Tobaccos Wessex - Sovereign Curly Cut (Brigade)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2015-03-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Curly Cut is a much sought after blend by those who appreciate aged tobacco. I sell a lot of it on my website with age and upon query, have been told it is one of those blends that really ages well. So, naturally I had to try a tin - I selected one with five years of age - and boy, was it good! The Virginia had great depth of flavor and the Perique component, while discreet, made its presence known with every puff. And even more fun was the fact that the farther down the bowl I progressed, the deeper the richness of the Virginia leaf. I want another tin!

Pipestud

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2013-10-20		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is sort of like the baby brother of the VaPer Three Nuns in that it's uninformed by comparison. It's sweeter, and conversely tartly sour at times. Some of the sweetness comes as much from the very tart apple cider topping as it does the Virginias, which are the lead component. They provide a fair amount of tart and tangy citrus, grass, bread, some sugar, sour lemon, vegetation, floralness, mild earth, wood, tangy darker tangy fruit, and light acidity. The description for this blend said there's no topping, which is untrue as the label mentions the apple cider, and I taste it. It detracts from the tobaccos a bit. The dull spice, plum and raisins from the earthy, woody perique play a secondary support role. The strength and nic-hit are a step past the center of mild to medium. The taste is a notch past that center. May nip the tongue or get harsh for a fast puffer, and has few rough edges. Burns cool at a slightly slow pace with a very consistent sweet and sour, fruity, spicy flavor that extends to short lived after taste. Requires a couple more than an average number of relights. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. Has a pleasant to tolerable room note. Not quite an all day smoke. Two and a half stars.

UPDATE 7-6-2022: The blend has been changed. The sweet and sour, tart apple cider topping was replaced by forest honey, which mildly tones down the tobaccos, meaning a step less than before. There’s a little more bright Va. than before, which makes it more floral, citrusy and sour from the higher lemon content. The acidic level is a tad lower. The darker fruit note is no longer evident. Much of the perique was replaced by tangy, earthy, woody, vegetative, spicy, mildly floral, herbal, barbecue-like dark fired Kentucky. The perique is a little more than a condiment now. The strength and nic-hit are currently on equal footing with the taste level, which is almost medium now. It is a cleaner smoke, moderately more floral, spicy, mildly sweeter, fruitier, and a tad more sour with the aforementioned DFK being the dominant component over the Virginias by a few slots. The room note is a bit stronger, too. All of the other previous notations remain the same. It can be an all day smoke, and is a three star blend. My current rating at TR reflects the new version.

-JimInks

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Eulenburg (193)	2003-01-18		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

There is some red Virginia here, but the dominant flavour is of something very like a supple semi-sweet English tea biscuit. To that is added the Périque which bubbles up on top, peppery and buzzy like Champagne or, if you wish, sparkling hard cider. I love it. I normally prefer some further oomph down below, which the old Three Nuns certainly had and this one certainly does not. All in all though, this is a completely delightful offering. Perfect for Summer smoking.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2014-02-10		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am a fan of Wessex Classic Virginia and Campaign flake, so I thought Sovereign would be worth a try. As another reviewer mentioned, it appears in the tin a lot like the current version of Three Nuns. However, I enjoy Three Nuns more. I have not yet smoked MB Roll Cake so I can’t make a comparison although both of those blends have some Burley, this blend doesn’t have any. The small coins pack easily enough. The brighter Virginias seem to rule the day, and I guess there is some Perique here too. I say I guess, because it is added so lightly that I found myself searching for it. There is some manually added sweetness to Sovereign too although the description claims none. It will burn a little hot if pushed so puffers beware. I like VaPers with deeper flavors like Escudo, St. James, and Deluxe Navy Rolls etc. so this wasn’t in my wheelhouse. If you are a fan of lighter VaPers that are light on the Perique, than this is your blend. It isn’t an awful tobacco and I am hoping that my remaining two tins will offer a pleasant surprise after three or four years in the cellar.

UPDATE: After smoking some this with some additional age, I have to bump this up to 3 stars (aged only for me)

Age When Smoked: New

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2017-04-08		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Wessex - Sovereign Curly Cut (Brigade).

As this blend has a lot of diversity with the reviews, especially regarding the added flavour and strength of Perique, it just goes to prove just how subjective our tastes are!

