Cascadia Pipe Co. Campsite

The bright Virginia provides plenty of tart and tangy citrus, grass/hay, toast, vegetation, a fair amount of floralness, light sugar and sour lemon, and a pinch or two of spice as well as a very small acidic note. It’s the lead component. In a small support role is the tart and tangy citrusy, grassy, bready, vegetative, lightly woody, earthy, sugary orange Virginia. The red Virginia offers some fermented tangy dark fruit, earth, wood, bread, light sugar, floralness, and a minute essence of vinegar. It’s barely a step above the condiment level. I notice a very light fruity casing that reminds me of apricot. The strength and nic-hit are a slot short of the medium mark. The taste is medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, but it does sport a few small rough edges. The plug is mildly moist, and not hard to cut. It burns cool, clean and a little slow with a very consistent fruity, mildly sour, floral flavor that extends to the short lived, pleasant after taste. Leaves little dampness in the bowl. Requires a few more than an average number of relights. The room note is a slot stronger than the after taste. An all day smoke. Three stars.

-JimInks

Summary: another $15 clone of what you can get for $10 in better quality.

STG figured out that they could take their ordinary blending leaf, trick it out by pressing it into a plug, and sell it for seven times what they could otherwise achieve. "Campsite" falls short of the full-press plugs from Mac Baren and Gawith Hoggarth, but does better than the loose sloppy plugs from G.L. Pease and the odious "kake" from Sutliff. I cut plugs into thin shavings, and in that form, "Campsite" lights quickly and settles into a nice easy place. You still get the acidity of the bright Virginias, unlike with a nice UK plug, and the flavor is thin, since the leaf is relatively young. The mixture of orange, red, brown, and bright Virginias does well but falls short of C&D "Virginia Flake," which is also an acidfest but has a more naturally balanced flavor than "Campsite." I see no reason to reach for this one again, especially at luxury prices, but it is not a terrible experience especially once I dump in enough dark fired Kentucky Burley to mute the raging sugar fire and vinegar blast of the bright Virginias.

Cascadia - Campsite.

Yup, it's a solid plug that needs a firm hand to prepare, but it's more-than worth it.

It gives an amalgamation of the best of each kind of Virginia leaf. I get the fruity red, sharp bright, delectable. There's an overriding flavour of sweet dough, present throughout, this is noticeable for the entire bowl. Being negative, it can become a touch warm if puffed with too much force, but it's a beautiful smoke when taken carefully.

Nic: below medium. Room-note: lovely.

Campsite? Highly recommended:

Four stars.

I normally smoke flakes and feel this plug is not worth the extra prep work to obtain a uniform smoke. Not much flavor compared to my preferred Va/Pers. No bite or condensation but with my packing method, required many relights.

I smoke a lot of big , strong burley and Kentucky blends and the Virginias are usually paired with Perique , Latakia or Orientals so it’s nice to settle down with a straight Virginia flake a couple times a week . Straight Virginia is complex in a subtle way and this one is . I almost never rub my flake out and you can cut Campsite as thick or thin as you want. This is also good for mixing with some stronger flake if you just want to tone down some. This is a good one for the beginner that wants to explore tobaccos other than ribbon cut or aromatic blends because of it’s mild unassuming plain tobacco flavor. There are plenty of YouTube videos out there to show ya how to prepare plug for smoking.

Tin note of hay, spices, and sweet grass. The yellowish brown and tan tobacco plug is very dense. A sharp knife is needed to cut some flakes to rub out. Rubs out with a little effort. Moisture content is on the dry side. Burns slow with few relights. The strength is mild and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is mild to medium and very consistent, with notes of wood, spice, bread, sweet, tangy lemon grass, dry earth, floral, hay/vegetation, spicy, mild sour citrus, mild orange peel/zest, mildly bitter, a tart stewed dark fruit background note, and a peppery retro. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.