Solani 763: White and Black

I believe this is Solani's best offering.

This broken, very dark flake is incredible.

I have recently opened a 3 year old tin and spent exceptional moments smoking no 763.

You must try it!

When I opened the tin all I could think of was a winter?s afternoon in the Northeastern United States-- a windless, cloudless day, cold and crisp with the smell of wood- burning fireplaces, and the dank smell of the nearby woods. In fact, I bought this tin with the intention of smoking it all winter long, but I am, all the same, an atypical pipe aficionado. I live in the Southwest, and the weather today was well into the 60s. Not only am I 1500 miles away from my nearby woods, but I am atypical in that I enjoy tobaccos that many would call aromatics, and as a fellow reviewer said, ?You aromatic smokers keep away.? Nonsense! Light up and enjoy. The lakatia is not a problem because of the overall quality of this tobacco and because it is really something of an experience. A daily smoke? Probably not for the likes of me, but I don?t smoke daily. Ah, but on a cold desert night, such good company as Solani. It cannot be missed.

update: I recently opened a tin that was about a year old. What a difference! Much smoother! Since the Syrian used in this blend seems to be no more, stock up now. I am also upgrading to four stars. bravo to Mr. Will!

This is definitely a blend in a category of its own and heartily recommend it to you all. My tin was consigned to ash all too quickly! Upon opening the round 50g tin, you are greeted by a very dark, mostly broken flake, yes, I said flake. Tin aroma is delicious with a wonderful symphony of aroma from the three leaves used in this blend.

Packing: I found it to work better for me if I fully rubbed out the flakes. The flakes are very oily (a good sign!)and go out easily if not rubbed out.

Lighting: Once rubbed-out, lighting is a four vesta affair, you may want to let this air out a bit.

Initial Flavor: Simply put, delicious! the cavendish is not cloying and there seems to be a nice roundness to the flavor.

Mid-Bowl: Aah, this is where this blend shines. The smokiness of the Syrian latakia plays well with the Va and Va Cavendish. It has a merlot-like flavor.

Bottom-Bowl: Nice intensity of flavor builds up, smokes to the bottom without a fuss.

Ash: Dark, grey, mottled, and a nice dusting on the bowl walls.

Overall: This is a nice change of pace tobac for me. I did find that you could get tongue-bite if you puff a little too hard when fresh. This blend will occupy my cellar as it may benefit from some aging, and boy, do I look forward to trying again in a couple of years.

On opening the tin, the aroma is very earthy like St Bruno or Peterson Irish Flake. The Latakia is very noticeable on lighting, but is never overpowering, as it is with Mac Baren HH Latakia Flake. Smooth and enjoyable with a good strength.

Tin note Laticia with some sweetness and spice my tin was 2016 vintage. Needed a bit of drying time, ready rubbed flake. At first light its sweet and spicy more than I expected, perhaps the VA with age added more sweetness defiantly not topped. All tobacco flavors working together. The Laticia is forward but its in balance with the cavendish and the VA. I found this blend to be absolutely wonderful not a Lat bomb at all. The course cut required a few relights. But in all a very smooth blend. If you like Laticia blends that are smooth and balanced with the other tobacco. This is a really great one. Nic hit is a bit below medium no bite whatsoever.

This broken flake comes with a musty, smoky, bready tin note. Needed minimal drying and packed well. Slow and cool brining, and very creamy. The Virginia is matured and offers. The Latakia is truly condimental, enough to add interest throughout the smoke. My tin needs to be dried out for a bit, it’s a nice slightly sweet. Burns clean and cool - no bite whatsoever for me. I find it to be a nice fall English blend when you are sitting in the autumn sun and drinking a glass of tea or coffee.

This is not a tobacco that I normally would have purchased. Neither the blend description nor the tin art would have attracted me. But as luck would have it, there were a couple of tins of 763 in a box of ten year old tins of tobacco that I was given recently. So I decided that I would give this a try and if I didn't like it I'd toss it out and there would be no loss. I have to say I'm glad I tried this. It has turned into one of my favourites and will be one of my regular smokes. Others have done a good job of describing the taste profile. I know our tastes and perceptions of taste vary, but this hits the spot form me. It strikes me as being a very cultured smoke. It's sort of aromatic, sort of English, and sort of Virginia. The virginia and latakia and cavendish are blended together so smoothly that I can't tell where one starts and the other stops. I'm assuming this is because of the age on the tin. The only way to know for sure is to check out some fresh tins of 763, which I will be doing.

I was a little worried that the Cavendish would impart a muted dullness to the palate, as it often does. But no, everything is actually in perfect balance. The Cavendish does not impart any overt flavorings in the manner of some crossover blends like Northwoods or SPC Plum Pudding. What we get here is just an ever so slightly sweeter version of a classic medium-bodied English (Virginia-Latakia). Clean and focused, with wonderful spice from the Syrian Latakia (toasted pinoli, sunflower seed, clove). There are also some hints of broiled steak which suggests to me that the Cavendish is actually more of a dark-matured Virginia. Nothing heavy or overtly campfire. If you like Lat-bombs like Pirates Kake or Gaslight, this will not be for you.

I did a direct A-B comparison with another elegant classic using Syrian Latakia: Mac Baren Vintage Syrian (no longer available). Impossible to declare a clear winner because they are not intended to be considered in the same category. The Mac is more savory and clearly shows the 'sour cream' flavors of Turkish, while the Solani has no Turkish, its spice derived from the wonderful Syrian. Some nice cedar notes, and the Cavendish gives a slightly sweet finish. This is also a versatile, non-fussy blend that seems fine for either warm or cold seasons, morning or evening, briar or meer. Thick chunky ribbons seem slightly moist but they burn just fine without needing to dry.

I also spent several sessions going back and forth between blends that are considered in this same category of English-Aromatic: Frog Morton, Cult Embassy, and Boswell Northwoods. Embassy was the smoothest, with the least amount of natural tobacco taste, and that has its own appeal with a companion cup of coffee, but not much to get excited about. Frog has always seemed muddled on the palate, and all I get on the retrohale is scorched ketchup (least favorite of this group for me). Northwoods has the boldest, deepest flavors of the group, but you really have to like the idea of chocolate flavored Latakia. To my tastes Solani is the best of the bunch because of ideal balance, quality natural tobacco taste, and a slightly sweet background note that is not derived from obvious flavorings like vanilla or chocolate.

By the way, this is European processed red Virginia, so no American-style ketchup or vinegar; just natural goodness! I'm surprised this isn't talked up more, it was a great discovery for me, and a real treat from start to finish of the bowl!

This was a superb smoke for me. Looking at the other reviews I don't know if I got lucky with my tin or if my taste buds are just right for this blend.

I found it very mellow for a latakia blend which is awesome for me. The virginia was sweet and the cavendish gave it a nice full body. This hit its stride about mid-bowl and kept delivering until the end.

One note this is a serious sipper. Strong puffing will cause this delicate leaf to bite and all the flavor will vanish. If this happens just walk away for a couple of minutes and let it cool off and everything goes back to normal.

I'm going to cellar this the next time I make a big TAD order for sure.