Curly Cut and Roll Cake are often very uncertain descriptions, sometimes the blend's presented as neat coins yet on other occasions it's almost ribbons. This is quite neat: mostly small coins with very few ribbons. For immediate smoking my tin couldn't have been any better, but in all honesty I wouldn't trust it in the cellar for long; it looked a LITTLE too dry. I give the small coins a further rubbing, and they become coarse ribbons with only a delicate touch.

There seems to be a slight amount of acrimony regarding added flavour: it runs from None, to Medium to Strong, so this intrigued me. I can only identify a sort of sweetness, at first, but this transpires into a kind of dough/pastry-esc flavour. The other area that attracts rancour is the strength of Perique; I can clearly taste it, to my palate it's the stronger of the two leaves: dark fruit, lots of spice, and slightly sharp. The burn from Sovereign is good, but the smoke has a predilection to become too warm.

Again, I have to disagree with the common view on nicotine: I find it medium to strong, but I'll roll with the crowd on the room-note: pleasant.

This is a nice smoke, but falls just short of being highly recommended:

Three stars.

Pipe Used: Fred Tranter Own Make

Age When Smoked: Three Moths

Purchased From: 4noggins

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2017-02-09		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a pretty good VaPer. Sweet hay and a hint of tang from the Virginias. Dark fruit and a fair amount of spice from the Perique. That seems to contradict some of the other reviews here and I'm thinking if you can't find the Perique in this, maybe you should try it in a cob or a different briar. I have no trouble at all, in fact, I'd say the two components have near equal influence. There is some added sweetness in a topping. Perhaps it's technically correct to say there is no casing. Casing? Topping? Meh, just semantics. I won't give this 4 stars as there are at least a half-dozen VaPers that I prefer, but I will give it a rock solid 3.

Mild to medium in body and taste. Added sweetness is mild. Burns very well.

Pipe Used: MM Marcus, Country Gentleman, Mark Twain

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: Mars cigars and pipes

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2015-10-09		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I smoked this after reviewing Peter Heinrich Special Curly, as they are very similar. I prefer to rub out the disks to a ribbon cut. The Virginias in Wessex Brigade Sovereign Curly Cut are a little darker and provide a deeper taste profile. This has a touch more perique and is a little fuller with less sweetness. This burns slightly cooler. Both are excellent, but I prefer the Heinrich Special Curly because it is mellower, milder and easy on the throat. This is closer to The Three Nuns of years past. Not the same, but an acceptable replacement for those who miss the original.

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	zunismoke5484 (1)	2014-07-24		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

I have read a number of the reviews for Sovereign and I wonder if quite a few of them are being reviewed using relatively fresh tobacco. I have no way to compare using fresh tobac, as I only have aged specimens. That said, I find the tobac(aged) to be of excellent flavor and the perique to be of sufficent quantity to be quite satisfying! The only tobacco I can recall that has more pungency is Elizabethan. I Find both the flavor and pungency to be uniform from first light to the bottom of the bowl. Igive this one 4 stars! I have changed the room note after asking my wife(no like).

Pipe Used: Jen Briar, Astley's sandblast stack

Age When Smoked: 10 years

Purchased From: Private

Similar Blends: Peter Heinrichs - Curly Special (Special Selection).

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	rintrah (14)	2012-12-01		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Extremely disappointing. Absolutely not a VaPer to my sense of taste. This tastes just like a MacBaren roll cake, and I don't say that just because it is a spun cut. I say that because as soon as I light this up I'm overwhelmed with sugar-syrupy sweetness.

I almost wonder if I have a different blend than other reviewers as this is obviously not VA sweetness. My tin says "Piquant 1840's RoyalNavy formula" - well, no clue what that means but this isn't what I've experienced with other "navy" blends.

Perique content is minuscule. I can usually still taste it small amounts - in this I taste none, only the sugar topping used.

If you like sweet VAs with a topping, there's nothing wrong with that. This might be right up your alley, but not what I want in a VaPer. I'm rating as 1 star even though it is not terrible tobacco per se, and I know some people will really like it. But definitely 1 star (zero maybe) to my tastes coming to this looking for a VaPer. Value is bad here, too.

