Peter Heinrichs Curly Special

Tin note of barbeque, spices and musty vegetation. Tobacco is cut into thin 1/2-to-3/4-inch coins of yellowish tan and dark brown. Moisture content is great. Coins rub out with little effort. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and very consistent, with notes of grassy, zesty, oak smoky, herbal, spice, slight bitter, plum, spicy, acidic, peaty vegetation, wood, toast, dark dried fruit, floral, mild vinegary sour, mildly savory, a tart and tangy citrus background note, and a peppery retro. Virginias Flue-Cured and suspected Fire-Cured) are leading with Perique supporting. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Presentation: Unabashedly simple tin, but still nice.

Cut: Comes in small coins that rub out into a long, fine ribbon cut. Moisture level is perfect.

Tin note: Smells like sweet cedar.

Tasting notes: Sweet, smoky hay. Sometimes tart on the finish. There is a decent amount of spice that comes and goes. Pretty mild in the flavor department.

Mechanics: Although the coins are small and will fit well in the pipe, I still recommend rubbing it out before packing. Maybe I was not doing it right, but I did not have as good of an experience when stacking the coins into my pipe and smoking.

Extra Remarks: This blend is similar to Orlik Golden Sliced except I find no spice in Golden Sliced. Not quite full enough or complex enough to be my cup of tea, but a good blend nonetheless. 3 stars.

I like the cut of the blend as it makes for easy packing. I've broken it up to try against just packing the discs and I favor just loading the discs. I theorize it may slow down the burn rate a little which is important to me for this blend.

I've been smoking a lot of highly regarded leaf lately. This one really does hold its own. It's got some Red Virginia tang which could also be the perique, but it reminds me more now of the tang I get from Carolina Red Flake a tad subdued, but very familiar. It feels more tangy red virginia in essence so the perique is really an enhancement to a red virginia forward taste. So, it's an ideal blend as not to interfere with the tang type red virginia taste much, if any. at all. It's as perfect of an almost perfect taste of Virginia as many flake's. It's consistent is what I mean, and there's no moments I have an experience of, "there's that perique". It's blended subtle into the virginia profile as an enhancement to the overall flavor which I find absolutely ideal as a pure virginia lover.

I really have to manage my technique here, so a few re-lights are the conservative way to enjoy this blend. It's really tasty and easy to forget though and if I pull and puff to much, my tongue will know it.

With McClelland out of the picture, this is one that I find comparable in high quality Virginia without a doubt. I'll probably give it 3 stars though because I really have to slow down my cadence to properly not suffer any sand tongue.

If I wouldn't know better, I'd think this is OLD LOUISIANA MIXTURE by Motzek. Got a generous sample of this, and the first thought when taking a sniff on the backy is "this is Old Louisiana?!?!" OLM has some Burley and Cavendish in it too, but really, the smell is EXACT the same. The taste differs a bit, but we'll get to that later.

Not to be confused with "Curly Block", this is a different blend. The smell from the bag is buttery, spicy with hints of pepper and a gentle sourness. The Curlys are beautiful and well crafted, and copious present. Only a few ribbons of loose tobacco to be found.

Pleasure to pack, easy to light, needs some relights but rather good burning characteristics imo.

Curly Special's taste is 90% like Motzeks Old Louisiana Mixture! The Virginias and Perique melt into a surprisingly different flavour, than you'd expect from your average Va/Per. This isn't fruity, like a lot of Perique blends are. It's deep spicy. Good pepper from the Perique melts with the buttery, decently earthy and only slightly sweet Virginias. Also hints of raisins can be found, which I think are from the Perique. Like OLM this is VERY buttery in taste, very rich and refined. A tad of nuttiness is also present throughout the smoke, but not as intense as in OLM.

Taste-wise, OLM ad Curly Special are REALLY(!) close to eachother, and if I wouldn't know better, I'd think this is the exact same mixture. Heinrichs gets their blends are mainl produced by K&K (Curly Block f.e. is produced by Mac Baren), but Motzek produces them themselves, so it can't be that they're the same.

For my personal taste I find Old Louisiana Mix a tad better than Curly Special, as it's a whiff more butter and also has a more nutty quality to it. Curly Special is like a slightly toned down version of OLM, which doesn't have to fear the comparison to OLM at all!

3 stars for my personal taste, as I find OLM to be better - yet full 4/4 stars to be objective and honour this blend as what it is: A top-notch, sophisticated and genuine blend, that's far from your average Va/Per expierience and most natural in taste. It (just like OLM) taste like pure tobacco, not even honey, nor sugar to be found in the taste.

