Wilke Pipe Tobacco Royal Admiral

Full disclosure: I had an advisory hand in creating this blend. The musty, incense-like Cyprian Latakia produces a fair amount of smoke, earth, wood, herbs, vegetation, floralness, and mild spice as the lead component. The yenidje offers some earth, wood, floralness, herbs, smoke, with some dry sourness and light sweetness as a supporting player. The flue cured bright Virginia provides a lot of tart and tangy citrus, grass, bread, some sugar, mild floralness, and a couple pinches of spice in the third slot. The creamy, sugary, toasty black cavendish has a small effect. The Jamaican rum topping mildly tones down the tobaccos. The strength and nic-hit are a step past the medium threshold. The taste is a notch past that mark. Won’t bite or get harsh, and has very few rough notes. The tobacco is mildly moist, and I saw no need to dry it. Well balanced, it burns cool and clean at a slightly slow pace with a very consistent creamy sweet, fruity, smoky, floral, mildly spicy, savory, campfire flavor that extends to the mildly lingering, pleasant after taste. The room note is a slot stronger. Leaves little dampness in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. A semi-aromatic English. Not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable. Four stars.

-JimInks