Just For Him Shortcut To Mushrooms

Preface: This is my first ever review and my first ever English (Lat) blend.

Had my first bowl of STM tonight, here are my collective thoughts from opening to finishing:

Tin note/first impressions: Amazing...it has an earthy/smokiness to it which I'm assuming is from the Latakia, but upon taking in a huge whiff, I also picked up on almost a vanilla sweetness and a bit of spice. It was a bit wet so I let it sit for about 45 min prior to packing my bowl.

First light:

Took to my match with no issues, I did 2 charring lights and then the final light. As soon as the flame hit it, you could really smell the sweetness, the smoke was smooth and creamy and tasted very mild. I was a little disappointed on the taste, the tin note had such strong aroma I was expecting an umph of flavor, not that it was bad, just expected more. I tasted a bit of the vanilla sweetness picked up in the tin note, but not a whole lot of the earthy/smokey flavor that was so prominent. It was still there, just in the back ground.

First 1/2 For the people who say the room note is tolerable...idk what they were smelling, but to me the room note smelled a little like waffle cones baking (so quite pleasant). I even asked my wife what she thought of it (big critic) and she like it as well. The mild taste from the first light continued throughout the first half of the bowl. I must say though that when snorked I thoroughly enjoyed the earthy tang that I sensed. I just wish it was a bit more prominent without snorking.

Last 1/2

The last half seemed to have a little trouble burning, I think that this was due to user error in not letting it dry out all the way as the tobby seemed moist. A little more earthiness/smokiness came out towards the end. The whole bowl smoked cool with about 5 relights (most on the wet second half).

Conclusion All in all I'm looking forward to my next bowl of this, I would say though, I am slightly disappointed at the mildness of the flavor. I packed a pretty big bowl of this and it was almost a 2 hour smoke so I'm guessing this is low on vitamin N as I didn't get a head rush or anything after puffing for 2 hours. This would make a fine all day smoke imho.

This is another good blend from Just for Him. This shares the characteristics they are now known to me for smoothness, thick smoke and creamy texture. my sample of this was good, soft and lighter in flavor. It did share the light Latakia used in Ruins of Isengard, but this is a bit sweeter and not as incense-like as Ruins is. nothing not to like, but a bit shy on the flavor it wants to take. yes the earthiness is felt and mushroom like quality but the sweetness peeks through and it does assert itself as in many blends. This is certainly more rich than Long bottom, Old Toby, and Tree- beard, this is not as distinct as ruins, my fave of the LOTR offerings. That said I will order a small bag to horde for contemplative mornings or evenings when i would be in the mood for this and my meerschaum.

I am reluctant to like this, but I do.

Has a really nice undertone that carries throughout the bowl, with a woodsy smell and taste that is very pleasant and slightly spicy.

This is not in my regular rotation, but I save it for the times I am able to pack a big bowl and spend some time with it.

Mushrooms....yup, that's what you get. The description was quite literally accurate. A decent tobacco. But probably one I won't keep or smoke regularly. I finished off my bag that I bought out of interest and enthusiasm for LOTR. It's not bad, just not one my favorites. However, I will give this tobacco a high rating because of the unique flavor and the accuracy of said flavor....Amazing!

Very easy to light, and burns down to a clean white ash. A very earthy aroma in the bag and, early in the bowl, in the smoke itself. But after the first third of the bowl, you can taste the fine base tobacco. Thereafter, all the flavors alternate with each other, like earth and fire, then fire and earth. It's impressive how it goes from the mushroom opening to the pure tobacco taste that emerges around mid bowl, while always retaining that creamy smoothness. It vaguely reminds me of some other "Engilshoid" blend, like Morley's Best, or Epiphany, but it's too distinctive to assign it anything resembling an identical twin.

This is my second into this series. I purchased it based on reviews here and to see if there are really mushrooms in it. I am still not sure about the mushrooms, but it is a nice easy smoking tobacco with a nice cool taste, packs easily and burns cool. I could definitely see smoking this out of a churchwarden trading stories across a camp fire. It is very nice.

Enjoy, Z

I am an English blend lover that likes to smoke an occasional aromatic. Since this blend offered some latakia and had such high reviews I thought it would be worth a try. STM did not disappoint. When it arrived STM was dark and rich looking in the bag, and it also appeared very moist and heavily cased. The pouch aroma was very sweet and strong in a way that often turns me off to many aromatics. After I let it sit for about 15 minutes prior to packing, I was greeted with a pleasant, somewhat sweet tobacco that wasn't as moist or cased as it appears. It isn't overly sweet and has a pleasant earthy taste. One of the things about Black Cavendish that I dislike is that for some reason my mouth feels "coated" afterward. That was not the case with STM, as it burns clean in my pipe and in my mouth! STM is one of the few aromatics that I can enjoy three or four bowls full throughout the day. It also has a unique taste that sets it apart from other blends. Recommended!

Ahhh. The aroma from the zip-lock sealed bag when this arrived was wonderful. It is a darker blend, and at first, seemed over moist. But I loaded it into a medium-sized Savinelli Canadian without rubbing it out or letting it dry. I was pleasantly surprised. It lit easily and smoked cool and dry - no bite whatsoever. Repeat: No Bite. The bowl never got hot or gurgled at all. No goop at the end. And, it doesn't taste like candy or "fruity." You can definitely taste the tobacco.

The pleasant pouch note carried into the smoke. Pleasant tobacco flavor almost all the way to the bottom of the bowl, although it does get slightly harsh at the bottom - my complaint with virtually all aromatics - and the latakia at the end of "Shortcut" does get a little "spicy." Try this one loading only half a bowl and it is pleasant to the end if you sip it.

I am not a big fan of aromatics, but sometimes you want a blend to smoke in mixed company. This may be it. Someone referred to it as "subtly aromatic" - that it is. A pleasant, earthy but slightly sweet room note, but still is unmistakably tobacco that should be enjoyed even by straight "English" purists. Despite the cute "tin description" above, I did not detect any "mushrooms" (I find it amusing that reviewers are commenting on whether this does or does not taste of mushrooms. The name of this tobacco is based upon a reference in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series - it has nothing to do with mushrooms being in this blend. LOL!). Not for everyday, my small supply should last awhile - but I will definitely order Shortcut again.

Wow, you can really taste the mushrooms!

No, I'm sorry, that's not true. Despite the intriguing name and description, there are no mushrooms in Shortcut to Mushrooms. I had that verified by the person that filled my order. In the instructions/comments field while placing my request with JFM, I asked, and that was the reply on the subsequent statement. Oh well, another possible blending component goes out the window. Or wait, maybe this is an opportunity! (No..it's not. Restrain your imagination for a minute.)

Having struggled to work through Samuel Gawith's "Perfection," I find that this is one of the few successfully cased Latakia blends (alright, I've only tried two). Don't think that you'll find a huge percentage in StMs (like Perfection), but it's in there, along with a lot of sweetened Cavendish. The tobacco feels a bit sticky, smells great out of the pouch, and seems to burn well despite the casing.

The taste is pretty good for an aromatic, coming from a person who likes to criticize the category. It reminds me of 1Q with a slight smokiness produced by that pinch of Latakia. This is NOT a cased English. But that's ok. Two ounces will last me a long time.

Well done.

Four of Five (Rated against Aromatics).