If you're looking for an actual VaPer that tastes like VA and Per tobacco, seek out Escudo/Dunhill Navy Rolls, McClelland's St James Woods/Beacon Extra, or Gawith's St James Flake.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-12-17		Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

UPDATE 5/24/13

As I had purchased two tins of this, I popped the second to see if a few more months of age had changed this. Nope. I actually gave two bowls worth each to 4 other smokers, 3 of which guessed it to be a Mac Baren's blend (the 4th guessed a Stokkebye). Their tasting comments pretty much mirrored my own... overly sugary virginia and cavendish blend with no perique and a pretty fair masking of the tobacco taste. My original 1 star rating stands, not because this is a bad blend - it isn't - but because I'd recommend that if someone wanted this type of blend, they should save money and buy Mac Baren's. And also because this is advertised as a VaPer and the perique is completely MIA.

ORIGINAL REVIEW 12/17/12

Cute little spun discs of light brown to golden color. Tin aroma was of zero perique, a bit of virginia and a whole lotta topping. Smelled like a Mac Baren roll cake. Unfortunately, it tasted like one as well.

I agree with Rintrah's review. As a Vaper, this fails miserably. It's probably the worst representation of that genre that I've ever smoked. The perique was missing in action and the virginias were much sweeter than they should have been, due to the Mac Baren-esque syrupy, pastry-like topping, a flavor I find nauseating. This saccharine taste covers up most of the tobacco flavor. I could only smoke a few bowls of this and nothing I did to this one elevated it to smokable for me. I smoked it moist and dry and it never changed. This is to Three Nuns what a powdered donut is to corn chips. No casing on this one? Yeah... sure....

The problem I see with this one is that I can't recommend it to any serious VaPer aficionado because it doesn't fit that style. The style it does fit is done to perfection by Mac Barens, and at a much reduced price. Consequently, I can't find anything that this brings to the marketplace that isn't done better or cheaper by someone else, and as such I cannot recommend it to anyone.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BingCrosby (162)	2012-05-28		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I am surprised this has so few reviews.. this is a fantastic va/per.. More on the sweet end of the va/per spectrum, this puts me in mind of dunhill navy rolls more than escudo.. very nice, well- behaved, balanced tobacco. I havent had the pleasure of trying any of the incarnations of three nuns, so i cant compare them. but for me this is perfection. the tin aroma is very subtle, an interesting spice aroma.. during the smoke the perique comes and goes, sometimes strong sometimes subtle.. a little sourness, which is always nice when paired with the predominant sweetness. I will stock up on this one for sure. i am curious to try more of wessex other offerings now.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	incendio (45)	2009-11-19		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I don't understand what the fanfare is with this particular tobacco. It reminds me of Mac Baren's Latakia Blend. That is to say, in the same way the Latakia is practically missing from Mac Baren's Latakia Blend, the Perique is, at best, a ghost on the tongue, leaving one wondering whether what you imagine you're tasting is actually Perique or not. Not to mention that, upon visual inspection, there is practically no Perique to be seen. I don't know if this is because this is a new tin--perhaps older preparations were better and the new tins aren't what they used to be. As for the Virginias, they burned hot, even when dried a little, and the flavor was quite unremarkable. For a VaPer I'd call it a failure; for a typical Danish "boutique" tobacco--something you'd smoke when you're bored with your regular lineup, I'd say it's somewhat of a success-- if what you want is to go running back to your regular favorites. Overall I found it quite lacking in character to any degree, and I'd give it back or trade it for something else in a heartbeat. To be fair, though, the tin aroma is enticing, and the presentation--the loose disks--is quite appealing.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-02-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I heard BSCC is very much like Three Nuns, so I gave it a try. I've never smoked Three Nuns, so I wanted to see what all the talk was about. This is not a cheap blend. I paid about $22.00 for 100 grams. The tin contains an air-tight pouch which holds some of the most beautiful tobacco I've ever seen: small coins or discs of golden brown and dark tobaccos. The pouch aroma is out of this world. It smells like a very mature Virginia that has been aged for a year or two. I smell a little bit of a tart apple smell (fermentation?). Someone told me this blend has a little apple cider added. Maybe I just got this stuck in my head and now I smell the apple cider. I've asked others if they smell it and most don't. I let it dry a little before packing. Sometimes I rub it out, but most time I just stuff the coins in the bowl. Today I smoked BSCC in a large Cavicchi freehand. It was sensational. It is quite sweet, not in an aromatic sense, but in a mature Virginia sense. It is smooth, complex, and does not bite like so many Virginias can do. The blend is supposed to contain perique, but I don't really notice it. This is a wonderful blend and I think many Virginia lovers would love it also. Highly recommended.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stah (152)	2022-07-05		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This review about 'new' recipe of Sovereign (virginia-kentucky with a trace of perique), tinned in mid-2021.

