Wilke Pipe Tobacco Hearth of Galway

The appearance is a coarse ribbon cut. The blend was not aged, so all tobaccos retain their color, from lemon to almost black - and are very distinguishable. The description suggested that the latakia was about half here, and the appearance confirmed that fact. I'm wary of "latakia bombs," but that's not why I waited a month and a half to look at this tobacco.

Flavor. Overall, I can call the result overwhelming. I don't know what kind of Cyprus latakia and where the author took it, but considering the fact that, according to what I know, it's almost half in the recipe, I was expecting the most powerful latakia explosion. However, this did not happen. Light notes of tar, smoke and tanned leather harmonize with notes of hay, bread and, for some reason, cherries. Much less noticeable role is played by the aroma of hazelnut and the smell of earth from the burley. Complemented by a faint fruity acidity, a little thyme and a drop of honey.

Taste. The blend certainly lets you know who's in charge here - sweet-smoky latakia. However, its quantity and pressure are heavily subdued by the cavendish, which brings berry and wine notes to the base of the bouquet, spicing up the base with a drop of dark honey and a crumble of pungent pepper. Faintly perceptible notes of Virginia flavors - bread, hay, caramel and lemon - build up slightly as you smoke, intertwining with the ensemble of latakia and cavendish. Burley, to my pleasure, almost does not show itself, giving only a slight earthiness on the tongue and barely noticeable nutty flavor. Initially the tobacco has a slight roughness, but by the second third of the pipe this is gone, and you expect an extremely soft smoke. Nevertheless, I must admit that despite its softness and quite playful flavor, the blend should not be classified as a "dessert tobacco" at all. It is a full-bodied tobacco with a slightly above average strength which even in big pipes can remind you of what a nicotine hit is (much to my regret, because it is in big pipes that this blend reveals itself the best). The blend smokes cool, burning into a light gray dusty ash and leaving a drop or two of moisture in the pipe. The aftertaste of the tobacco is sweet and woody, with a slight hint of smokiness.

The smoke has the same flavor as the main notes of the tobacco, sweet and smoky, quite light, it fills the room with its aroma for a long time.

Bottom line: I'm delighted! I'm ready to smoke just this blend for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and will absolutely be ordering it again. Burley in it does not annoy me, there is exactly as much of it as I think is acceptable to me. By the way, my wife, who, unexpectedly for women, smokes English blends and loves Islay whiskey, gave me a very good comparison. "It's like you're smoking Lagavulin!" - she said after trying Hearth of Galway, and the combination of this blend with the aforementioned whiskey was just perfect.