Cascadia Pipe Co. Open Water

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.