Wessex Sovereign Curly Cut

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.