Appearance: small (about 15 mm in diameter and a millimeter thick) "coins" of golden-colored Virginia with a dark core, consisting of dark Virginia mixed with a small amount of Kentucky, which replaced the perique, which was not so much in the original mixture. Due to the fact that the tobacco is young and the "rope" wasn't fermented for long, about half of the pennies crumbled into the usual long, very thin (almost cigarette) ribbons when sliced. The tobacco is very fresh indeed. The humidity is sufficient for smoking immediately, drying is not necessary.

Flavor: As one might expect, the abundance of light virginia with little aging gave a very bright hay note, in its diversity almost dominating all other flavors. Its brightness is supported by a note of citrus and a small amount of honey used as a sauce. The Kentucky woody and almond notes take the second role, and everything else - the light baked apple flavor, a bit of cocoa and a little spice - overlap the base quite tightly, and you have to sniff for a few minutes to feel them.

Taste: sweetly grassy and citrusy Virginia notes mixed with a nutty, woody, slightly smoky Kentucky note dominate this blend. A very small amount of spicy perique doesn't give even a hint of fig taste, giving the tobacco just a slight peppery edge. On the whole, the tobacco taste is quite simple, and as you smoke, the herbaceous and citrus notes flatten out, the tobacco takes on a sweetish, woody notes that have virtually no undertones. By the end of the pipe, the blend begins to sour a bit. The amount of Kentucky, as I mentioned, is small. The blend smokes surprisingly slowly, smoothly and coolly, forgiving even a slight overheating. However, it is not without some roughness at the beginning. The strength of the tobacco is somewhat below average. The blend burns into a dark gray ash with some coarse fractions, but leaves almost no moisture in the pipe. The aftertaste is almost the same as the flavor - sweet and woody, not persistent.

The smoke is quite plentiful, but not dense. It has a nutty, woody note and disperses quite easily.

What's the bottom line? I'm somewhat disappointed in the fact that Sovereign's recipe literally repeated the fate of Three Nuns, turning out to be rather mediocre VaKy blend. I can't call it bad, but at the same Kohlhase & Kopp you can get much more interesting in taste blends of Robert McConnell Heritage series.

Pipe Used: Peterson 69, 106, 230

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Online

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	steppx (186)	2021-03-15		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

this is an often overlooked blend from the Wessex Brigade series. its a disc Virgina, with a touch of perique. And aged with cider. One only notices the cider because of the softness of the overall taste. its cool and very pleasant. Not exactly profound and rather simple at times. I really think Wessex has some superb blends....Red Virginia Flake, Brown Virginia Flake, the dark brigade flake and Gold Slice....(in particular, which is the purest version...). But this is fine...just not quite as good as it should be.

Purchased From: cup o joes

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2018-06-14		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Va/per coin cut means a must try blend!once the tin breaks a nice fresh aroma comes out.citruses,grass,spices and plums are combined with a cider topping.the blend is consisted of little coins mixed with broken coins and some virginia ribbons.the moisture is low and the blend can be packed as it is or rubbed out.i prefer it the way it is as lighting is not hard and burning is slower.while burning the flavours are decent natural and satisfying.virginias are grassy ,citrusy,sour and earthy.perique is in the backround offering some spices,figs and plums.the cider topping nullifies a bit the tobacco flavours and in my opinion sometimes ruins the experience.generally the combination is mostly balanced and pleasant.burns medium speed and if rubbed qick,medium to hot with a lot moisture being created at the end of the bowl and the filter not to perfect ash.the room note is pleasant and nicotine level medium.no chance of tongue bite.definitelly an all day smoke.aftertaste is pleasant.in conclusion this is a nice blend but not something unique.my opinion is that the cider ruins a bit the whole experience.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Motoyoshi (68)	2014-12-22		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

A friend gave me a very generous sample of this that was roughly 5 years aged. It was actually a blind taste test.

The little coins are very similar in size and shape to MB Roll Cake. That's about it as the colors are not the same and the smoke is a completely different world.

This tobacco packs very easily and the pancake method of stacking the little coinds seems to get great results. I never had any dottle left with this blend.

