Peter Stokkebye Nougat (No.24)

I guess it really depends on what stable you are from as to how one would rate this tobacco. As an aromatic it was heavily cased, and left a residue that only 6 pipe cleaners could get rid of. The smoke was hot, and had major bite with it, which only made it less enjoyable. A dedicated aromatic pipe is a must with this one. Just not a tobacco for me, for all others who like it, enjoy.

This is a good baccy, it's just a bit boring compared to other offerings by the same house, their black truffle is much better than this one, which is mild, sweet and cool, but the flavor is way to mild, and if a tobacco is gonna be cased you might as well taste the casing, in this case I found it to be a bit bland. but the room note is amazing and is surely not an offensive tobacco or a bad quality one. on the contrary, any aromatic smoker will probably love this one!

About 18 months ago I purchased a sample amount of this blend to try. When I eventualy got around to smoking it,I though it was an ok blend with a nice aroma, but not a high priority for rotation. I purchased some more at a Tinderbox under the name of North Seas, and was reminded why I do not smoke aromatics, the casing coated my mouth and any thing above a snails pace would result in tongue bite.If you must have a vanilla/chocolate blend I would recomend that you buy it by the pound and let it sit for a year or two before you smoke it.I have recently found an aromatic blend I could smoke, so I know that it is possible to make an aromatic worth smoking but this one was not for me.

I received this tobacco in a sampler pack. I've been very happy with it, and I haven't had a bad bowl yet.

Pouch aroma is very pleasant: vanilla/chocolate/nougat/nutty.

The smoking flavor is a mild vanilla with a subtle nuttiness/ nougat flavor. There's nothing really outstanding about this tobacco; it's just an all around good smoke suitable for when I want something simple and sweet. This would probably make a good after dinner smoke.

There is a slight sweet taste with this Stokkebye offering, but it bites the tongue pretty hard. The guy at the Tinderbox in the mall said that it was "one of the most popular blends" they sell, and I made SEVERAL inquiries to tongue bite, and he assured me (HA!) that it wouldn't bite. Let's face it:

ALL AROMATICS BITE THE TONGUE! You have to be a seasoned pipe smoker to avoid this, and even some of the best can burn their tongue when they're not careful. It's the biggest single reason why I don't like these bulk in-a-jar aromatics. I've yet to find one that I'm completely enamored with.

I apologize for breaking a precedent of "only talking about this blend" but if you're looking for an excellent tasting aromatic that will only bite if you're reckless, try Freddy Vegas' Nevada '64.

This is NOT the worst aromatic I've ever had, but it's far from the best. I think the '64 will fit the bill best for any "nougat" taste someone would be looking for.

You know what? One thing I really haven't tried yet with these kinds of pipe tobaccos is letting them dry out a bit first. Might make a substantial difference, but there are so many other blends I like so much more, that I just have to ask myself:

"Why bother."

God bless you if you like it. If you do like it, that's great. I don't like it enough to smoke it.

Cheers!

Daniel

God help me, I can't stop smoking this aromatic concoction! It is embarassing. Thinking my tastes run mostly along the lines of crisp natural virginias (Dunhill "Light Flake") with the occasional latakia or burley indulgence, I never would have figured a "Mall" tobacco would strike my fancy. But here I am, hunkered in my study, feverishly puffing away, and loving every minute of it. And, I've been doing it for years!

Nougat is a tobacco of fine quality with a topping that, I swear has the potency of the goopiest Lane casing, but isn't goopy, that tastes great, and burns cleanly to a gray ash. It leaves the pipe dry and smelling nice. The mixture is a broad ribbon cut composed of medium brown burley and stoved black cavendish. There appears to be a touch of P.G. (it's longevity in the bag gives it away), but it can't be much, even though any - IMO - is generally too much. It doesn't leave the pipe a hopeless sump. It packs easily, though it is moist so a gentle touch is essential, it burns easily after a charring light.

The thick white smoke is cool and fragrant. The topping works really well with the nutty burley flavor, which isn't at all lost in the chocolatevanilla. There is no bitterness, or weediness had from cheap, poorly cured burley, but a faint bit of the usual ashiness towards the bottom. For the most part, the flavor holds throughout the bowl. I find it most enjoyable in a pipe with a short throw and a short, wide bowl, (I have loosely dedicated a delightfully stunted little GBD "New Century" 1353 for the purpose), so you get the full effect of the smoke. I have not found the blend to "poison the well" so other tobacco can be smoked in the pipe without ill effect.

If you like the burleys and aren't afraid of intensely sweet flavor, this is a top notch smoke - a highly recommended guilty pleasure.

Update: The last batch I got (Oct. '04) had a sour piquancy to the casing that is very offputting. Have not tried again since.

I tried both Nougat and Optimum at the same time so that I could compare the two. While I rate Optimum very high, Nougat, although still a good blend, was not a great aromatic. It does taste like vanilla and chocolate, but the vanilla dominates. It smokes cool and burns well, like Optimum, but the Virginias were not very noticeable. It tasted similar to a lot of aromatic blends that mainly rely on black cavendish for their flavor. Nothing wrong with that, if you are in the mood for a simple vanilla flavored aromatic. But to be a truly great aromatic, I think there needs to be a greater variety and complexity of flavors.