bit, as it is packed and shipped pretty moist. The high moisture, heavy casing, as well as a few other things make this tobacco tend to bite a bit. This is true especially if you puff quickly. I find that if you get a bowl of this too hot you will end up with not only a sore tongue, but a horrible aftertaste in your mouth.

I do think that if you smoke this slowly and in small quantities it can be a very pleasant, social tobacco. It has a very pleasant smell (once its burning) and the tobaccos are really top quality. Therefore i'll go ahead and give it three stars instead of two.

Nice wouldnt smoke it all the time,but worth having around

This is the first tobacco I smoked in a pipe. Now that I have smoked some others, I feel that I can now review this properly. First - Pop the top and you smell the distinct pungent odor of apple flavored tobacco. Visually, it looks nice in the tin...although a touch moist. Best if dried out to prevent steaming of the tounge and gurgling in the pipe. Packs well but need one or two relightings about mid-bowl. It burns hot, but I am a quick puffer. The taste that you get is definately sweet. But you the big draw back is that this tobacco is overly cased. It just was too much. I hate to say that it, but it tasted.....well that chemical taste when there is too much artificial flavor added. I wanted to love it, but I couldn't. If someone offers you some, go a head and try a pipe full....you might like it. It unfortunately will not be something I will buy again. Next time I want an apple, I will just buy a slice of pie.

You have to give this tobacco credit: It delivers what it promises. Both the can description and aroma speak of apple, and this definitely tastes like a Granny Smith -- I can even feel the juice dribble down my chin. But, it is like biting into several apples at once, the taste sensation is so strong it covers up any tobacco flavor which it might otherwise have offered. And the apple tartness carries through the entire smoke. If biting into a fresh-picked apple is your cup of tea, unfortunately not mine, than this is a smoke for you. Easy to light, doesn't bite, stays lit, nice white powdery ash residue. I just found the apple flavoring too much to handle. But, all was not lost. I mixed this with an equal amount of detested Half & Half and came up with not too bad a smoke. Saved having me to throw both of them out.