Solani 763: White and Black

Upon first smoking thing blend I absolutely hated it. I found it had too much bite and the flavor, which was very pleasant, was gone after 2 puffs.

I put it away for a week and tried again with various pipes and various amounts of rubbing. In the end I found that this tobacco smoked best when rubbed out a decent amount. I let the first wad fall loosely into the bowl and pack the top half of the bowl tighter. The flavor of the black and white is creamy but comes and goes. The flavor is better when sipped and this also keeps it from biting.

The latakia was really hidden in the background. This tobacco would probably be better without it.

All in all, I found myself wishing for more flavor and working too hard to find satisfaction. I'm not sure I would bother with this again. But I will look for the same flavor in another tobacco.

Well, you may have noticed several mentions about inconsistency, as did I when I first read the reviews. But the positive reviews convinced me to purchase a tin anyway. And that tin was, let me tell you, heaven. Absolute heaven. It's a very delicate balance for me with English blends that contain cavendish. Some are excellent. Some are awful. There was something about this one that mitigated the bitter flavor that I normally get from cav. or somehow incorporated it differently. But, no matter, the bottom line is that this stuff was sublime. So I decided to go ahead and buy another tin. I thought that all the complaints about inconsistency here were just a few unlucky aberrations. Well, after opening up the second tin, I, too, am convinced there's a major problem with quality control somewhere at Solani.

I say with absolute certainty, that the second tin was not the same tobacco as the first. First off, they looked vastly different. Tin one was mostly all black, tin two had not even a single strand of black tobacco. Secondly, they smelled nothing alike. Tin one smelled like Latakia and Cavendish. Tin two smelled like a nondescript VA based aromatic. "Well," I thought, "Maybe they changed the formula, or I'm remembering it wrong." So, I decided to load up a bowl from the new tin and smoke it. BIG MISTAKE! Where was the Latakia? For that matter, where was the Cavendish? I couldn't taste either of them. What I could taste, I can't really say, but I had to fight just to make it halfway through the bowl. It was, without a doubt, the nastiest tobacco I have ever tried. And to add to it's list of vile qualities, the aftertaste was unbelievably persistent. I tried smoking a bowl of Old Ironsides to get rid of it. Didn't help. Tried brushing my teeth and tongue. Didn't help. Drank a cup of coffee. Didn't help. Drank two glasses of cheap rye whiskey. That helped some, but the rest, I just had to wait out.

So, again, I am absolutely certain that these are not the same tobaccos. Additionally, they were so different that I'm convinced that Solani didn't just alter the formula. Here's what I think happened: after reading the reviews for other tobaccos in the Solani line, I'm 90% certain that I got a tin of Sweet Mystery X with a label for White and Black mistakenly put on the front. So I suppose you should consider my comments above a review for Sweet Mystery X. Forgive the cheap shot, but the Mystery is why anyone would voluntarily smoke it.

I would love to buy another tin of the first stuff. But only if I could be absolutely assured that I would be getting the same thing. From my experiences, and others here, however, I just don't think that's possible. It's a real shame, too. They've really ruined what would otherwise have been a four star blend. I doubt I'll ever buy it again unless the store will let me open up the tin before I pay to make sure I'm getting the tobacco I'm paying for. Yeah, that'll happen.

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.

Tin note of tart sweet, smoky, and vinegar. The black broken flakes with a little brown mixed in is listed as a ready rub. Moisture content is good, rubs out nicely, no drying needed. Burns slow with few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and consistent, with complex notes of very woody, musty grass, dry earth, citrus peel, mildly sweet tart fruit, mildly smoky, a lemony background note, and a peppery retro. Virginias is leading with cavendish and Latakia supporting. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

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.

First let me say that Solani produces some of my favorite blends. I love Silver Flake and Aged Burley Flake. This one, however, missed for me. The tobacco rubbed out easily from the broken flake and was very moist requiring some drying time (this is a good thing, I have found that moist tobacco ages much better than tobacco ready to smoke) and the tin aroma was marvelous. Once dried to my preference and loaded it took to the match without difficulty. There is a topping here wine perhaps. The topping seems to mute some of the complexities. I do get the delicate smokiness of the Syrian Lat. a brown sugar note that comes from the cav. but only hints of the VA here and there. The VA's seem to have a dark fruit note or maybe it is that topping mixing with them. Not really an overly sweet smoke despite the cav and VA. The mouth feel starts out smooth and it does not bite but by mid bowl it has a rough texture to it. Again it did not bite no matter how larger of a bowl I used but the change seems a little odd. The topping does linger on my tongue for quite sometime, in fact one could say that the tobacco finish is short but the topping remains. It is not a bad blend overall but I am not sure how to really recommend it. I would not suggest this blend to someone looking to find the difference between Syrian and Cyprus Lat. nor would I suggest it as an English Aromatic blend to someone looking to try one. Still for those looking for a different change of pace from their established rotations this might fit the bill and you may find this enjoyable. It just missed for me.

Solani 763 had underwhelming reviews at the time I purchased a tin and I was skeptical but curious. Tin aroma did not disappoint, rich but subtle, smoky.

Sweet earthy virginias play nicely on the rich fruity cavendish and are complimented by the smoky Syrian latakia. Burns clean and smooth, rarely need relights. Flavor stays consistent throughout the bowl yet has a complexity that will keep you entertained. Leaves no dottle.

This blend shows wonderful blending, as each of the components complement the other without taking center stage . If you like Virginias, then I can't see you not liking this one. Don't look at the ingredients (Syrian, Virginia & Black Cavendish ) and try to imagine this blend, you will be off by a mile. The taste is a very smooth, but tangy, fermented Virginia's. The Syrian Latakia is added only as a hint and not very noticeable from a smokiness kind of way, it just adds some "Butter" and rich dark earthiness to the Virginias. I suspect the Black Cavendish is a Burley base, even though it is advertised as a Dutch Style of blending ( Virginia base ?). This adds an almost Perique taste quality of raisins and figs without the pepper ( No, it doesn't contain Perique) .

When you open the tin, the blend is a dark and medium brown long broken flakes, that are very easy to work with. The flakes require some drying and they are somewhat sticky, which leads me to believe that there might be a light molasses topping. The tin note is of fermented raisins and figs and this translates into the taste. Overall the smoke starts smooth , sweet and tangy, and ends dark and earthy. However, I am very tongue sensitive to Burley and I find a slight harshness that I attribute to the Cavendish.

This blend reminds me somewhat of "Astley's #44 Dark Virginia Flake" with the "N" toned down to Medium or Rattray's Dark Fragrant with the flavor turned up.

I also find this blend great on the relight, doesn't turn ashy and keeps delivering flavor. If you think of this blend as a "Dark Fermented" Virginia rather than a Latakia blend, you will say, Wow! 3 1/2 stars

( do you want to change this into a smooth creamy latakia forward blend? Add 25% Robert McConnoll Pure Latakia. very tasty and no harshness ,4 stars this way)