Watch City Cigar Double Barrel

The mixed Virginia ribbons are cured in Demerara Rum. They comprise half the blend as they barely take the lead. The Virginias provide a big burst of tart and tangy citrus, plenty of grass and toast, some sourly tart lemon and sugar, a little hay and floralness, a mild amount of tangy dark fruit, earth, wood, and light acidity along with a couple pinches of spice. Ernie’s earthy, woody, mildly nutty Original Crumb Cut also has light molasses and cocoa, sugar, smoke, a touch of anise (from a casing), light spice, and a slight floral note. Cured with Jefferson Reserve Bourbon, the OCC is a close competitive team player. Infused with a burnt sugar seasoning, the Gawith & Hoggarth Black Cavendish offers a fair amount of brown sugar, earth, wood, light smoke and floral aspects with small hints of leather, sourness and spice, indicating a smidgeon of Cyprian Latakia is present. It’s in the third position. The vibrant Jefferson Reserve Bourbon topping is a step more obvious than the rum with a little malted barley, rye, butterscotch, brown sugar, light spice, and plenty of oak. The lightly savory, middlingly sweet Demerara Rum makes itself ably known, and its aspects include several spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and peppers), wood, toast, some creamy, sugary molasses, light vanilla as well as touches of tart lemon and Granny Smith-like apple. These toppings along with the burnt sugar on the black cavendish (which helps creates some spice with the rum) moderately sublimate the tobaccos. They also help structure a rather complex, well balanced, very consistent, deeply rich, creamy sweet and mildly savory, lightly spicy, floral flavor.

The strength and nic-hit are medium. The taste level is a notch past that mark. There’s no chance of bite or harshness, but the spice is slightly tingly. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable rate. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. The pleasantly lingering after taste accurately reflects the flavor. The room note is pleasant, too. Can be an all day smoke for the veteran aro-smoker, and repeatable for the lesser experienced. Four stars out of four.

-JimInks

Inasmuch as I have a palate more accustomed to Englishes/Balkans, this is quite different. It’s more of a VA with a little extra, but I can’t call it an aromatic per se. Given my limitations, all I can add is that I like it and will make it part of the weekly rotation. Very tasty.

The topping is noticeable early on and fades throughout the bowl. The Virginia is more noticeable than the burley in this blend as it smokes with a light body and nicotine level. Very enjoyable light aro that tastes much more like tobacco than topping. Smokes very easily when dried a bit. Best pouch smell award for 2020.

WCC Double Barrel is a beautiful VaBur that will please Virginia and Aromatic fans alike with its many different flavor notes Upon opening my sample I am greeted with the aroma of freshly baked pretzel with sweet bready notes. At the same time I can smell the liquor toppings, nutmeg, cinnamon, raisins, and a nuttiness. The tobacco is ribbon cut with a few larger pieces, and was just a hair on the moist side but did not need any drying.

Many of the wonderful aromas can be found while smoking this blend. Sweet and salty pretzel, cinnamon, nutmeg, the bourbon and rum. The VAs offer bread notes, sweetness as well as hay and citrus. The Burley offers nuttiness and molasses, and the cavendish brings caramel and brown sugar. The flavor profile changes as you smoke. About the halfway point the toppings slowly begin to step back but are present throughout the smoke. Throughout the smoke the flavors bounced around and every puff was different, yet every note mentioned could be found in every puff at the same time. Sometimes the bread note shined through the brightest, other times the cinnamon and so on. I feel like the word complex can sometimes sound negative, but in this case it is the opposite.

The tobacco was well behaved. I only needed one or two relights and the blend never got hot or bit me, and I smoked this one a little faster than usual trying to discover the many different flavors it had to offer. It burned down to a very fine grey ash and left a dry bowl. This blend screams holidays, but would be appropriate any time of the year.