Svendborg Kirsberry

Svendborg - Kirsberry.

I've had a bit of a sweet tooth this week and have been enjoying an aromatic as my morning smoke with a nice cappuccino. So, I selected this when I woke today. A few days back I was enthralled by Sutliff's Hot Chocolate, after my morning pipe I smoked it non-stop for the day. Svendborg Kirsberry, is it in the same league? No.

Lets get back to the start. A fairly chunky ribbon, especially the lighter pieces, the Virginia and Burley are much coarser than the black Cavendish. Being fair, the aroma from the tin's nice, I even had my wife attest how pleasant it was! The moisture's another positive point.

On with the smoke: sure, I bet the tobaccos don't taste that bad, but I wouldn't know, the only thing I can identify are the cherries. Sour, acerbic, tart, sharp, caustic, cutting....... need I go on, LOL! The cherry flavouring has been ladled into it, leaving no room for the nuances of the tobaccos. Adding insult to injury is the burn: hot and fast. Rounding off the abysmal experience is the tongue bite: ouch!

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: pleasant.

Take this review with a pinch of salt, if you wish. It's only based on two and a half bowls as that's all I could stomach. Not recommended:

One star.

A fine blend in every aspect, well crafted with bright Virginias balanced with black cavendish and a cherry topping, but I'd say it leans more on the tart side of cherry and almost cranberry in tin note and flavour. Svendborg blends all seem to share the same "essence" (which I find quite palatable) I can only describe it as "Virginia enhanced" perhaps even compare it to what MSG does to food and I say that affectionately in this case. This blend has enough nicotine to keep me satisfied, but perhaps too much to smoke all day. Burns down to a white ash with no dottle and leaves a lovely room note. Like other Svendborg blends ive noticed this one also seems to get little attention on this forum which is unfortunate, perhaps the high price tag is a deterrent. Highly recommend to the aromatic smoker, fruit blend enthusiast or any fan of Danish tobak.

This is one of the few cherry aromatics that has a delicate taste and smokes to a dry white ash. It has a subtle room note and it doesn't bite. I would rate it 4 stars but it is not quite as good, in my opinion, as McLintock's Black Cherry.

Cherry is one of the most caustic Aromatic flavors and companies tend to douse their product into cough syrup oblivion. Admittedly, there are times when I want such a bold product (Cult's Red Moon does a good job), but Kirsberry takes a more relaxed approach.

The tin opens up into what is certainly cherry country, and it does smell like actual cherries, not some chemical vapor. The mix is evenly split between dark Cavendish and light tan Burley/Virginia, with lots of chunky bits (not hard stems, but rough torn leaves), and is thankfully not a sticky mess. The thicker bits make packing a bit trickier and I had a few bowls with uneven air flow. Once lit it smoldered on and off without getting too hot and needing relights galore, which I attribute to the aforementioned packing.

The taste is where Kirsberry shines. It is one note, but since cherry is what I came to listen to, I was happy. Non Aromatic fans will be annoyed that less of the tobacco flavor comes through, but I couldn't be happier with the clean non-artificial topping that never got too strong.

Svendborg-Kirsberry has an absolutely beautiful tin note. Deep cherry, but not much in the way of tobacco. I am fine with that, it is an aro, so I want to smell as much as taste the cherry. This blend really does do that, but the cherry leans more to the tart than the sweet for me. Very tart in fact, it burns a little hot no matter how slow I sip it. It does bite and because of this, I cannot give this blend more than 2 stars. Nic is mild, and not really noticeable to me at all. The finish leaves a lingering tartness but the room note is wonderful. I will continue my quest for a cherry aro as this one missed for me.