The second blend of our limited series is the Cervantes, a medium-strength ready rubbed blend mixed from burley and Virginias with perique. After his two years of aging it too has its homogeneous and harmonious taste, which, however, stands out from the Rocinante. It comes with a few more edges and corners, which it owes to the high burley content. In contrast to Virginia, his temperament is largely retained with the aging. In the bouquet there are sweet, bready and earthy flavors that dance in a pleasant relationship to the fruitiness and pepperiness of the continuously present perique. The Cervantes is neither an all-day smoke nor a snack, but – in keeping with American tradition – a medium-strength burley blend that reveals its complexity when you give it the time you take.
The moderately rugged burleys provide a pot full of earth, wood, various nuts, toast, light sweetness and a few dry sour notes as the lead components. They also have mild malty, chocolate, brown sugar casings. The Virginias offer a fair amount of tangy, creamy dark fruit, sugar, bread, earth, wood, some floralness, vegetation, stewed fruit, light tart and tangy citrus, sour lemon, and a few blades of grass as supporting players. The perique produces plenty of earth, wood, dried, barely sweet plums, prunes and dates along with some spice as it competes with the Virginias for the second slot. The strength, nic-hit, and taste levels just reach the medium mark. It won’t bite or get harsh. Has a little roughness. Burns clean, and a tad warm at a reasonable rate with a very consistent nutty, spicy, mildly chocolatey, fruity, toasty dry flavor that extends to the lightly lingering after taste. The room note is a little stronger. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a couple more than an average number of relights. Can be an all day smoke.
Very nice, as all HU Tabocco. I can't tell if matured is better or not here, but a succes as all HU. Woods taste, dark, Perriques and Virginia seem 50/50.
It’s a little chocolatey, I guess, like all HU Burleys, but really not very strong. I don’t consider it an aro at all. It’s really just quite a strong Bur+VA base, lots of nuts, darker roasting notes, very little tang. And then some noticeable Perique added. It gives some fruit that counterbalances the VaBur base and forms. It’s also probably the reason it evolves so much during the bowl. The second half is much darker and the fruit gives place to black pepper blasts. Pretty satisfying, nicotine wise, too. But then, I’ve only had two bowls of it, so maybe you should just ignore me.
Pipe Used: A straight billiard and a conical bowl meer
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