The flavor of the smoke is a nice clean tobacco taste. I don't think it's been topped or cased in any way even. The VA is sweet and the perique is more like a very light condiment. One reviewer made the comparison to a cider and I find that very appropriate. Reminiscent of a hot cider with some cinnamon and maybe the teeniest amount of paprika or chili powder just to give it a little zing.

This tin is a little pricy compared to some other Vapers; see Escudo. So I can see how people are less than thrilled with it. Perique fiends will probably find this boring but if you find some blends have too much of it, this is probably a good start. I would love to give this 2.5 stars but it the lack of perique doesn't make it a bad blend at all. It is a high quality easy to pack flavorful blend.

Pipe Used: Cobs and briars

Age When Smoked: >5 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Smokeybear86 (14)	2014-09-05		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

Tin Note: The Blend had that same vinegar smell that va/pers usually have but this one also had an iced tea note to it.

Initial Light: Only took 2 false lights to get a nice burn going, flavor kicked off with some nice mild spicy hints from the perique.Burn was kinda fast but even none-the-less.

Mid-Smoke: The mild spice continued to the beginning of the mid-bowl, there wasn't much of a sweetness to the smoke but more like a wood tasting flavor, old cedar furniture taste. As i preceded through the mid-bowl i began to pick up slight hints of plum and fruit. The bowl was a bit hot but the smoke was even hotter i was getting a tingle on the tip of my tongue but that's all it was just a tingle, no bite.

Bottom of the Bowl: The spiciness eased down a bit and made room for more of the fruity plum flavor which increased as i smoked further down, the smoke itself was a lot cooler now but the flavor maintained its mildness.

Room Note: Not much to say wife said it just smelled like a pipe/cigar, which by the way shes not a fan of smell wise.

Dottle: It left a mixture of dark and white ash but the bottom was wet, i didn't get any gurgle or moisture through the stem during the smoke but it was really wet near the draft hole.

Smoking Duration: 35 min

Overall: This is a blend that starts off spicy, gets hot and then ends with a savory taste rather then a sweet one. I didn't find it horrible, but it was a bit annoying to smoke in between the spicy and savory, where it didn't know what it wanted to be. During that time i felt like i was sucking in hot air. So the beginning and end of this smoke was the highlights but even still i don't think it was worth a replay.

Pipe Used: Stanwell 1987 POY

Age When Smoked: 4-5years

Purchased From: Sample From a Friend

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (318)	2013-06-13		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I really wanted to like this tobacco more, as it is nearly everything I like in a VaPer. A friend who is a VaPer fan that I shared some with used adjectives like 'delightful,' and 'smooth.' I found it a bit boring, on the other hand, and even a little bitey at times, but on the whole, a fairly solid if unexciting VaPer. Since I know there are many tobaccos out there I would rate a 4, the question arises would I rebuy this particular tobacco, assuming my tastes don't change much more. In this case, the answer is no.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kilmarnock Piper (251)	2013-04-13		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

With all respect to the two previous reviewers, I find no similarities here to the MB roll cakes other than appearance. My tin is from 2003, and maybe there was a difference in other time periods, but I just get quality Virginia with a touch of Perique here. Truth be told, I like MB roll cakes as well, though I prefer them to be well-aged (think 1980s), since the younger ones tend to bite me a bit. This is my favorite of the Wessex blends I've tried, and though I'm sure there is a subtle topping (nearly undetectable to me), it is nothing like the Mac Baren topping, and the Virginias really shine! Like I said, I do like MB roll cakes, and like the roll cake style in general, but this one is good for when I'm all Mac Barened out, but still want a roll cake, just because it is so different in taste! Now, I know blends can vary from year to year and even from tin to tin, but the tin I'm smoking from contains one of the most perfectly balanced Virginias I've ever put in my pipe.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-01-13		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

I love this blend, it is by far the best vaper I have tried. Sweeter than Frog Morton OTB, much smoother than Escudo with no harshness. A bit milder than Old Gowrie and much more refined than McClelland 2105. The fullness of flavor makes this blend perfect to me. And very satisfying!

The tin note is sweet virginia. Small round coins the size of a dime make packing the pipe easy. Perfect burn and moisture. Just a lovely professional presentation.

A full taste virginia with a sweet high and round bottom spiced with a slight pepper tang from the perfect amount of smooth perique. The aftertaste is amazing, pure tobacco, no casing, no tongue bite (unless you are freezing in the garage and puffing fast).

