Peter Heinrichs Curly Special

This was my first taste of this one from a sample I received from a friend. I gotta say, it skyrocketed to one of my favorites very quickly. Took some lighting effort, which I found strange given that it was somewhat aged, but it took off once I got it right. Found this to be a complex mix of flavors that I tremendously enjoyed. Constantly changing in taste with sweetness, smokiness, pepperiness, and a HINT of sugar at random times just when it needed it. Always lingering through the bowl was an almost licorice backtaste that I generally don't like- but it worked well in this blend. I find it interesting the negatives on other reviews because it doesn't match up with or exceed another blend (in this case Three Nuns) and that reviews don't just take this blend for this blend. I guess I have the luxury of a tin of Three Nuns still uncracked in my cellar. This one experience will send me to the E-world to get a can.

This is an excellent blend and the cut makes for easy loading. I stuffed around 6 little coins into a small bore bent Neerup. Their diameter allowed them to be stacked without any stuffing. Their soft, curly edges made for an easy light. In fact, the edges seemed to light up first, which is contrary to most other blends, and then burnt towards the middle. It made for a very even burn top to bottom.

The smell in the tin is fairly sweet, but not like an aromatic; more Virginia sweet. The flavor came on at first light and remained until its completely burned to ash. I'm not a big fan of the super peppery VaPers, but Curly is not that. It has a medium strength flavor that is smooth and fairly sweet in a natural way. There is a hint of spice that adds a nice dimension to the flavor.

My wife is fairly picky about room notes and said this one reminded her of breakfast cooking. She like it.

I love this tobacco, and feel compelled, despite its higher than average price, to praise it just to encourage others into buying a tin or two before it disappears completely from the stock rooms of e-tailers, leaving its fans no choice but to order it direct from Germany.

Though this is one of the cleanest Virginias on the market, I believe it to be topped?subtly, but topped, nonetheless?with vanilla and what I can only describe as unfermented kirshwasser. None of these flavors finds their way to the smoke, however, which starts off with a delightful tanginess. I think some have attributed this tanginess to a measure of perique. I take it to be the byproduct of the natural fermentation in the blend's Virginia tobaccos?more like McClelland Virginias, or, well, immature perique. But the tanginess here stays at the tip of the tongue, it never fully coats or saturates it. And herein lies one of the great qualities of this blend: a consistent tang that keeps it tasting fresh, and refreshing, from first light to last dottle.

The tanginess also disguises some of the natural sweetness that the Virginias lend it. Progressing through the bowl, the smoker is aware of both tastes without either one overwhelming the palate or, more importantly, tiring it. This is a dawn to dusk, morn to midnight kind of a blend. In the latter half of the bowl, two qualities assert themselves rather forcefully: the reediness of a good Va smoke, and a kind of toasty quality to the tobacco that provides for a very pleasant 'smoke'.

In the final analysis this is why I find Special Curly an absolutely superior tobacco. It provides for a fine smoke, which is, after all, the activity most closely associated with the briar. With this blend, the reediness, sweetness, and tanginess are not played exclusively on the tongue but in the whole mouth as big blue clouds of smoke swirl around it, leaving hints of pleasure here and there.

This tobacco requires some familiarization. It has a tendency to bite if puffed aggressively. But I urge every Virginia lover to try it. The time and money invested in a 200 gm tin can bring tremendous, and surprising, returns.

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.

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.

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.

April 2003

I worked my way through a 200g tin of this, and have finally laid hand to a tin of Bell's 3 Nuns as well, but a side by side comparison is for another forum.

Pipe: Sasieni 4-Dot straight billiard, group 3 Tin Aroma: Sweet, smooth (not tart), and delicate. Cut: Coins, sliced rope or twist. Lighter leaf around darker inner leaf. Pack: Rubbed out a small ball of about two coins and dropped into the bottom, overlay with stacked coins to the top 1/4 of the bowl, finished with two rubbed out coins as tinder. Springy on top, firm underneath. Char: Takes a flame easily, and expands quickly. Tamp and rest, as is my wont. Initial flavors are a caramelly, pecan-like taste riding over a robust VA smoky sweetness. A little tart/tangy, but not sharp.

Main event: Takes second light easily, also, and the inital flavors are reinforced, though mellower. This tobacco is not a flavor hammer for the tongue. It rewards considered smoking not because of any tendency to bite, but because it seems to reveal deeper, smoother flavor when smoked cooler. Once the ember reaches the stacked coins, this stuff really tastes great. As a bonus, it holds up well outdoors. Burn is cool, easily controlled, and nips only when vigorously overdrawn. The flavor, especially the sweetness, deepens further through the bowl, rewarding the tongue with a very full flavor. There is a distant sweet, sharp tanginess to it like there might be some perique.

Smokes clean to the heel, leaves a medium gray ash. Take your time and enjoy this one, as it rewards concentration.

Great stuff, IMO

Any fan of pure Virginias must try this blend. Although it contains some Perique, its presence is not very noticeable. Remember Perique is a spice tobacco, and a good spice like salt is intended primarily to bring out the flavors of the main dish. And this dish is delicious, obviously comprising some very high quality Virginia leaf.

The little curls in the tin are quite beautiful actually, smelling of fresh hay and grass. There is no smokiness, no topping that I can detect, and the Perique is not evident in the aroma. Just fresh sweet tobacco goodness.

No problems lighting or keeping it lit. As the bowl warms up the flavors develop into some of the richest pure Virginia flavors I have experienced. The taste is rich and pure, and - for lack of a better word - clean. There's no cloying sweetness, there's no ashy aftertaste, just flavor, and lots of it. The flavor stays quite consistent through the whole bowl, and even gets a little toastier near the bottom.

This one must be nursed very gently. If you use your best Virginia technique, sipping gently and keeping the briar cool, then you will be rewarded with what may be one of your best VA smoking experiences. It was for me anyway. Is it worth the higher cost? Of course! It's like ordering steak instead of pasta. Both are good, but once in a while you want to splurge. Problem is, this is good enough to be a desert island smoke, as in, an all day all week smoke. I need to stock up!

The description of Bell's Three Nuns is: A blend of dark fired and sun cured tobaccos mixed with the finest Brazilian Lights to produce the unique flavour and mellow smoking characteristics for this Virginia/Perique. PH's Special Curley & Bell's Three Nuns are the same mixture. I can tell no difference in appearance, tin note or smoking experience. Well, there is one difference..., I can buy 600 Gm of Special Curley for less than I'd pay to get 250 Gm of Three Nuns. This fine Tobak is best smoked slowly to allow it to develop with a faint essence of Almond woven amongst the strength of the Virginia leaf and the moderation of the Perique. As this is not a Tobak that enjoys a large following, chances are that what you get in an order will have age on it, as suggested by the appearance of the plastic lid. I will not attempt to improve on what has already been stated in previous reviews. I will suggest that you get some before it can no longer be found on this side of the ocean.

Meerschaum Man Smoking a Smooth Cherrywood Style Meerschaum Poker from Altinok