Cascadia pipe Co.'s tobacco offerings are all presented in plug form making them ideal for people who enjoy outdoor activities since plug tobaccos stay moist longer. Open Water is a great option for those who prefer aromatic pipe tobaccos. This solid plug of select Virginias and hearty burley is treated to a subtle and fragrant dose of fruit essence that's not overly sweet. It's a medium-bodied blend that's remarkably satisfying and will be a fantastic choice for aromatic fans while on the go. When you're ready to relax around the campfire with a pipeful that you'll savor along with the people around you, open a tin of Cascadia Pipe Co. - Open Water.
The Virginias provide a fair amount of tart and tangy citrus, grass, bread, sugar, some tangy stewed dark fruit, earth, wood, vegetation, very mild floralness, and a couple of pinches of spice. They are the lead components. The burleys offer plenty of nuts, earth, wood, light sugar and molasses as a supporting player, though its effect varies a tad throughout the experience. The fragrant berries and plum toppings are not as subtle as the description claims. They have some potency, and moderately sublimate the tobaccos. The strength, nic-hit, and taste levels are just shy of the medium mark. Won’t bite or get harsh, and has very few rough notes. The plug is moderately dense, and is easy to cut. It may require some dry time, though I did not do that. Burns clean, cool, and slow with a fairly consistent, fragrantly fruity, nutty flavor that extends to the lightly lingering, pleasantly after taste. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires a fair number of relights. The room note is pleasant to tolerable. Not an all day smoke.
Summary: a typical aromatic, minus the Cavendish, pressed into a loose plug of mostly bulk Burley.
Whether you claim to love or hate aromatics, some are better than others, and most are basically air fresheners that you can burn in your pipe so the people around you stop complaining about that sulfurous manure pile of an English blend you love. This one consists mostly of white Burley and young dark Burley, the standard pile that has low labor costs so makes up the bulk of most aromatics and RYO, with enough bright Virginia to give it some natural sweetness. On top of this, someone liberally poured a berry cocktail to that me tastes mostly like your industry-standard cherry blend with a few oddities like pineapple or persimmon tossed in to make it "unique" and "different." Like most loose plugs, it cuts a bit unevenly but burns easily even if you cut it in thicker slices, but the topping mostly burns off quickly with the remnant turning medicinal, while the Burley flavor dominates, having absorbed both Virginia and topping but not really amplifying them, more like dropping a heavy dose of roasted grain and nuts trail mix on top of them. This would be decent as a low-cost aromatic to compete with "Captain Black," but as a high-priced boutique blend, it falls short of the mark.
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