Solani 113: Sweet Mystery

I am not sure what Coco Cream is... coco-nut? coco-a? I can't taste either in this blend, but the blackcurrant is deliciously prominent in the aroma in tin and smoke. What I really like is that I can also taste those Virginias. It depends on the pipe, but I have this little Ehrlich billiard that really brings out the VA in X Sweet Mystery. Mmmm. It also burns pretty dry and clean. XSM reminds me of some Larsen blends I've tried, in that it features bright tobacco flavors and quasi-naturalish-tasting fruit toppings, putting it in a different class from the much-maligned sticky "drugstore" aromatics.

I don't smoke aromatics all the time, but when I do, I prefer X Sweet Mystery. (Apologies to the Most Interesting Man in the World.)

X Sweet Mystery was my last return to aromatics tobaccos. Having been smoking mostly VAs/Périque blends or English Blends for many years, this felt really funny, but I had this rage for an aromatic. Don't know why, the nostalgy of my first years as a pipe smoker, I guess. Because I've already tried Solani's Luxury English Blend and liked it, I gave X Sweet Mystery a try.

This is a nice blend, and it smells pretty darn good! Good proportions and sizes of tobaccos balance each other well while being smoked. Too much loose cuts sometimes lack good smoking intensity, and too much flakes take longer to smoke and can become... This combo is just right. This is not cheap quality tobacco. This tobacco also leaves the bowl surprisingly dry for an aromatic, it doesn't get stickier and stickier as you go and declare a relighting war on the smoker. The only sad thing is that, due to the main presence of broad bright cut VAs, once the tobacco gets drier, this specific leaf will dominate the room note and the taste for most of the way. Cuts off a bit of the magic... This also happens for the Green Label.

X Sweet mystery is definitely not a tobacco for me, being a Hardcore non flavored tobaccos smoker, but for anyone who starts off smoking pipe tobacco, this is a way better start than the common drugstore tobaccos. It's aromatic, but it's quality. Recommended for those who like a good aromatic tobacco.

This reminded me much of a toned down version of Rattrays Charles mixture with a touch of an additional flavor that I could not put my finger on, maybe fruity would best describe the topping on this. This benefits from a little bit of drying in that it is on the wet side out of the tin. This is not something that I would smoke regularly but would make a good occasional , desert type of smoke. I would of given this a little bit higher of a rating except that the flavoring was a little stronger than I like in an aromatic blend. I do recommend this to aromatic lovers.

(4-16-03) I decided to buy the 100g tins rather than the 50g tins for two reasons. First the cost savings is considerable and the 100g tins are designed as collector tins. The aroma upon opening the tin is sweet, very sweet, yet it's also wonderful in a way. I like it, yet it may be too much for some. It's a very course cut blend which is about 1/3 dark tobaccy, 1/3 med. brown and 1/3 yellowish/tan in color. It claims to be topped with Black Currants treated with Bacardi and Coco Cream. I do not detect either. For me, the prominent aroma is that of ripe sweet prunes and raisins. It's far too moist for my liking so what I've been doing with this blend is packing a pipe full and then just letting it sit for 4 to 6 hours before I smoke it. At first I let it sit for about 2 hours but it's not long enough. Six hours seems perfect for me. After sitting out for the time specified, it fires up easily and burns nicely from top to bottom with very little maintenance. The flavors are sweet, all the way, from top to bottom, getting slightly spicer and richer after the half way point. I still cannot define the flavor properly, as it seem a bit different from pipe to pipe. Sweet Mystery was a well thought out name for this blend. I will say that from time to time, I do pick up notes of Coco and berry and what seems to be white grape, for lack of a better description. This tobaccy has grown on me over a short period of time. I really enjoy it! Highly Recommended for those of you who enjoy quality aromatics and for a quality change of pace for others. THIS IS GOOD STUFF!