If you enjoy Escudo or Old Gowrie you must try Brigade Sovereign, costs more but worth every dollar. I put up ten and will buy some on every order. By the way, what is 3 nuns?

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	puro66 (73)	2007-06-16		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

I'm sorry to end the love fest but I must. Like most people I often fall for such lines as "similar to" or "if you like..." It is true that like Three Nuns (old) this is a curly cut, but that's it. This blend was a major disappointment, especially considering the stiff price. To say the perique is subtle is an understatement. I found it often smoked hot and simply lacked significant character. If you have never tasted the original Three Nun's don't feel bad. It was a very good tobacco but not quite the Holy Grail it is portrayed as. Like so many things we can no longer have, the memory is far sweeter than the reality.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2004-02-06		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Made in Germany by the same blender of Rattray?s, Astley?s and McConnell?s, this is a faintly sweet tobacco, manufactured with great attention to detail and outstanding craftsmanship. On opening the elegant silver tin (its one in Wessex?s Brigade Series) one is greeted by the naturally sweet aroma of golden Virginias, and a spicy whiff of Pèrique, all very delicate and sober. The tobacco itself is beautifully presented: light and reddish browns, and golden ribbons, intermingled with the slightly darker hues of penny-like discs. There is a reminiscence of the original Three Nuns, but because of the milder aroma of Curly Cut this would be more like the Three Novices. The general impression is of a blend of high quality, clean, fresh and inviting. The tobacco is easy to pack (you may wish to further rub out the tiny discs, but they can be packed inside the bowl as they are) and it lights gingerly. After an initial acidic and piquant tang the flavor settles down to deliver an elegant, tasty smoke, not unlike the taste of fresh pastry or biscuits, slightly sweet but not cloying. Mild in strength, and with a tendency to burn hot if carried away, it nevertheless burns evenly and joyfully. The Virginias predominate, while the Périque impishly lurks in the background, almost like a whisper. It reminds me of some of the Four Square renderings. It is a soft, consistent smoke that leaves a very nice room aroma but, unfortunately, a bit too mild for my taste. This could be a subdued version of PS Navy Cut, meaning that those weary of Pèrique?s aggressiveness need not be concerned, while Pèrique lovers will probably find this blend too soft and uneventful in that department. It may not be an extraordinary tobacco in terms of strength and flavor, but it certainly is a reliable, quality smoke, ideal for those who wish to get acquainted with both natural Virginias and Va/P mixtures, or as an early morning smoke before switching to a more powerful tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2003-07-03		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The best thing about this blend is the old style folding tin that although large due to the 100G size, is still quite convenient. Inside the foil pouch are nicely prepared disks ~ the size of a nickel, interspersed with golden to dark brown color. The individual disks varied widely in color from one to the next perhaps from the twisting process. Many had also started to unravel. This is one of very few blends that I have ever opened and been greeted by apparent white mildew on some of the tobacco even though the moisture content wasn't that high. I've done this myself when trying to rehumidify tobaccos with distilled water. Perhaps an imperfect foil seal was the cause but this is not expected from an expensive, tinned tobacco. Without rubout, packing technique was critical to an even smoke without relights and difficult to consistently duplicate. As with some other Wessex VA flakes that I've tried, I did not find the taste as inviting as the tin or room aroma. The advertised Perique was hardly detected resulting in a rather bland VA. Other VA flakes and Va/Perique blends are much more enjoyable than this one.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Quiggifur (99)	2023-02-19		Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

The tin note upon opening was incredible, set my hopes too high. The dark fired Kentucky was much more powerful immediately after breaking the seal than it was after so much as an hour in a mason jar. A couple hours later, it's undetectable.

20230219, smoked from a tiny meer: The Kentucky is undetectable. Getting bright Virginias, maybe cider, raisin, cream, honey, a little sourness. Very mild, but pleasant. Probably wouldn't purchase this again, though; unremarkable.

20230219, smoked from a dublin meer: Basically the same, still very mild, might even go so far as to call it spineless.

20230219, smoked from a long German clay with a moderately sized bowl: Bad idea. Seems to dull the flavor even further, and it's difficult to keep from scorching.

