Solani 369: Blue Label

I respect tobacco blends too much to pull any punches and I always tell it like it is, this is one unique tobacco. Most know that I can find good in almost any kind of tobacco and I smoke most types on a regullar basis and not any one type specifically. So I feel very qualified to review this blend. First it is very unique in that it is a perique blend using an aromatic as a base, and it does contain one heck of a lot of perique, the spiceyness of the Perique is present from start to finish. The base is a mix of virginia and burley and cavendish and a topping that seems to be a mix of different flavors with a berry like backdrop but with a room note smelling like apricots with a touch of spicyness almost like smelling ppeach cobbler cooking. It was an unusual combination yes, but not a bad one at all, just not what I expected it to be. I am smoking it out of a 100 gram rectangular tin that is very nice in it's presentation being mostly silv er with a little blue on it and the sealed foil pouch inside is a gold foil like bag holding the tobacco which is like a broken flake but more rubbed out. The tobacco is dark in color going from dark khaki to very dark brown almost black. My tin has eight years of age on it, and it is still very moist in the pouch. Almost too moist.

I feel that some drying would be nice but I hesitate to do that as I don't want to lose any of the very rich flavor of the tobacco itself. It is very full and bold and spicey and to lesson the strength would mske it just a run of the mill aromatic, which in this case it is not. Obviously you must like aromatics to appreciate it and also love perique as well. it smokes very nice and each puff is a burst of flavor. I have read though some are surprised by this bend, the tin art does say cavendish as well as burley and va which shoulld be an indication to some but they really should put on th tin, the labels says nothing about using a dark cavendish nor the fact that that it is v ery aromatic.

Uout of the pich it does smoke a little wet with numerous relights, but that is OK as it lights easily. It smokes down to the bottom of the pipe well but does leave a touch of residue on the bottom of the pipe which is why I am not giving it a four star rating. But this is a blend worth trying and I will hve no problem smoking what I have.

how much nicotine is there in this - i did get quite the sweats after smoking it.

flavor came thru on every 10 draws but first time in this pipe. had tried their festival much stronger sharp flavor

sweet mystery sweet but also sweats - seems solani has some not so pleasant nicotine issues.

Won a couple of tins of this on eBay. Looks like they have a bit of time on them. Made with obvious quality tobaccos. Yes it's an aromatic but not overdone. Tastes good, smells great and it burns cool. What's not to like? The perique is really only condimental here. Good change of pace for me. Smoked a tin in less than one week,that should say something. I guess.

It has a VERY sweet berry-akin taste that is a lot like the casing on x sweet mystery except this blend is not as good.

x sweet mystery is better given the choice. so try that if your looking at solani

Taste good wouldnt smoke it all the time but very nice when company around.

This is the tobacco I smoke when I want something floral and girlie. No, really, I mean that. This tastes like potpourri, but not if you stuck potpourri out of the girlie store into your pipe; but more like, if you took the essence of all the good things about potpourri out of the girlie store and were able to distill it into a pipe tobacco and smoke it. It's fun, pleasant to smoke, easy on everyone around you in terms of odor out of the tin before it's on fire, and odor out of the pipe when it's on fire, and odor out of the ashtray after it's done being on fire. It's not "really" a "real man's" tobacco, but those of us who are confident in our masculinity are comfortable wearing pink shirts and smoking Solani Blue. 🙂

I do see how people might feel misled. The can description is far from the smoking experience. It's a cherry-based casing of some sort, not unlike a lot of the Christmas odors that pop up around holiday season. One of my tobacconists has a cherry-plus-Latakia thing she calls "Flambeau," which is her name for a standard Lane's creation that I'm sure plenty of y'all have smoked. Orientals like Latakia would not be your first instinct to combine with a sickly-sweet casing like cherry flavoring, but when you think about it, they kind of "cancel" each other while also "complementing," just as does that pink gooey sweet-and-sour sauce that they put on Peking Duck at cheap Chinese restaurants. Know what I mean? I like it. Then again, I like eating at cheap Chinese restaurants, and I always found potpourri in my girlfriend's lingerie drawer quite pleasant, too. Guess I'll go put on my pink shirt now, and wear it to lift some weights and open some doors with my skull.

I filled my pipe with this and tasted first without lighting. Reminded me of hazelnuts. Quite pleasant. Upon lighting a somewhat fruity taste. Yah, it was good. My son sitting next to me enjoyed the room note (even though on our smoking porch) and said he wanted to give that a try. He and I will enjoy next time home.

Cheers.

Still laughing about Pipestud's review - especially about the potpourri - I think this is a tobacco to smoke when you are in the mood for something completely different. I think it is a good tobacco, does not bite and goes to grey ashes. Now and then I smoke this tobacco, my wife loves the smell of it in the room. It is very sweet and it tastes like it smells. For aromatic lovers a must-try I think.