Von Eicken Springwater Exotic Cut

Since my son tried Springwater cigarettes and liked them, I decided to try this aromatic which represented quite a departure from my usual VA & Va/Perique flakes. It wasn't a bad trip. I'd classify this blend as a coarse cut of golden VAs and deep black cavendish with some brown, broken flakes included in smaller measure. I had to adjust my packing technique to avoid numerous relights and even @ my best, they were more frequent that with my flakes. The pouch aroma was artificailly sweet and reminded me of a Hershey chocolate with almonds candy bar. Even though the original moisture content was satisfactory, a wet smoke resulted but I find this typical of many heavy aromatics. However, even as the pouch tobacco dried out, a cool smoke without bite was enjoyed and the room aroma accepted by non-smokers. This is one of the better aromatics I've tried and the Germans certainly generally beat out the US drug store blends in this category. However, if you want tobacco taste and a stronger smoke, you might want to skip this blend. I'll just reserve it for a change of pace or when in company.

Springwater is now long gone. Originally produced by Von Eicken and then taken over by Dan Tobacco at some point in the early 2000's. A blend of golden sun-cured Virginia ready rubbed flakes and Black Cavendish that has been cased with Almond. Yes, it sounds cliche' but the overall presentation was a bit nutty. I did enjoy the the Vrginia flavor that came through and that did not surprise me because Dan Tobacco knows its Virginia. A marvelous smoke for those who enjoy aromatics and almonds.

I did smoke this regularly and found it to be a very 'tasty' and pleasant smoke. However, I found that old stocks of this tobacco dry out quickly and it looses the better qualities.

This is a aromatic who remembers me the AC Peterson`s Kentucky bird. In the tin you can find some "not tobacco" pieces. Springwaters burns easy, with a great aroma for your "audience", very low in nicotine, but a lot of flavor. If you are a aromatic`s fan this is you blend, but if you not... stay away!

I thought it was high time I move away from my beloved oldstyle American blends for a time and expand my venues. The best way to do so, I surmised, was to pick up a pouch of something totaly off of the beaten pipe path as far as my smoking ventures are concerned. This should be about as far off as I could get, but this is not to say that I did not like it, quite the oppisite. I was amazed at how good a heavy aromatic blend such as this could be simply by having a virginia base as opposed to the low grade burley so often employed in such mixtures.

With that Virginia base supporting the high grade black cavendish, a winning combination and full complexity were established from the start and remained throughout the bowlfull. The sauce that was liberally doused over the blend(Lord only knows what 'manilla' is supposed to refer to)was not at all cloying, acrid, or overtly artificial tasting to my palate. Be assured it was bright and fruity and thuroughly pleasent throughout. Even better, though I suspected from the very beginning that Springwater would contain a more than generous dose of glycol, within but a few days of opening the pouch I found the contents had gone bone dry. It would seem that even preservative additives had been put on with a light hand.

All in all, Springwater has served to cement a precept that I have had for some years with my occasional ventures into German tobacco: there's aromatics, and then there's German aromatics.

Regards, A. Morley Jaques