The more I smoke this, the more annoying I find it.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dave A (23)	2022-07-05		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Always liked this, decided to let this one sit a while to see what happened. It still had decent moisture on opening and the coins had maintained their shape for the most part. The paper over the tobacco was deeply stained, the tobacco was very dark brown with some black flakes. Easy to light and stayed lit, the tobacco had mellowed so no tongue bite at all. The Virginia had a pastry like sweetness while the Perique was more prominent than on freshly opened tins. Doubt I would cellar this long again but interesting experiment. Have to admit, I will miss it when it's gone but Escudo is my go to in this category and this won't replace it.

Pipe Used: Peterson Kinsale

Age When Smoked: 12 years

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Antonius Blok (192)	2022-01-24		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The presentation is coins in the style of Three Nuns or Cabbie's Mixture, to name a couple of well-known tobaccos. The smell in your tin is very surprising to me. Aromas of black pudding or chorizo ​​come to me, something that occurs to me for the first time in a tobacco, although I had heard of some other tobacco where this happened. Once lit it produces a taste that is a bit strange to me, just as the aroma in the tin suggested. It is not an unpleasant taste but neither is it one that invites me to go to it every day. I do not distinguish the components separately, rather it is an unknown flavor that is given by the fusion of its ingredients. I don't distinguish the cider cover either, but I understand that some type of cover has to have it, since it is totally different from the many virginias and vapers that I have tried to date. I usually smoke it when I'm doing something else and I'm not going to pay much attention to the pipe, but at the same time I want a full-bodied tobacco. As virtues I will comment that it burns very well and does not bite at all, but considering that the tin I am smoking is quite aged, I expected much more.

I give it two stars, although I have had a three-star smoke, but never four.

I would sum it up with one word: indescribable…

Age When Smoked: 14 years

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RoundTwo (38)	2017-09-24		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Cider flavoring, lots of perique, goes great with scotch, late at night, medium strength but the perique will light up your taste buds if you haven't killed a few of them first with some Johnny Walker Black Label.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TimHart (3)	2017-09-11		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

One of my favorites. Nice Virginia notes, with just the right amount of Perique to season before being rolled. Piquant Royal Navy formula just as the tin description reads. Ages quite well !! Highly recommended**

Pipe Used: Dunhill 5120 Cherrywood

Age When Smoked: 5+ years

Purchased From: Pipestud's Consignment Shop (Thanks, Steve)

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipenutt (2)	2013-06-08		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Being a Escudo lover I can't say this is anywhere near it but, is definitely a Vaper that I go to quite often. On opening the tin you smell a peppery aroma mixed with light Virginia's. It's moist, maybe just a bit too moist because I have a hard time keeping it lit. It smokes smooth with just a hint of bite from time to time but, delivers just the right amount of nic with a marvelous flavor. Can't compare it to MB or 3 Nuns not having tried either. But, it's one that I definitely will keep on hand and enjoy between Escudo smokes.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	itsKoit (5)	2012-03-22		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

A great VA/Per! The disks loosen up easily into a chunky shag which fills a pipe rather delightfully. Lights easily with no bite whatsoever, even when provoked. The virginias they used are sweet and flavorful and are kept in a nice balance by the perique. A very approachable VA/Per for the newbie and seasoned veteran alike. Very highly recommended!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-01-02		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I opened my tin and was happy to see sugar crystals all over the nicely cut discs of tobacco. The taste has a more maple syrup-ish flavor than the Orlik produced Three Nuns I bought while on vacation in Amsterdam, NL. Although this is not a review of the new Three Nuns, it is kind of difficult not to compare the two since they look so similar when held side by side. Additionally, I think this blend will be my daily smoker. On a side note, I've heard and read that there is supposed to be some Perique in the blend, yet I have not been able to single it out when smoking this tobacco. Of course, the only other Perique blend I've sampled is the fabled Escudo, which pours it on fairly heavily. Anyway, this is a great tobacco for a person who likes a good solid Virginia to smoke. It won't disappoint.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-12-15		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I ordered this because it was described as being similar to the Three Nuns that I have always wanted to try. Well, I finally opened an 11 year old tin of Three Nuns the other day and this is indeed very similar.

This review, however, is not about Three Nuns. Its about my absolute new favorite VaPer! WOW! I loved this. Only smoked one creamy bowl today in a nice, long Canadian which took the coins whole like a giant piggy bank. Very easy to light, no relights, and smoked clean to a nice white powdery ash.

The smell is comforting, almost like marshmallows but better. This will for sure become my new go to for VaPers. I will have to take it along this weekend for a duck hunt....will go great in the blind or by the fire in the evening.