A must try, for any Va/Per lover! A great introduction into the world of Perique for any novice.

A natural Virginia sweetness, more vegetable-like than sugar, rides below a grassy, woody flavor. The tin doesn't list any Burley or Kentucky leaf, but I get hints of smokiness and the nutty element that I often find with those components. I get some Perique pinch, but not much. There is a low-level flavoring that I can't identify, but it seems dark and sweet in a way that works with the woodiness of the blend. I give it only 2 stars because it stings the soft tissues of the mouth and throat in a chemical/pH way -- and it's not the same sensation one finds with piquant, racy, straight Va's.

Little to rave about with Curly. Classy packaging. Then there's the cute little coins that could be loaded as is. I thought I was ready for something great. Whoa. Hot pipe city. I found it's dime-sized pieces need rubbed out or there's one unforgettable tongue bite. If rubbed out completely, it is a nice, mild blend with grassy notes and a small measure of perique for some added contrast. Mild as a Va/Per gets. Plenty of floral, bready tickles to the palette. I think one could easily smoke it all day and I'm sure there are Va/Per fans out there who would enjoy this. I wouldn't call it anything close to remarkable, but it is a worth loading in your second tiered briars when properly prepared. Those who can't/won't enjoy mild blends are going to be left wanting more. I like it best in a Canadian or a billiard.

I recieved a sample package of this tobacco. Upon filling my pipe and sparking it up the first thing noticed was the horrific room note. I am told that this tobacco is derived from 3 Nuns; and it must be so because it smelled like I was burning a pile of old nun's underwear. I could not dump it from my pipe fast enough to prevent my wife from fleeing behind the porch and barfing like a freshman, my dogs fled howling into the night and will now not stay in the same room with the packet. DO NOT WANT.

I don't care if this tobacco raises the dead and enhances women's breasts, the smell is so horrific I was forced to seal it in an airtight container and launch it into the sun.

Not recommended.

First the history of this tin: I bought the 200g tin in 2002, opened it in 2008 and put it in a Mason jar that I put in my closet with all the other opened and unopened blends of tobacco I have. I have sampled it on and off since. It was a very expensive tin, particularly for the time; I think it was close to $38 or $40.

Today I smoked two bowls, one in a Cavicchi smooth pot and the other in a Cavicchi bent brandy. Special Selection Curly Cut has matured into a magnificent Va/perique. The consistency is a mixture between small spun discs (similar to the original Three Nuns) and loose or broken versions of the same created by the shaking and normal treatment through the years. The pack was easy; I gave it a more firm pack than normal grabbing a large pinch and stuffing everything in at once, tearing everything that wouldn't fit off.

The burn was excellent, needing only the occasional tamp and even less frequent re-light. Flavors are rich, deep and spicy as only a terrific Virginia base tobacco aged for years can give. The perique may not be in large amounts but it pays a significant role in the smoothing of the Virginia tobaccos and providing a piquant essence that is outstanding. I am quite pleased with how this tobacco has aged. The smokes were extremely satisfying in terms of nicotine, dense smoke and flavor. I would describe the flavors as intense. It is now an incredible Virginia/perique that I will cherish until it is gone, knowing I will never have another tin, at least one that I have aged so long and lovingly maintained.

I have no idea whether this blend is still available. I've seen a similar product called Curly Cut (with no Special Selection in the name) that is a different product in a different tin (a 100g paint can style tin rather than a 200g tin that was sealed, as this tin was). I don't know whether that is supposed to be a replacement for the Special Selection or just a different product. Be careful not to confuse the two as I believe some reviewers have done here.

I'm not sure where to score this tobacco. Quality is high, presentation, a mix of intact coins and ribbons, is nice. No humectants. Top quality stuff. I don't really detect any topping.

This reminds me of McConnell's Scottish Cake, actually. Has a sweet/musty Virginia smell when you are smoking. There are some darker, richer, almost toasty notes in the taste, but for the most part it's a "dry" va/per, similar to Escudo.

I prefer Mac Baren Club and Dark Twist, which indicates to me that my tastes in this realm run to the slightly sweeter.

For a straight Va/Per lover, this tobacco is no doubt going to be a 4 star affair. I happen to like the bastardized versions which Mac Baren offers quite a bit better!

As for a similarity to Three Nuns? Who cares!