Buy this and give it a few tries. Coins this small are pretty in the tin as well. Such a great smell!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-03-20		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

When I asked for a recommendation from my tobacconist, since he knows my tastes run to aromatics less and less, and more to virginias and vapers, he pulled this one off the shelf. I like it. I was not disappointed in the perique content, as some reviewers were, but neither did it overwhelm the sweet virginia presence. Never smoked Three Nuns, so I can't offer any thoughts on that comparison, but I like this one. It's a little spendy...not sure it's THAT much better than some I can get in bulk...but it's a goooood smoke.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-08-03		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Review based on comparison of old 100 gram folding tin and newer 50 gram round tin. Dates not specific, but about five years' difference in age. Let's leave those three penguins out of this.

Small coins from excellently crafted twists of quality Virginia and genuine Perique. Older coins have darkened, but both tins retain their wonderful aromas. Full rub out to ribbon. Lights easily and stays lit. No bite. Newer version is a bit more peppery, but mellow mid bowl, older smokes sweet and spicy top to bottom.

No Nirvana (or Novena) here, just damn good parochial Va/Per cut rope and middle of the road smoke. No bite or head whacks with a yardstick from Sister Mary Elephant.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-01-16		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Sovereign Curly Cut is one of those tobaccos you keep on hand all of the time. Whether it is like the Three Nuns or not, i do not want to get into. I do love Three Nuns and I Love Sovereign Curly Cut, we'll leave it at that. Upon opening the tin, these small dark brown coins are staring right at you. That Virginia and Perique smells so good. The tin note is pungent with a sweet note. After breaking up the coins and stuffing into the pipe, the first few puffs are a bit bitey but quickly mellows out. If you smoke this tobacco slower and don't puff like a maniac, the flavor is out of this world. This tobacco is very rich in flavor, and is a somewhat peppery. Very highly recommended by me, i give it a very strong 4 stars....

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-06-08		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

This is a most convoluted review by my own admission.

I find this to be a much more powerful smoke than my preceeding colleagues. I reach for this with a purpose and it delivers. Nicotine hit is there most definitely although not overwhelming. While I feel that to classify this as strong or even medium to strong would be misleading I also feel that it is tangy/smooth and there is nothing mild about it. That tingly nose of the perique is evident but tame, and the VA's are of a complex and high quality and deliver plenty of flavor.

My preference is to rub out the coins and let it air a few minutes before filling and lighting. It is a most curious tobacco and very complex with visits to sweet, nutty, spicy, tangy and earthy.

It smokes cool and dry.

Now with reference to casing... I entered "none detected" but I did so as not to be misleading. This tobacco has a whiff of something - the tin suggests its flavoured with "traditional west country regimental cider". If this is accurate, it explains the tin aroma - a slightly acidit note with a faint wine-like nose and some of the mold that I have experienced in 2 separate tins. I would also suggest that it was the perfect choice to tie the flavors in this mixture together and in no way behaves as a flavouring would imply. This is why I stated "none detected" for if not for the writing on the can, I wouldn't really have determined there was a flavoring. It's not even as evident as the weakest whiff of rum in a traditional Navy Flake.

All in all the coins are a bit moist ... slight drying is required ... just a few extra moments when rubbing. If one is tempted to smoke the coins by folding, you're experienced enough of a pipe smoker to dry them a bit longer.

This is a fine tobacco. It has complexity and suitable strength in a classic merger of VA's and Perique. The room note surprisingly is very pleasant and doesn't hang. The packaging is awful ... it would be so much nicer if they just packaged it in a plastic bag cached within the tin. I remove the tightly packed wad of coins from the gold foil pouch and place it in a plastic bag (the non-ziplock type) folded closed and then refit it in the tin. It will keep quite well for a considerable amount of time even in the low humidity of Northern California.

Cheers, VC

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-12-03		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Last time I had Three Nuns was in the early '90s, I believe. Well, this is as close to that as I have ever had since - yet it seems milder and smoother than Three Nuns. I love this stuff. A great after breakfast smoke - subtle with just the right amount of that "peppery" Perique top note. A keeper and a new regular addition to my arsenal. Highly recommended!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-10-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have really come to enjoy this blend by Wessex(German version). If this is what Three Nuns was like, it gets my vote. The current version of Three Nuns is not to my liking. Sweet, flavorful, and definitely with Perique, but just enough to add to the wonderful Virginia. 4 stars.

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